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A1Definite article and gender

Die Frau sieht den Mann.

The woman sees the man.

EXPLANATION

Learn nouns together with their article, because the article shows the gender. For plural nouns, remember one simple form: always die.

In German, every noun has a gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. In the nominative, the definite articles are der, die, and das; in the plural, the nominative article is always die.

STRUCTURE

Nominativ + definite article: masculine der, feminine die, neuter das

Use this form for the subject of the sentence.

Der Mann wartet am Bahnhof.The man is waiting at the station.
Die Frau arbeitet heute.The woman is working today.
Das Kind schläft schon.The child is already sleeping.

Plural + nominative definite article: always die

The plural article does not change by gender.

Die Bücher sind neu.The books are new.
Die Kinder spielen draußen.The children are playing outside.
Die Autos stehen vor dem Haus.The cars are standing in front of the house.

Gender cues in nouns: -ung → die, -chen/-lein → das, days/months/seasons and male persons → usually der

These cues are helpful, but you should still learn each noun with its article.

Die Wohnung ist klein.The apartment is small.
Das Mädchen liest.The girl is reading.
Der Montag ist frei.Monday is free.

OVERVIEW

Definite articles in the nominative

Gender / number	Definite article	Example
masculine	der	der Mann
feminine	die	die Frau
neuter	das	das Kind
plural	die	die Kinder

COMMON MISTAKES

Die Mann ist müde.
Der Mann ist müde.
Mann is masculine, so the nominative article is der.
Der Kind spielt.
Das Kind spielt.
Kind is neuter, so we need das.
Das Kinder kommen heute.
Die Kinder kommen heute.
Plural nouns take die in the nominative, even if the singular article is der, die, or das.
Das Haustür ist offen.
Die Haustür ist offen.
In compound nouns, the last part decides the gender. Tür is feminine, so the whole compound is feminine.

USAGE NOTES

Write nouns with a capital letter: der Tisch, die Stadt, das Zimmer. This helps you recognise nouns quickly.
Some endings are reliable gender clues: -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät are usually feminine; -chen and -lein are neuter.
Male people are usually masculine: der Vater, der Arzt, der Schüler. But job words can still be learned with the article, because not every noun follows a simple rule.
Months, days, and seasons are usually masculine: der Januar, der Montag, der Winter.

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