Learn German: Was ist die genaue Definition der Identität? - What is the exact definition of identity?

Was ist die genaue Definition der Identität?

What is the exact definition of identity?

Breakdown of Was ist die genaue Definition der Identität?

exactly / precise, exact

der

who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)

Questions & Answers about Was ist die genaue Definition der Identität?

How can I easily remember the gender and plural of Definition?

Words ending in the Latin suffix -ion are always feminine. To make them plural, you just add -en, so the plural here is die Definitionen. This pattern works for almost all -ion loanwords, like die Situation and die Information.

Is there a reliable rule for the gender of Identität?

Yes! The suffix -tät comes from Latin and always makes a noun feminine. Just like with -ion, these nouns form their plural by adding -en to get die Identitäten.

Why does it say der Identität if it is a feminine noun?

Here the noun is in the genitive case, which indicates possession or relation and translates to "of identity". The feminine definite article changes from die in the nominative to der in the genitive.

The English translation says "of identity", but the German sentence adds an article to make it der Identität. Why is that?

In German, abstract concepts like identity, freedom, or nature often require a definite article, whereas English usually leaves it out. That is why "of identity" translates literally to "of the identity".