A1 Grammar · Unit 4 · Topic 8 of 29
Articles: der, die, das
Every German noun has a gender: masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das). Learn the article with every new noun. There's no fully reliable way to guess, but words ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -e are usually feminine. Words ending in -chen are always neuter. Days, months, and seasons are masculine.
| Gender | The | A/An | No/Not a |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | der | ein | kein |
| neuter | das | ein | kein |
| feminine | die | eine | keine |
| plural | die | (none) | keine |
Plural has several patterns. Learn the plural with the noun: das Buch → die Bücher, die Lampe → die Lampen.
Common mistakes
Learn "Tisch" with "der". A noun without its article is only half learned. And there's no ein for plural. It's die Kinder, not eine Kinder.
Memory trick
Write nouns in three colors: blue for der, pink for die, green for das. Your eyes remember the color before you remember the word.
Practice
Fill in the blank.
- ___ Mann ist müde.
- Ich habe ___ Tochter.
- Das ist ___ Tee.
- ___ Kinder spielen.
Show answers
Answers: Der, eine, kein, Die.