German grammar · Beginner (A1)
Articles and gender: der, die, das
Every German noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. Learn der, die, das and ein, eine, and some tips for guessing the gender.
Three genders
Every German noun has a gender: masculine, feminine or neuter. The gender decides which word you use for “the” and “a”. These little words are called articles.
“The” is (masculine), (feminine) or (neuter). “A” is for masculine and neuter nouns and for feminine nouns. In the plural, “the” is for every gender.
German nouns are always written with a capital letter: , , .
| Gender | the | a | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | (the table) | ||
| feminine | (the lamp) | ||
| neuter | (the book) | ||
| plural | (no word for “a”) | (the books) |
- der Mannthe man
- die Frauthe woman
- das Kindthe child
- ein Kaffee und eine Tasse Teea coffee and a cup of tea
Gender is about the word, not the thing
Grammatical gender doesn't always match real life. A table is masculine, a lamp is feminine, and (the girl) is neuter because the ending -chen (which makes a noun “small”) always makes it neuter.
The best habit: always learn a noun together with its article. Learn , not just . Some learners use colours on their flashcards, for example blue for , red for and green for .
- das Mädchenthe girl
- der Löffelthe spoon
- die Gabelthe fork
- das Messerthe knife
Tips for guessing the gender
Many nouns give you a clue in their ending or meaning. These patterns work most of the time, but there are exceptions, so check new words in a dictionary.
| Clue | Usually | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ends in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät | feminine | |
| ends in -e | feminine (most) | (but ) |
| female person ending in -in | feminine | |
| small-size ending -chen or -lein | neuter (always) | ( is not a small-size word) |
| ends in -ment or -um | neuter | |
| male person or job ending in -er | masculine | |
| ends in -ismus or -ling | masculine | |
| days, months, seasons | masculine |
Compound nouns
German often puts two or more nouns together to make one long word. The last part decides the gender of the whole word.
- das Haus + die Tür = die Haustürthe house + the door = the front door
- die Kartoffel + der Salat = der Kartoffelsalatthe potato + the salad = the potato salad
- der Geburtstag + das Geschenk = das Geburtstagsgeschenkthe birthday + the present = the birthday present