Is it der, die oder das Weihnachtsmann?

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 Weihnachtsmann?

How does the declension of Weihnachtsmann 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] North German, Central German: A male -shaped, male figure similar to Nikolaus in a red coat, with a white fur, with rod and with a large sack in which the gifts are located to the children at Christmas (symbolic figure of the Christmas Schenmens) ether person who is disguised as this shape

[2] Colloquially, often as a swear word: more confused or rotten people

[1] Der Weihnachtsmann bringt nur den braven Kindern Geschenke.

[1] „Nun! fuhr die Mutter fort, wenn Du aber recht artig biſt, denn ſoll dir auch der Weyhnachtsmann allerley artige Sachen mitbringen.“

[1] „Dann sagte Mama, daß der Weihnachtsmann gleich kommen werde, und wir sollten in Renates Zimmer gehen.“

[1] „Jakob und ich bestaunen die erhabene Erscheinung dieser Troika wie kleine Jungs den Auftritt eines Weihnachtsmanns samt Rentieren.“

[1] „Zum Weihnachtsmann existiert bereits einige Spezialliteratur, wobei namentlich die Bücher von Thomas Hauschild und Martina Eberspächer zu nennen sind; daneben sind in Sachbüchern etliche Ausführungen zu finden.“

[2] Mensch, fahr doch zu, du Weihnachtsmann!

[2] „Du bist genauso ein Weihnachtsmann wie die anderen!“

[2] „Was wäre aus sprachlicher Sicht noch zu erwähnen? Dass Weihnachtsmann – alltags- und umgangssprachlich – im übertragenen Sinne auftreten kann und dabei in kritischer, abschätziger Weise gebraucht wird.“