Finding the right gender of a noun

German articles are used similarly to the English articles,a and the. However, they are declined differently (change) according to the number, gender and case of their nouns.

In the German language, the gender and therefore article is fixed for each noun.

The most difficult part of learning the German language is the articles (der, die, das) or rather the gender of each noun. The gender of each noun in German has no simple rule. In fact, it can even seem illogical. For example das Mädchen, a young girl is neutral while der Junge, a young boy is male.

It is a good idea to learn the correct article for each new word together - even if it means a lot of work. For example learning "der Hund" (the dog) rather than just Hund by itself. Fortunately, there are some rules about gender in German that make things a little easier. It might be even nicer if these rules didn't have exceptions - but you can't have everything! The best way to learn them is with the App - Der-Die-Das Train! (available for iOS and Android)

German nouns belong either to the gender masculine (male, standard gender) with the definite article der, to the feminine (feminine) with the definite article die, or to the neuter (neuter) with the definite article das.

• for masculine: points of the compass, weather (Osten, Monsun, Sturm; however it is: das Gewitter), liquor/spirits (Wodka, Wein, Kognak), minerals, rocks (Marmor, Quarz, Granit, Diamant);

• for feminine: ships and airplanes (die Deutschland, die Boeing; however it is: der Airbus), cigarette brands (Camel, Marlboro), many tree and plant species (Eiche, Pappel, Kiefer; aber: der Flieder), numbers (Eins, Million; however it is: das Dutzend), most inland rivers (Elbe, Oder, Donau; aber: der Rhein);

• for neutrals: cafes, hotels, cinemas (das Mariott, das Cinemaxx), chemical elements (Helium, Arsen; however it is: der Schwefel, masculine elements have the suffix -stoff), letters, notes, languages and colors (das Orange, das A, das Englische), certain brand names for detergents and cleaning products (Ariel, Persil), continents, countries (die artikellosen: (das alte) Europa; however exceptions include: der Libanon, die Schweiz …).

German declension of Teil?

How does the declension of Teil work in the nominative, accusative, dative and genitive cases? Here you can find all forms in the singular as well as in the plural:

[1] Often in connection with lifeless objects: an element, piece or subset of a whole

[2] colloquially: a garment

[3] colloquially: Any object

[1] Wie passen die Teile zusammen?

[2] Wir haben jedes Teil in verschiedenen Größen da.

[3] Was ist das da für ein komisches Teil?

[3] Pass auf das Teil da vorne auf!

German declension of Teil?

How does the declension of Teil work in the nominative, accusative, dative and genitive cases? Here you can find all forms in the singular as well as in the plural:

[1] Usually in connection with living things and abstract objects: an element, piece of the whole

[2] An element in the size ratio to the whole

[3] as a turn "partly", if not meaning 2: some of them

[1] Diese Aufgabe wird Teil der Prüfung am nächsten Dienstag sein.

[1] „Bei Zirkusakrobaten, Kunstturnern, Eiskunstläufern, Kunstfliegern werden Vertigoerlebnisse Teil einer künstlerischen Gesamtleistung.“[2]

[1] „Werke, […] die zum Theil auf einer Reihe von akademischen Ausstellungen die Haupt- und Zugbilder gewesen sind, verleihen dieser Ausstellung eine Bedeutung, welche bisher noch keine andere hier gehabt hat.“[3]

[2] Der größte Teil Russlands liegt in Asien.

[2] Heute ist der dritte Teil (= ein Drittel) des Mondes zu sehen.

[2] „In manchen Teilen der Biosphäre wimmelt es von Leben, weil dort die Lebensbedingungen beinahe ideal sind. Andere Teile sind nur spärlich besiedelt, weil extreme Kälte oder Hitze das Überleben schwierig macht.“[4]

[3] „Weit über hundert Anwohner, unter ihnen zehn Kinder, wurden zum Teil schwer verletzt.“[5]