LinguaEvery noun has a gender
Every German noun belongs to one of three genders, and the article shows which: der for masculine, die for feminine, das for neuter. The gender is grammar, not meaning: a table is masculine (der Tisch), a lamp feminine (die Lampe), a book neuter (das Buch), and nothing about a table is male. That is why a German noun is never learned alone – you learn der Tisch, not just Tisch, exactly the way the word cards show it. Two more habits of German spelling help you spot nouns: every noun starts with a capital letter, wherever it stands in the sentence, and the article comes right before it.
| der (masculine) | die (feminine) | das (neuter) |
|---|---|---|
| der Tisch | die Tasche | das Buch |
| der Stuhl | die Zeitung | das Heft |
| der Kuli | die Lampe | das Handy |
| der Rucksack | die Übung | das Mädchen |
Die Tasche ist neu, und das Buch ist alt.The bag is new, and the book is old.
Endings that give the gender away
Most nouns simply have to be learned with their article, but some endings are reliable. Nouns ending in -ung, -heit and -keit are always die: die Zeitung, die Übung, die Freiheit (freedom), die Möglichkeit (possibility). Nouns ending in -chen are always das – even das Mädchen, the girl, because -chen makes a word small and small things are neuter. Many nouns ending in -e are die (die Tasche, die Lampe), but not all: der Name is an exception you already know.
| Ending | Article | Example | How sure? |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ung | die | die Zeitung | always |
| -heit | die | die Freiheit | always |
| -keit | die | die Möglichkeit | always |
| -chen | das | das Mädchen | always |
| -e | die | die Tasche | often, not always |
er, sie, es: the pronoun follows the gender
When you replace a noun with a pronoun, the gender decides – even for things. A der-noun becomes er, a die-noun becomes sie, a das-noun becomes es: Der Tisch? Er ist neu. Die Tasche? Sie ist alt. Das Handy? Es ist neu. In English all three would be “it”, which is exactly why the article matters so much. For das Mädchen grammar asks for es; in everyday speech many people say sie once they call the girl by her name.
Wo ist der Kuli? – Er ist hier.Where is the pen? – It’s here.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| der Stuhl | chair | Der Stuhl ist bequem. The chair is comfortable. |
| der Kuli | pen (ballpoint) | Hast du einen Kuli? Do you have a pen? |
| der Rucksack | backpack, rucksack | Der Rucksack ist schwer. The backpack is heavy. |
| die Tasche | bag | Meine Tasche ist rot. My bag is red. |
| die Zeitung | newspaper | Die Zeitung ist von heute. The newspaper is from today. |
| die Übung | exercise (task) | Die Übung ist leicht. The exercise is easy. |
| das Handy | mobile phone, cell phone | Mein Handy ist kaputt. My phone is broken. |
| das Heft | exercise book, notebook | Das Heft ist leer. The notebook is empty. |
| das Mädchen | girl | Das Mädchen heißt Mia. The girl is called Mia. |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 3
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which article goes with Zeitung?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.