German Articles!

The Basics
• All German Nouns are Capitalized!

• There are 3 articles in German.

• These articles are:

– 1. der
– 2. die
– 3. das
• When you learn a German Noun, you must also
learn the article.

• der Hund = the dog

• die Katze = the cat
• das Kind = the child

• die Eltern = the parents

– “The parents” is plural.
 DER
• Der is considered masculine.

• Here are some helpful hints to know if the

article of the Noun is masculine or not.

• The following are always masculine.

 DER
• Days, Months, Seasons:
– Montag, Juli, Sommer

• Points of the Compass, Map locations and

Winds:
– Nordwest, Föhn

• Precipitation:
– Regen, Schnee, Nebel
 DER
• Names of Cars and Trains:
– VW, ICE, Mercedes

• Words ending in -ismus:

– Journalismus, Kommunismus, Synchronismus
– (-ismus in German = -ism in English)

• Words ending in -ner:

– Rentner, Schaffner, Zöllner
 DER
• The basic Atmospheric elements that end in
“-stoff.”

– Sauerstoff - Oxygen

– Stickstoff - Nitrogen
 DER
• The following are usually masculine.

• Agents (people who do something), most

Occupations and Nationalities:

– Architekt, Arzt, Deutsche, Student

 DER
• Nouns ending in -er (when referring to
people):
– Fahrer, Verkäufer

• Names of Alcoholic Drinks:

– Wein, Wodka

• Names of Mountains and Lakes:

– Berg, See
 DER
• Most Rivers outside of Europe:
– Amazonas, Kongo, Mississippi

• Most Nouns ending in -ich, -ling and -ist:

– Rettich, Schädling, Pazifist
 DIE
• Die is considered feminine.

• Here are some helpful hints to know if the

article of the Noun is feminine or not.

• The following are always feminine.

 DIE
• Nouns ending in the following suffixes -heit,
-keit, -tät, -ung and -schaft:
– Freiheit, Schnelligkeit, Universität, Zeitung,
Freundschaft

• Nouns ending in -ie:

– Drogerie, Geographie, Industrie
– (-ie in German = -y in English)
 DIE
• Names of Aircraft, Ships and Motorbikes:
– Boeing 747, Titanic, BMW
– (BMW is for the Motorcycle only)
– (In English, ships are often referred to as “she.”)

• Nouns ending in -ik:

– Grammatik, Grafik, Klinik, Musik, Panik, Physik
 DIE
• Borrowed (Foreign) Nouns ending in -ade,
-age, -anz, -enz, -ette, -ine, -ion and -tur:
– Parade, Blamage (shame), Distanz, Frequenz,
Serviette, Nation, Konjunktur (economic trend)

• Cardinal Numbers:
– Eins, Drei
 DIE
• The following are usually feminine.

• Nouns ending in -in:

– Amerikanerin, Studentin
– (usually pertain to female people, occupations
nationalities)

• Most Nouns ending in -e:

– Ecke, Ente, Grenze, Pistole
 DIE
• Most Nouns ending in -ei:
– Partei

• Most types of Flowers and Trees:

– Birke, Chrysanthememe, Eiche, Rose

• Borrowed (Foreign) Nouns ending in -isse, -itis

and -ive:
– Hornisse, Initiative
 DAS
• Das is considered neuter.

• Here are some helpful hints to know if the

article of the Noun is neuter or not.

• The following are always neuter.

 DAS
• Nouns ending in -chen or -lein:
– Fräulein, Kannichen, Mädchen

• Infinitives used as nouns (Gerunds):

– Essen, Schreiben

• Almost all of the 112 known Chemical

Elements:
– Aluminium, Zink, Zirkonium
 DAS
• Names of Hotels, Cafes and Theaters:
– Hotel, Café, Kino

• Names of Colors used as Nouns:

– Blau, Rot
 DAS
• The following are usually neuter.

• Geographic place names (Towns, Countries,

Continents):
– Berlin, Deutschland, Brasilien, Afrika

• Young Animals and People:

– Baby, Kücken
 DAS
• Most Metals:
– Aluminium, Kupfer

• Nouns ending in -o:

– Auto, Büro, Kasino, Konto, Radio, Veto, Video

• Fractions:
– Viertel, Drittel
 DAS
• Most Nouns starting with -Ge:
– Geschirr, Geschlecht, Gesetz

• Most Borrowed (Foreign) Nouns ending in

-ment:
– Ressentiment, Supplement
 DAS
• Most Nouns ending in -nis:
– Versäumnis

• Most Nouns ending in -tum or -um:

– Christentum, Königtum
 Plural Die
• Any Noun in German that is Plural uses the article
die.

• der Stuhl: die Stühle

• die Dame: die Damen
• das Jahr: die Jahre

• No matter the original article, if the Noun is

plural, the article will always be die.
 Sources
• www.german.about.com