das Ei
egg
The reproductive product with a shell laid by female birds, reptiles, or insects, especially a chicken egg as food.
EXAMPLE
Zum Frühstück esse ich am liebsten ein weich gekochtes Ei.
For breakfast, I like eating a soft-boiled egg best.
das Ei
egg
das Ei, die Eier
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Meanings
das Ei
egg cell
The female germ cell (egg cell) in humans and animals.
EXAMPLE
Bei der Befruchtung verschmilzt die Samenzelle mit dem Ei.
During fertilization, the sperm cell fuses with the egg cell.
sich gleichen wie ein Ei dem anderen
to look identical
An idiom meaning that two people or things look extremely similar or identical.
EXAMPLE
Die eineiigen Zwillinge gleichen sich wie ein Ei dem anderen.
The identical twins look exactly alike.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Ei, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | neuter das |
|---|---|
| plural | die Eier |
| genitive | des Eis |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | das Ei | die Eier |
| accusative | das Ei | die Eier |
| dative | dem Ei | den Eiern |
| genitive | des Eis des Eies | der Eier |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Fixed idiom
The idiom 'sich gleichen wie ein Ei dem anderen' (to be as alike as one egg to another) is used to express that two people or things look almost identical. The structure of the sentence is fixed.
EXAMPLE
Die neuen Häuser in der Straße gleichen sich wie ein Ei dem anderen.
The new houses on the street look exactly alike.
Typical verbs
In connection with food, 'Ei' is often combined with specific preparation verbs: you can 'kochen' (boil), 'braten' (fry), 'aufschlagen' (crack open), or 'pellen' (peel / remove the shell) an egg.
EXAMPLE
Für den Kuchen müssen wir drei Eier aufschlagen.
For the cake, we need to crack three eggs.
Common compounds
The word 'Ei' (egg) is the basis for many other nouns related to food. Examples are 'das Spiegelei' (fried egg), 'das Rührei' (scrambled eggs), 'der Eiersalat' (egg salad), or 'der Eierbecher' (egg cup).
EXAMPLE
Am Sonntagmorgen gibt es bei uns oft ein Spiegelei zum Frühstück.
On Sunday mornings, we often have a fried egg for breakfast.
Compare with
Ei vs Eizelle
egg cell
Ei and Eizelle can both refer to the female reproductive cell. Eizelle is the technically unambiguous term, while Ei is more often used in this sense as a simple, context-dependent shortened form. Eizelle is therefore usually more appropriate in a medical text.
Ei
Die Ärztin erklärte dem Paar einfach, dass sich das Ei nicht weiterentwickelt hatte.
The doctor simply explained to the couple that the egg had not continued to develop.
Eizelle
Im medizinischen Bericht steht, dass sich die Eizelle nicht weiterentwickelt hatte.
The medical report states that the egg cell had not continued to develop.
In real life
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