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German Nouns, Gender and Articles
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Why every German noun is der, die or das, how to guess the gender, and the plural patterns that cover most words.
Three genders, no escape
Every German noun has a gender — masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das) — and the gender is a property of the word, not the thing. A girl is das Mädchen (neuter), a turnip is die Rübe (feminine). There is no way around memorising gender with each noun: learn der Tisch (the table), not just Tisch. Dictionaries always list it.
Guessing rules that usually work
Some endings are reliable clues. Words ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät are almost always feminine (die Zeitung, the newspaper). Words ending in -chen and -lein (diminutives) are always neuter (das Mädchen, the girl). Most words ending in -er that describe people doing something are masculine (der Lehrer, the teacher). Days, months, seasons, compass directions and most car makes are masculine; most flowers, trees and numbers are feminine.
Definite and indefinite articles
The definite article (the) is der / die / das; the indefinite article (a, an) is ein (masculine and neuter) and eine (feminine): ein Mann (a man), eine Frau (a woman), ein Kind (a child). German has no indefinite article in the plural — Kinder alone means "children" or "some children" depending on context. Professions and nationalities after sein (to be) also drop the article: Ich bin Lehrer (I am a teacher).
Plurals: five patterns
German plurals look chaotic but follow five main patterns: add -e (der Tag → die Tage, days), add -er often with an umlaut (das Kind → die Kinder), add -(e)n — the commonest feminine pattern (die Frau → die Frauen), add -s — mostly foreign words (das Auto → die Autos), or change nothing (der Lehrer → die Lehrer). All plurals take die as their definite article, whatever the singular gender.
| Article | Use |
|---|---|
| der | the — masculine singular (der Mann) |
| die | the — feminine singular AND all plurals |
| das | the — neuter singular (das Kind) |
| ein | a — masculine and neuter (ein Tag, ein Auto) |
| eine | a — feminine (eine Frau) |
| kein / keine | no, not a — the negative article |