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I'm trying to find files or any kind of source for German nouns together with definite article. The goal is to create an app which will use that data and help me with learning.

IMujagic
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    There already is a similar question: List of 1000+ (most common) German nouns with plural form. Link: http://german.stackexchange.com/questions/7386/list-of-1000-most-common-german-nouns-with-plural-form – Eugene Str. Sep 03 '16 at 21:45
  • Thanks. I already found this but it's not helpful to me. I'm looking for something huge which will cover almost every word. I'm really not sure if something like that is available.. – IMujagic Sep 03 '16 at 21:52
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    I would assume that the Wiktionary data is available in source form. – Carsten S Sep 03 '16 at 21:55
  • @EugeneStr. Vielen Dank! This will be really good starting point. – IMujagic Sep 03 '16 at 22:04

1 Answers1

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Grammatical gender and definite article in nominative case singular always match this way:

  • masculine = der
  • feminine = die
  • neuter = das

Every German dictionary contains either the definite article or a gender-note (m/f/n) for every noun.

Take the most famous dictionary »der Duden« for example:

Let's say, you look for the genders (i.e definite articles) of Messer, Gabel, Löffel (knife, fork, spoon):

From the words that I have marked bold and italics, you can learn:

  • Messer = neuter; Article = das (das Messer)
  • Gabel = feminin; Article = die (die Gabel)
  • Löffel = maskulin; Article = der (der Löffel)

But be aware, that there are also words that can be used in two or even all three genders:

So it is:

  • Gummi = masculin or neuter; Article = der, das (der Gummi, das Gummi)
  • Bookmark = neuter, masculin or feminin; Article = das, der, die (das Bookmark, der Bookmark, die Bookmark)

In those examples you can choose which article you want to use. Often there are regional preferences (»Das Gummi« in northern parts of Germany, »der Gummi« in southern parts and in Austria).

But there are also homonyms with different articles

  • Schild (das Schild = tag, plate, sign, label, ...; der Schild = shield)
    http://www.duden.de/suchen/dudenonline/Schild

    Schild

    Substantiv, maskulin - 1. eine Schutzwaffe darstellender, auf seiner …2. Wappenschild; 3. schildförmiger, länglicher Schirm an der …

    ...
    Schild

    Substantiv, Neutrum - 1. Tafel, Platte mit einem Zeichen, …2. Fleck auf der Brust (besonders …

So here you have:

  • Schild = masculin; Article = der (der Schild) (if you mean a shield to protect whatever is behind the shield)
  • Schild = neuter; Article = das (das Schild) (if you mean a label, tag, or something similar where you can write a few words that are representative for the thing on which the label/tag/... is mounted)
Hubert Schölnast
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    What makes you think that the OP is not aware of this? – Carsten S Sep 04 '16 at 11:55
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    @CarstenS: Nothing. Where did I say that the OP was not aware of this? I just told him (and anybody else who reads this answer) to be aware. – Hubert Schölnast Sep 04 '16 at 12:40
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    That's cool. I am going to add an answer later that explains what a file is. – Carsten S Sep 04 '16 at 12:44
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    @CarstenS: Fine. Then I will add an addendum to your answer where I explain especially for you what »any kind of source« is. – Hubert Schölnast Sep 04 '16 at 12:52
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    This will be great. We will see how much text we can produce without answering the question. – Carsten S Sep 04 '16 at 13:24
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    Well it's my question so let me comment this one as well :) I appreciate this answer because it helped me actually to figure out how to get data I need. It's nothing that I already don't know, but it was a bullet which triggered different approach in my head :) When I finish with my work I'll publish my dataset here so that everyone can use it.So thanks @HubertSchölnast – IMujagic Sep 06 '16 at 12:22
  • @hellwd: Ich you find my answer helpful, you could up-vote it or accept it (only if you want). – Hubert Schölnast Sep 06 '16 at 12:38
  • @HubertSchölnast I voted for it, but someone also down-voted - I'm not sure why. I can't accept it because it's not answer that solved my problem. The correct answer would be the either file or some resource where I can find what I'm looking for. I find your answer helpful, and thanks for that :) – IMujagic Sep 06 '16 at 14:28