Der, die, das and ein, eine

Why do different words appear before nouns?

Take a look

Der Hund ist groß.The dog is big.
Die Katze schläft.The cat is sleeping.
Das Kind spielt.The child is playing.
Ein Mann liest ein Buch.A man is reading a book.
Eine Frau trinkt Kaffee.A woman is drinking coffee.

The rule

A German noun often has an article before it. Learn each noun with its basic article: der Tisch, die Suppe, das Haus. For a specific thing, use der, die or das. For a thing you have not identified yet, use ein or eine: ein Tisch, eine Suppe, ein Haus. Articles can change elsewhere in a sentence; this table gives the basic form.

Remember: Learn each noun together with its article.

Goes with lesson 3, 4, 10 of the course.

What differs for you

English uses a and the before nouns, so the purpose of an article is familiar. English articles do not tell you whether a noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. German makes you learn that choice with each noun: “der Tisch”, “die Suppe”, “das Haus”. The gender belongs to the German word, not to the object it names.

The forms

Articles in the basic form

Nomen	bestimmt	unbestimmt
Tisch	der	ein
Suppe	die	eine
Haus	das	ein

Common mistakes

*der Suppe → die Suppe.
*eine Haus → ein Haus.

Quick check

___ Tisch ist braun.
Choose the correct article.
1. Der
2. Die
3. Das
4. Ein
Answer
Der — Tisch is masculine
___ Blume ist schön.
Choose the correct article.
1. Der
2. Die
3. Das
4. Ein
Answer
Die — Blume is feminine
___ Auto ist neu.
Insert the correct article.
Answer
Das — Auto is neuter
___ Zeitung liegt auf dem Tisch.
Choose the correct article.
1. Der
2. Die
3. Das
4. Eine
Answer
Die — Zeitung is feminine (-ung)
___ Mädchen lacht. (definite article)
Insert the correct article.
Answer
Das — Nouns ending in -chen are neuter
Der Lampe ist kaputt.
Correct the mistake in the sentence.
Answer
Die Lampe ist kaputt. — Lampe is feminine
Welches Nomen hat den Artikel 'der'?
Which noun is masculine?
1. Lampe
2. Stuhl
3. Buch
4. Blume
Answer
Stuhl — A piece of furniture for sitting

The same exercises come back in the course — there Langula remembers what you know and asks again at the right moment. Learn German free →

Terms

Article: A short word before a name for a thing: the dog, a dog.
Definite article: A word before a particular thing: the dog, the cat, the house.
Indefinite article: A word before a thing not yet identified: a dog, a cat.
Grammatical gender: German nouns belong to one of three groups: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Haus.

AfterNouns, verbs and adjectives

Word classes

Plural nouns A1What changes in “Brüder” and “Kinder”?→Personal pronouns A1Personal pronouns replace nouns and indicate the person.→Adjective endings A2Why “einen roten Mantel” but “eine freundliche Person”?→Groß, größer, am größten A2What does “am liebsten” mean compared with “gern”?→Mein, dein, sein: whose is it? A2Whose passport does “Ihren Reisepass” refer to?→Nominalization B2Nominalization means turning verbs or adjectives into nouns.→

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