Gender and definite articles
Learn nouns together with der, die, or das.
The rule
Learn each noun with its article: der, die or das. Capitalise German nouns. Gender is part of the word; it does not always follow meaning.
masculine: der · feminine: die · neuter: das · plural: die
German nouns always begin with a capital letter. Store each noun as a complete unit: der Tisch, die Wohnung, das Fenster—not as an English meaning with the article added later.
Grammatical gender is not the same as biological sex. Objects and abstract ideas also have gender, and nouns for people can follow word-form rules: das Mädchen is neuter because the suffix -chen always creates a neuter noun.
Some suffixes are reliable. -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, and -tät strongly signal feminine gender; -chen and -lein are neuter. Days, months, seasons, and many male-person nouns are masculine.
The four article categories
| Category | Article | Example | Pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | der | der Tisch | er |
| feminine | die | die Lampe | sie |
| neuter | das | das Fenster | es |
| plural | die | die Fenster | sie |
Reliable gender suffixes
| Gender | Common suffixes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| feminine | -ung, -heit, -keit | die Wohnung · die Freiheit · die Möglichkeit |
| feminine | -schaft, -ion, -tät | die Freundschaft · die Information · die Universität |
| neuter | -chen, -lein | das Mädchen · das Brötchen · das Büchlein |
| masculine | days, months, seasons | der Montag · der Januar · der Sommer |
| neuter | nominalised infinitives | das Essen · das Lesen · das Lernen |
Article–noun–plural learning cards
| Article + noun | Plural | English | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Tisch | die Tische | table | masculine |
| die Wohnung | die Wohnungen | apartment | -ung feminine |
| das Buch | die Bücher | book | neuter; umlaut plural |
| das Mädchen | die Mädchen | girl | -chen neuter |
German examples with English meanings
der Tisch
the table
masculine
die Wohnung
the apartment
-ung → usually feminine
das Mädchen
the girl
-chen → neuter
die Bücher
the books
all plurals use die in the nominative
der Tisch – die Tische
the table – the tables
die Hand – die Hände
the hand – the hands
das Kind – die Kinder
the child – the children
die Zeitung · die Rechnung · die Übung
-ung nouns are feminine
das Häuschen · das Kätzchen
-chen nouns are neuter
der Sommer · der Winter
seasons are masculine
Der Computer ist neu. Er ist schnell.
The computer is new. It is fast.
Die Tasche ist groß. Sie ist schwer.
The bag is large. It is heavy.
Das Handy ist hier. Es ist alt.
The phone is here. It is old.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Tisch ist neu.
Correct: Der Tisch ist neu.
A specific singular noun normally needs its article.
Incorrect: die Mädchen
Correct: das Mädchen
Grammatical gender follows the word form; -chen nouns are neuter.
Details and useful distinctions
Patterns reduce memorisation, but they do not replace a dictionary. When a word has no reliable clue, verify its gender and practise the article and noun aloud as one rhythmic chunk.
The forms der, die, and das shown here are nominative. Articles later change with case, but the noun's underlying gender does not: der Tisch can become den Tisch, while Tisch remains masculine.
Gender also determines the pronoun that replaces a singular noun: der Tisch → er, die Lampe → sie, das Buch → es. Plural nouns use sie regardless of their singular genders.
Gender cannot always be recovered from meaning, so a bare noun is incomplete learning data. If you memorise Tisch alone, every later article, pronoun, and adjective requires a guess. If you memorise der Tisch, the masculine category is available immediately.
Add the plural at the same time because plural formation is also partly unpredictable: der Tisch – die Tische; das Buch – die Bücher. One compact card solves two future problems.
A strong suffix is more useful than a vague meaning rule. -ung is dependable in die Rechnung and die Übung, while an object's size, shape, or material tells you nothing reliable about its gender.
Treat weaker patterns as memory support rather than laws. When uncertain, check a dictionary that shows the article and plural, then record the complete noun phrase.
German pronouns follow grammatical gender when they replace things. A lamp becomes sie because Lampe is feminine; a phone becomes es because Handy is neuter. This is grammar, not personification.
Plural reference is simpler: all plural nouns use sie. Read article–noun–pronoun chains aloud to connect vocabulary and sentence building.
Practise this grammar
Store every noun as article + noun + plural: der Tisch – die Tische. Say the complete chunk aloud so gender is recalled automatically, not calculated later.
Open Gender and definite articles exercises →
For source references and editorial level notes, see the grammar reference. You can report a correction if an explanation or example seems wrong.