One English the, three German ones
English says the for every noun. German splits that one word into three: der, die and das. Every noun has its own gender, so the article is part of the noun, like its spelling.
The articles, once each
der Mann
the man
die Frau
the woman
das Kind
the child
die Kinder
the children
The forms
German has a definite article (the) and an indefinite article (a, an), just like English. These are the forms for the subject of a sentence.
Definite and indefinite article
| Gender | the | a / an | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | der | ein | der Tisch, ein Tisch |
| feminine | die | eine | die Lampe, eine Lampe |
| neuter | das | ein | das Buch, ein Buch |
| plural | die | no article | die Bücher, Bücher |
Masculine and neuter share ein, so ein Tisch and ein Buch look alike. The plural has no indefinite article, just as English has no plural of a: Books are expensive is Bücher sind teuer.
How do you know which one?
For people, the gender usually matches the sex: der Mann, die Frau. For things it is arbitrary: der Löffel (spoon), die Gabel (fork) and das Messer (knife) have nothing in common. What helps is the shape of the word: some endings and groups fix the gender.
Hints that give the gender away
| Article | Hint | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| der | days, months, seasons; -er for male people | der Montag, der Juli, der Sommer, der Lehrer |
| die | -ung, -heit, -keit, -in for female people; most nouns in -e | die Wohnung, die Gesundheit, die Lehrerin, die Lampe |
| das | -chen; verbs used as nouns | das Mädchen, das Brötchen, das Essen, das Leben |
The ending beats the meaning: das Mädchen (the girl) is neuter because of -chen.
In everyday sentences
Die Rechnung, bitte.
The bill, please.
Wo ist der Schlüssel?
Where is the key?
Mach bitte das Fenster zu.
Please close the window.
Ich habe eine Frage.
I have a question.
