TOPIC · Articles & pronouns

How to distinguish Der, Die, Das in German

After this lesson you can often choose the correct article der, die or das by using common endings and word groups.

This lesson focuses on the definite articles der, die and das in Nominativ Singular. You will learn typical word endings, important groups of nouns and some easy memory tricks so you can use common nouns with the correct article.

1What do der, die, das show?

der = masculine gender (Maskulinum)
die = feminine gender (Femininum)
das = neuter gender (Neutrum)

In the plural, the definite article is always die: die Bücher, die Autos, die Kinder.

The article belongs to the noun; it is best to learn nouns with their article: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Fenster.

2Typical endings for der (Maskulinum)

Many nouns with these endings are masculine and take der:

Ending	Example	Meaning
-er	der Lehrer	person, often a job
-ismus	der Tourismus	often abstract idea
-ant	der Elefant	often person or animal
-ent	der Student	often person
-or	der Motor	often device or abstract term

Other important groups with der:

almost all days of the week, months, seasons: der Montag, der Januar, der Sommer
many male people and animals: der Mann, der Vater, der Hund, der Löwe

Memory phrase: "Tage, Monate, Jahreszeiten – meistens der."

3Typical endings for die (Femininum)

Many nouns with these endings are feminine and take die:

Ending	Example	Meaning
-ung	die Zeitung	often action/result
-ion	die Nation	often abstract idea
-schaft	die Freundschaft	state/group
-heit	die Freiheit	quality/state
-keit	die Möglichkeit	quality/state

Other important groups with die:

many female people and professions: die Frau, die Mutter, die Ärztin, die Lehrerin
names of numbers used as nouns: die Eins, die Zwei

Memory phrase: "-ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion – fast immer die."

4Typical endings for das (Neutrum)

Many nouns with these endings are neuter and take das:

Ending	Example	Meaning
-ment	das Instrument	mostly thing
-ing	das Training	activity/process
-chen	das Mädchen	diminutive form
-lein	das Fräulein	diminutive form

Other important groups with das:

substantivierte Infinitive (infinitives used as nouns): das Essen, das Trinken, das Lesen
many colours used as nouns: das Blau, das Grün, das Rot

Memory phrase: "-chen, -lein – immer das."

5Plural with die

In the plural, the definite article is always die, no matter what the gender in the singular is:

der Tisch → die Tische
die Lampe → die Lampen
das Kind → die Kinder

6Learning in practice

Even with these ending rules, there are many exceptions: die Butter, das Auto, der Name, etc. So always learn each new word together with its article and, ideally, with its plural:

der Tisch, die Tische
die Lampe, die Lampen
das Kind, die Kinder

Then you can quickly build simple, correct sentences:

Der Lehrer ist nett. (The teacher is nice.)
Die Zeitung ist interessant. (The newspaper is interesting.)
Das Mädchen spielt. (The girl is playing.)