Indefinite and Definite German Articles: Get To Know Der, Die, Das, and Ein

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German has three times the amount of definite articles English has, and each one takes on additional forms when declinated (similar to conjugation). If you have looked into German words before, you’ve probably noticed that all nouns have either der, die, or das as their article. This can seem confusing when learning the language as a native English speaker. But there is some method to the madness, and we’re here to help clarify the definite and indefinite Artikel (articles) in German, when and how to use them, and how to build your confidence when it comes to knowing if a word might need a der, die, or das.

What are the three definite German articles?

Definite articles—or bestimmte Artikel in German—are used when referring to a specific object or person. “The” is English’s singular definite article. It is neutral and used in a wide variety of contexts. 

German has three definite articles: der for masculine nouns, die for feminine nouns, and das for neutral nouns. 

• der Mann = The man
• die Frau = The woman
• das Kind = The child

For the above examples, it makes sense that the articles are “gendered,” as the nouns indicate a male, a female, and a gender-neutral description of children. However, as with many other Romance languages, every noun is assigned a gendered article that is unrelated to gender in the human sense. 

There isn’t a concrete reason as to why it’s der Kaffee (the coffee), die Limonade (the lemonade), or das Wasser (the water). Just as you’d do with French articles, you’ll simply need to learn to memorize them and learn a few tricks and rules for when a noun is considered masculine, feminine, or neutral.

How to know when to choose der, die, das

While it can seem quite random which German nouns use which article, there are some rules you can learn to train your intuition! 

Rules for der words

Der is always used to refer to males and masculine-designated nouns. This is also used for the common noun used for jobs when it’s used in a general sense rather than referring to a specific person. So “the father” is der Vater but “the doctor” is der Arzt unless we know it’s specifically a female doctor. Then it’s die Ärztin. But there are some other words that always use the masculine article.

• Words ending in –ling and -smus always use der
  • der Liebling = the darling
  • der Schmetterling = the butterfly
  • der Journalismus = the journalism
  • der Organismus = the organism
• Seasons, months, weekdays, and the times of day are always der (masculine) words
  • der Sommer = the summer
  • der Juni = the june
  • der Montag = the monday
  • der Abend = the evening
• All of the compass directions are masculine in German
  • der Norden = the north
  • der Osten = the east 
  • der Süden  = the south
  • der Westen = the west 

Rules for die words

Die is always used when referring to female people and their roles/jobs. All German job titles have female versions, similarly to how English has “actor” and “actress.” Die Ärztin is “the (female) doctor” and die Lehrerin is “the (female) teacher.” These female job descriptions always have the female article, but there are some rules for other feminine nouns as well. 

Die also is the definite article for all plural nouns, regardless of which Genus (grammatical gender) the word has in its singular form. Der Hund (the dog) becomes die Hunde (the dogs) in plural. Also this rule only applies to words where the -e follows a consonant.

• Words ending in -e are usually feminine
  • die Banane = The banana
  • die Wolke = The cloud
  • die Laterne = The lantern

Generally, this rule only applies to words where the -e follows a consonant. An exception to look out for with the -e rule is der Junge (the boy). This refers to a young man and uses the masculine article. 

• Words ending in -schaft always use die
  • die Mannschaft = the team
  • die Freundschaft = the friendship
  • die Bekanntschaft = the acquaintance 

• Words ending in -heit use the feminine die
  • die Gesundheit = the health
  • die Freiheit = the freedom
  • die Krankheit = the sickness

Rules for das words

Das is used for most things referring to children, in addition to many other neutral nouns. Das Kind (the child), das Kleinkind (the toddler), and das Baby (the baby) are all neutral as they refer to humans of undetermined gender. Here are a few other rules for when to use das with neutral German nouns.

• Words ending in -ment are always neutral in German
  • das Instrument = the instrument
  • das Dokument = the document
  • das Parlament  = the parliament

• Colors are always das-words in German
  • das Rot = the red
  • das Blau = the blue
  • das Schwarz = the black

• Verbs used as a noun always use das in German
  • das Fahren = the driving
  • das Gehen = the walking
  • das Kochen = the cooking

There are many more small rules like this to discover when it comes to articles in German. When you learn German with Rosetta Stone you’ll naturally pick up on little quirks like these thanks to our Dynamic Immersion method, which is designed to teach you languages the same way you learned your native language as a child—intuitively and by conversing in your new language from the very beginning.

