Is it der, die oder das Tonne?

DIE

The correct article in German of Tonne is die. So it is die Tonne! (nominative case)

The word Tonne is feminine, therefore the correct article is die.

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.

Test your knowledge!

Choose the correct article.

DER

DIE

DAS

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 Tonne?

How does the declension of Tonne 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	Singular	Plural
Nominative	die Tonne	die Tonnen
Genitive	der Tonne	der Tonnen
Dative	der Tonne	den Tonnen
Akkusative	die Tonne	die Tonnen

What is the meaning of Tonne in German?

Tonne has various definitions in German:

[1] Round container, often made of metal, with lid and/or sheet hole

[1] rundes Behältnis, oft aus Metall bestehend, mit Deckel und/oder Spundloch

[2] Physics: weight unit: 1T = 1000 kg

[2] Physik: Gewichtseinheit: 1t = 1000 kg

[3] Shipping: Short for gross register tonne

[3] Schifffahrt: kurz für Bruttoregistertonne

[4] Shipping: seafaring signs

[4] Schifffahrt: Seefahrtszeichen

[5] colloquially: big, thick person

[5] umgangssprachlich: großer, dicker Mensch

How to use Tonne in a sentence?

Example sentences in German using Tonne with translations in English.

[1] Heute leert die Müllabfuhr die Tonnen.

[1] Today the garbage disposal empties the barrel

[1] Der radioaktive Abfall wird in Tonnen gelagert.

[1] The radioactive waste is stored in tons

[1] „Ich beneide die Bewohner, deren Tonnen im Hinterhof stehen.“

[1] "I envy the residents whose tons are in the back yard"

[2] Eine Tonne Kies wurde verbaut.

[2] A ton of gravel was installed

[2] „Es ist eiskalt, vollkommen dunkel und es herrscht ein enormer Druck von bis zu einer Tonne pro Quadratzentimeter — die Tiefsee scheint ein unwirtlicher Lebensraum zu sein.“

[2] "It is freezing cold, completely dark and there is an enormous pressure of up to one ton per square centimeter - the deep sea seems to be an inhospitable habitat"

[2] „Heute werden jährlich Millionen Tonnen Hefe produziert.“

[2] "Today millions of tons of yeast are produced every year"

[2] „»Wir dürfen nicht mehr als 30 Milliarden Tonnen CO₂ emittieren ab 2013«, erklärt Wicke.“

[2] "" We are not allowed to emit more than 30 billion tons of CO₂ from 2013, "explains Wickeä"

[3] Der größte Frachter der Reederei fasst 100.000 Tonnen.

[3] The largest freighter of the shipping company holds 100,000 tons.

[4] Das Fahrwasser ist mit Tonnen ausgezeichnet.

[4] The fairway is excellent

[5] Ella ist auf dem besten Weg, eine richtige Tonne zu werden.

[5] Ella is well on the way to becoming a real ton