das
Musikvideo
🎬 What exactly is a Musikvideo?
A Musikvideo is a short film that visually accompanies or interprets a piece of music (ein Musikstück). It often serves to promote a song (ein Lied) or artist (ein Künstler / eine Künstlerin) and is typically shown on television (im Fernsehen) (on music channels) or on online platforms (auf Online-Plattformen) like YouTube or Vimeo.
It's a compound word (zusammengesetztes Wort) formed from Musik (music) and Video (video). Since the base word Video is neuter (sächlich) (das Video), das Musikvideo is also neuter.
Article rules for der, die, and das
Many foreign words → mostly neutral.
There are many foreign words, we won't list them all.
-o → mostly neutral.
🧐 Grammar in Detail: Das Musikvideo
The word 'Musikvideo' is a neuter noun (ein Neutrum). Its declension is as follows:
Declension Singular
| Case (Kasus) | Definite Article | Indefinite Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative (1st case) | das Musikvideo | ein Musikvideo | Musikvideo |
| Genitive (2nd case) | des Musikvideos | eines Musikvideos | Musikvideos |
| Dative (3rd case) | dem Musikvideo | einem Musikvideo | Musikvideo |
| Accusative (4th case) | das Musikvideo | ein Musikvideo | Musikvideo |
Declension Plural
| Case (Kasus) | Definite Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative (1st case) | die Musikvideos | Musikvideos |
| Genitive (2nd case) | der Musikvideos | Musikvideos |
| Dative (3rd case) | den Musikvideos | Musikvideos |
| Accusative (4th case) | die Musikvideos | Musikvideos |
Example Sentences (Beispielsätze)
- Hast du das neue Musikvideo von deiner Lieblingsband schon gesehen? (Have you already seen the new music video from your favorite band?)
- Die Produktion eines aufwändigen Musikvideos kann sehr teuer sein. (The production of an elaborate music video can be very expensive.)
- In dem Musikvideo tanzen alle synchron. (In the music video, everyone dances synchronously.)
- Ich schaue mir gerne alte Musikvideos aus den 80ern an. (I enjoy watching old music videos from the 80s.)
💡 How to Use 'Musikvideo' Correctly
The term 'Musikvideo' is widely used in both colloquial German (Umgangssprache) and professional circles (Fachkreise) like the music industry (Musikindustrie) and media studies (Medienwissenschaft).
- Context: People talk about Musikvideos in relation to music releases (Musikveröffentlichungen), music channels (Musiksender) like MTV back in the day, streaming platforms (Streaming-Plattformen) like YouTube or Vevo, award shows (Filmpreise) (e.g., MTV Video Music Awards), or the artistic work (künstlerische Arbeit) of musicians and directors (Regisseure).
- Function: It serves to visualize music (Musik visualisieren), often tells a story (eine Geschichte erzählen), presents the artist (den Künstler präsentieren), or creates a specific atmosphere (eine bestimmte Atmosphäre schaffen) for the song.
- Distinction: A Musikvideo is more specific than a general 'Video'. It's also not a 'Kurzfilm' (short film) in the general sense, although it contains cinematic elements, because its primary purpose is to accompany music. It differs from a 'Werbespot' (commercial), although it often serves promotional purposes.
🧠 Memory Aids (Eselsbrücken)
Here are a couple of mnemonics to remember the article and meaning:
For the article: Remember the base word: It's das Video. Therefore, it's also das Musikvideo. Easy, right? 😉 Think of 'das' as the standard article for technical or media terms ending in 'o' derived from English (like Video, Radio - though Radio can also be 'der').
For the meaning: Imagine Musik (music) coming alive and dancing in a Video. Musik + Video = Musikvideo! 🎶🎬
🔄 Similar and Opposite Terms
Synonyms (Synonyme)
- Videoclip (Very common, often used interchangeably)
- Clip (Short form of Videoclip, colloquial)
- Musikfilm (More likely for longer formats or documentary approaches)
Antonyms (conceptual) (Antonyme)
⚠️ Careful, Risk of Confusion! (Achtung, Verwechslungsgefahr!)
😂 A Little Laugh
Warum hat das Musikvideo schlechte Noten bekommen?
Weil es ständig den Fokus verloren hat! 😉
(Why did the music video get bad grades? Because it kept losing focus!)
📜 Poetry for the Clip
Bunte Bilder, schneller Schnitt, (Colorful images, fast cut,)
zum Beat der Bassdrum, Schritt für Schritt. (to the beat of the bass drum, step by step.)
Eine Story, oft ganz neu, (A story, often brand new,)
im Musikvideo, oh boy! (in the music video, oh boy!)
Der Song im Ohr, das Bild im Sinn, (The song in the ear, the image in mind,)
so zieht es uns tief hinein. (that's how it draws us deep inside.)
🧩 Riddle Fun
Ich zeige dir Musik fürs Aug', (I show you music for the eye,)
begleite Lieder, sanft und rauh. (accompany songs, soft and rough.)
Mal bunt, mal schwarz-weiß, kurz und knapp, (Sometimes colorful, sometimes black-and-white, short and sweet,)
auf YouTube findest du mich satt. (on YouTube, you'll find plenty of me.)
Was bin ich? (What am I?)
(Solution: das Musikvideo / the music video)
✨ Interesting Facts (Interessante Fakten)
- Word Composition (Wortzusammensetzung): The word is a compound (Kompositum) of die Musik (music) and das Video (video). The grammatical gender (Genus) is determined by the base word (Grundwort - the last part): das Video → das Musikvideo.
- History (Geschichte): Music videos gained enormous popularity through music television channels like MTV, which launched in 1981. The very first music video played on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles – how fitting!
- Variety (Vielfalt): The styles and budgets of music videos vary immensely, from simple performance videos (Performance-Videos) to elaborate short films (aufwendige Kurzfilme) with complex plots (komplexe Handlungen) and special effects (Spezialeffekte).
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Musikvideo?
The German word Musikvideo is neuter. The correct article is always das: das Musikvideo (Nominative/Accusative), des Musikvideos (Genitive), dem Musikvideo (Dative). The plural form is die Musikvideos.