die
Glasur
🍩 What does 'die Glasur' mean?
The word die Glasur (feminine noun) primarily has two meanings:
For food: A sweet, often shiny coating for baked goods like cakes (Kuchen), gateaux (Torten), cookies (Kekse), or donuts. Usually made of powdered sugar (Puderzucker) and liquid (water, lemon juice, milk) or chocolate (Schokolade). 🎂
For ceramics & pottery: A glass-like layer applied to pottery (Töpferwaren) and fired, which seals, hardens, colors it, and gives it a shiny or matte appearance. 🏺
In both cases, it refers to a surface coating (Oberflächenbeschichtung).
Article rules for der, die, and das
-ur/-ür → mostly feminine.
Caution: -eur nouns are usually masculine (e.g. der Ingenieur).
🧐 Grammar in Detail: Die Glasur
The noun „Glasur“ is feminine. The article is die.
Declension (Deklination):
| Case (Kasus) | Definite Article | Indefinite Article |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative (1st case) | die Glasur | eine Glasur |
| Genitive (2nd case) | der Glasur | einer Glasur |
| Dative (3rd case) | der Glasur | einer Glasur |
| Accusative (4th case) | die Glasur | eine Glasur |
| Case (Kasus) | Definite Article | Indefinite Article |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die Glasuren | Glasuren |
| Genitive | der Glasuren | Glasuren |
| Dative | den Glasuren | Glasuren |
| Accusative | die Glasuren | Glasuren |
Example Sentences (Beispielsätze)
- Der Kuchen braucht noch eine süße Glasur.
(The cake still needs a sweet glaze/icing.) - Die Glasur dieser Vase ist wunderschön blau.
(The glaze on this vase is beautifully blue.) - Nach dem Brennen hatte die Tasse eine feste Glasur.
(After firing, the cup had a hard glaze.) - Pass auf, die Glasur auf den Donuts ist noch nicht trocken!
(Careful, the glaze on the donuts isn't dry yet!)
💡 How to use 'Glasur'?
The context makes it clear which type of Glasur is meant.
- In the context of 'Food & Drink' (Essen & Trinken): Here, 'Glasur' almost always refers to the sweet coating on baked goods. One talks about Zuckerglasur (sugar glaze/icing), Schokoladenglasur (chocolate glaze), Zitronenglasur (lemon glaze), etc. Synonyms here are often Guss (coating, glaze) or Überzug (coating).
- In the context of 'Crafts & Art' (Handwerk & Kunst) (Ceramics): Here, 'Glasur' means the glass-like layer on pottery. One talks about glänzende Glasur (shiny glaze) or matte Glasur (matte glaze), Farbglasur (colored glaze), or Bleiglasur (lead glaze). A related term is Emaille (enamel), often used for metal.
⚠️ Don't confuse 'Glasur' with 'Lack' (varnish/lacquer, more for wood, metal, fingernails) or 'Politur' (polish, for making surfaces shiny).
🧠 Mnemonics for Glasur
Article Mnemonic (die): Many German nouns ending in -ur are feminine (die Natur, die Kultur, die Zensur). Imagine the (feminine 'die') queen demanding her cake with a shiny Glasur.
Meaning Mnemonic: Think of English 'glass'. A Glasur often makes surfaces shiny and smooth, like glass. Whether sweet on a cake or hard on a cup – it's the shiny layer.
🔄 Similar and Opposite Words
Synonyms (Similar Meaning)
- For food: Guss (coating, glaze), Überzug (coating), Zuckerguss (icing, sugar glaze), Schokoladenüberzug (chocolate coating)
- For ceramics: Emaille (enamel - technically slightly different, but similar), Überzug (coating), Beschichtung (coating, layer)
Antonyms (Opposite Meaning)
- For food: ohne Belag (without topping), nackt (naked, plain), pur (pure, plain)
- For ceramics: unglasiert (unglazed), roh (raw), matt (matte - if the glaze is shiny), porös (porous)
Similar but Misleading Words
😂 A Little Joke
Warum hat der Bäcker schlechte Laune?
(Why is the baker in a bad mood?)
Weil ihm jemand die Glasur von den Donuts geklaut hat – das war der Gipfel der Frechheit!
(Because someone stole the glaze from his donuts – that was the height of impudence! / a pun, as 'Gipfel' also means peak/top, like the topping) 😉
✒️ Poem about Glasur
Ob Tasse glatt und fein,
Ob Kuchen, süß und rein.
Ein Überzug muss sein!
Die Glasur, glänzend klar,
Macht alles wunderbar.
Auf Keramik, Jahr für Jahr,
Auf dem Gebäck, fürwahr!
(Whether cup smooth and fine,
Whether cake, sweet and divine.
A coating must shine!
The glaze, gleaming clear,
Makes everything wonderful here.
On ceramics, year after year,
On the pastry, hold it dear!)
❓ Little Riddle
Ich mache Kuchen süß und schön,
Und Tassen kann man glänzend sehn.
Mal bin ich Zucker, mal gebrannt,
Wie werd' ich wohl genannt?
(I make cakes sweet and nice,
And make cups gleam before your eyes.
Sometimes I'm sugar, sometimes fired in heat,
What name do I repeat?)
Solution: die Glasur (the glaze/icing)
🧩 Other Information
Word Composition (Wortzusammensetzung): The word 'Glasur' derives from the word 'Glas' (glass), pointing to the glass-like nature of ceramic glaze and often the glossiness of food glaze. The suffix '-ur' is a common ending for nouns in German, often of Latin origin.
Trivia: Glazes for ceramics have existed for millennia, originally developed in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Glasur?
The German word Glasur is feminine. The correct article is always die Glasur. It refers either to a sweet coating for baked goods (glaze, icing) or a vitreous layer on ceramics (glaze).