Definite German articles and their declinations 

What differentiates German definite articles from English’s only definite article is that they get declinated based on the four German cases. In short, this means that their construction is changed depending on if the noun they are attached to is the subject, direct object, or indirect object of a sentence. Another way German articles can change is in the Genitiv (genitive) case which indicates possession.

Here’s a chart of the German definite articles and all their forms.

The nominative case is the standard case and used for the subject of a sentence. These are the basic articles you’ll use when you first pick up new words and phrases in German.

As for the other cases, they use the same definite articles and change their form accordingly. In English, you’ll often add a preposition to clarify the sentence or direct objects and use “the” to gather the meaning from context.

• Das Kind sieht den Hund. = The child sees the dog.
  • Das Kind is the subject and has the standard article
  • Der Hund is the direct object and changes to den

• Das Kind gibt dem Hund den Ball. = The child gives the ball to the dog.
  • Das Kind is the subject in this sentence
  • Der Ball is the direct object and uses den
  • Der Hund is the indirect object and has the article dem

• Der Hund spielt mit dem Ball des Kindes. = The dog plays with the child’s ball.
  • Der Hund is the subject here
  • Der Ball is the indirect object, giving it the article dem
  • Das Kind is who the ball belongs to, so it’s des in the genitive case

You don’t have to memorize each of these declensions at once. As you grow your German language skills, you’ll build upon each case and learn when to use different versions of articles. German can be easy to learn when you take it one step at a time.

Combining articles with prepositions

Definite articles in German are frequently combined with prepositions to form new words. These are often used in everyday speech. A lot of these words are formed with the masculine dative article dem but there are others as well. Here are some of the most common ones: 

• Am is a combination of an + dem and means “at the” for masculine/neutral nouns
  • Ich bin am Bahnhof. = I’m at the train station.

• Im is a combination of in + dem and means “in the” for masculine/neutral nouns
  • Ich bin im Haus. = I’m in the house.

• Ins is a combination of in + das and means “into the” for neutral nouns
  • Ich gehe ins Haus. = I’m going into the house.

• Vom is a combination of von + dem and means “from the” for masculine/neutral nouns
  • Ich komme vom Supermarkt. = I’m coming from the supermarket.

• Zur is a combination of zu + der and means “to the” for feminine nouns
  • Ich gehe zur Schule. = I’m going to (the) school

• Zum is a combination of zu + dem and means “to the” for masculine nouns
  • Ich gehe zum Bahnhof. = I’m going to (the) train station.

Bonus: what to know about indefinite articles in German

Similarly to their definite counterparts, German indefinite articles also change with the four German cases, depending on if they are attached to the subject, direct object, or indirect subject. They can also change if there’s possession indicated with the genitive case. 

The German indefinite article is ein, but the ending changes depending on the noun’s gender and the case. Here’s a chart of all the forms German indefinite articles can take. 

If you have looked into German pronouns before, you’ll notice that these are very similar to the German possessive pronouns mein (my), dein (yours), and sein (his/its) and follow the same declination rules.

• Eine Frau gibt einem Kind ein Eis. = A woman gives a child an ice cream treat
  • Die Frau is the subject and has the nominative article eine
  • Das Kind is neutral, is the indirect object, and uses the article einem
  • Das Eis (the ice or ice cream) is the direct object. Since the accusative form of a neutral noun is the same as the nominative form, the article is still ein.

• Das Bellen einiger Hunde stört einen Mann = The barking of some dogs bothers a man.
  • Das Bellen is a neutral, definite noun and the subject so it uses das 
  • Die Hunde are not defined. They are just any dogs and the barking belongs to them. Put them into the genitive case with the indefinite article einiger
  • Der Mann is masculine, indefinite, and the direct object of this sentence. So he has the article einen

• Wir feiern den Geburtstag eines Freundes. = We are celebrating the birthday of a friend.
  • Wir (us) is the subject of this sentence
  • Der Geburtstag is the direct object, changing the definite article to den
  • Der Freund is the person the birthday “belongs” to. As this friend is masculine, singular, and indefinite, it has the article eines and gets the ending -es as is common for masculine and neutral nouns in their genitive form

Master the German articles in all their forms with Rosetta Stone

As with any skill, learning German is best mastered by regularly immersing yourself in the subject matter. Rosetta Stone offers a wide array of engaging and interesting features to gradually train your abilities in your target language. With steady training you’ll soon develop an intuitive feeling for German articles, both definite and indefinite. 

The Rosetta Stone App is much more than a tool for quick exercises. Learn about the culture surrounding the language you’re learning, participate in live lessons, or listen to stories tailored to your skill level in this all-in-one language-learning companion for all types of learners.