German Articles (der, die, das & ein, eine)
In this lesson, you will learn German articles.
German Articles
German, like English, has an article. However, in German, articles reveal the gender of a substantive (noun). Moreover, all German nouns are assigned to one of the three genders by using articles: masculine (männlich), feminine (weiblich) or neutral (sächlich).
The definite article “der” is for masculine nouns, “die” is used for feminine nouns, and “das” is used for neuter nouns. However, the gender of nouns is quite unpredictable in German. That’s why the best thing is to learn each noun with its article, which goes with it.
There are two types of articles in German:
⭐ the definite article (der bestimmte Artikel = definiter) ➡️ der, die, das
⭐ the indefinite article (der unbestimmte Artikel = indefiniter) ➡️ ein, eine
| masculine | der | ein |
| feminine | die | eine |
| neuter | das | ein |
❗ German articles change their form to indicate the grammatical categories of the nouns (i.e., case, plural and gender).
German Definite Articles: der, die, das
German definite article is “der, die, and das”, which corresponds to the English “the”. The definite article “the” in English always keeps the same form. However, The form of German definite articles changes depending on the case, gender and plural of the noun in the sentence.
The declension of the definite articles is shown in Table 1.2:
| CASES | MASCULINE | FEMININE | NEUTRAL | PLURAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative (Nominativ) | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative (Akkusativ) | den | die | das | die |
| Dative (Dative) | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitive (Genitiv) | des | der | des | der |
❗ The plural forms of the definite article are the same for all genders.
❗ Some clues can help you work out or remember the gender of nouns.
der (masculine)
Nouns with the following meanings are usually (There are also some exceptions.) masculine.
⭐ Male persons and male animals
| der Mann der Löwe der Hahn | Man Lion Rooster |
⭐ Days of the week
| der Mittwoch der Sonnabend der Dienstag | Wednesday Saturday Tuesday |
⭐ Months of the year
| der Mai der Juni der Februar | May June February |
⭐ Seasons
| der Sommer der Winter der Herbst der Frühling | Summer Winter Autumn Spring |
⭐ Points of the compass
| der Süden der Norden der Westen der Osten | South North West East |
⭐ Kinds of weather
| der Wind der Taifun der Frost der Regen der Schnee der Sturm der Hagel | Wind Typhoon Frost Rain Snow Storm Hail |
⭐ Makes of car
| der Audi der BMW der Polo der Rolls-Royce | Audi BMW Polo Rolls-Royce |
⭐ Plant-based drinks
| der Kaffee der Tee der Saft | Coffee Tea Juice |
⭐ Most alcoholic drinks
| der Cocktail der Wein der Wodka | Cocktail Wine Wodka |
⭐ Most monetary units
| der Cent der Dollar der Euro | Cent Dollar Euro |
⭐ Mountains and mountain ranges
| der Himalaja der Ätna der Montblanc | Himalayan Etna Mont Blanc |
⭐ Nouns with the following endings are masculine:
| -ant | der Konsonant | Consonant |
| -ast | der Kontrast | Contrast |
| -ich | der Teppich | Carpet |
| -ig | der Essig | Vinegar |
| -ling | der Feigling | Coward |
| -or | der Motor | Engine |
| -us | der Rhythmus | Rhythm |
die (feminine)
Nouns with the following meanings are usually (There are also some exceptions.) feminine.
⭐ Female persons and animals
| die Frau die Kuh die Tante | Woman Cow Aunt |
⭐ The names of aeroplanes, motorbikes and ships
| die „Bismarck“ die „Bremen“ |
⭐ Native German names of rivers
| die Donau die Fulda die Isar |
⭐ Names of numerals
| die Vier die Tausend die Million | Vier Thousand Million |
⭐ Most fruits
| die Birne die Kirsche die Erdbeere | Pear Cherry Strawberry |
⭐ Nouns with the following endings are feminine:
| -a | die Villa | Villa |
| -anz | die Eleganz | Elegance |
| -ei | die Bücherei | Library |
| -enz | die Existenz | Existence |
| -heit | die Gesundheit | Health |
| -ie | die Biologie | Biology |
| -ik | die Panik | Panic |
| -in | die Lehrerin | (woman) Teacher |
| -keit | die Heiterkeit | Merriment |
| -schaft | die Botschaft | Message |
| -sion | die Explosion | Explosion |
| -sis | die Basis | Base |
| -tion | die Revolution | Revolution |
| -tät | die Universität | University |
| -ung | die Bedeutung | Meaning |
das (neutral)
Nouns with the following meanings are usually (There are also some exceptions.) neuter.
⭐ Young persons and animals
| das Baby das Kind das Lamm | Baby Child Lamb |
⭐ Chemical elements
| das Gold das Kobalt das Zinn | Gold Cobalt Zinc |
⭐ Scientific units
| das Ampere das Volt das Watt | Ampere Volt Watt |
⭐ Letters of the alphabet
| das A das B das Ypsilon | A B Y |
⭐ Names of hotels, cafés, restaurants and cinemas
| das „Hilton“ das „Roxy“ das „Kranzler“ |
⭐ Names of continents and countries
| das alte Bayern das gärende Afrika das zerstörte Frankfurt |
⭐ Nouns derived from verbs
| das Essen das Hören das Bellen | Meal Listening Barking |
⭐ Nouns with the following endings are neutral:
| -chen | das Mädchen | Girl |
| -icht | das Dickicht | Thicket |
| -il | das Ventil | Valve |
| -it | das Dynamit | Dynamite |
| -lein | das Büchlein | Booklet |
| -ma | das Schema | Scheme |
| -ment | das Appartement | Apartment |
| -tel | das Viertel | Quarter |
| -tum | das Eigentum | Property |
| -um | das Album | Album |
German Indefinite Articles: ein, eine
In German, there is one indefinite article, ein. However, it has two forms: ein and eine. “Ein” is used for masculine and neuter nouns, while “eine” is used for feminine nouns.
German indefinite article is “ein and eine”, which corresponds to the English “a, an”. The form of German indefinite articles also changes depending on the case, gender and plural of the noun in the sentence.
The declension of the indefinite articles is shown in Table 1.3:
| CASES | MASCULINE | FEMININE | NEUTRAL | PLURAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative (Nominativ) | ein | eine | ein | ✖️ |
| Accusative (Akkusativ) | einen | eine | ein | ✖️ |
| Dative (Dative) | einem | einer | einem | ✖️ |
| Genitive (Genitiv) | eines | einer | eines | ✖️ |
