Artikel (Articles)
English uses the same articles, the and a, with every noun. German articles change with the gender of the noun: der, die, das and ein, eine, ein. Because the gender of a noun cannot always be guessed, every noun is best learned together with its article.
Definite articles: der, die, das
der is used with masculine nouns, die with feminine nouns and das with neuter nouns. In the plural, all three genders use die.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Tisch | die Lampe | das Buch | die Tische |
| der Mann | die Frau | das Kind | die Frauen |
| der Computer | die Tasche | das Auto | die Autos |
Der Tisch ist neu.The table is new.
Die Frau heißt Anna.The woman's name is Anna.
Das Kind spielt im Garten.The child is playing in the garden.
Learn the article with the noun
Learn der Tisch, not just Tisch. Many learners write masculine nouns in blue, feminine nouns in red and neuter nouns in green on their flashcards. The gender also tells you which pronoun replaces the noun, and it often helps with the plural. Some useful patterns are on the page about noun gender.
Indefinite articles: ein, eine
ein is used with masculine and neuter nouns, eine with feminine nouns. There is no indefinite article in the plural, just as English says books, not a books.
Das ist ein Tisch.This is a table.
Das ist eine Lampe.This is a lamp.
Das ist ein Buch.This is a book.
Das sind Bücher.These are books.
In Das ist … and Das sind …, the word das is not an article. It means this or that and stays the same for every gender; only the verb changes for the plural.
Articles also change with the case of the noun. In the accusative, the direct object, only the masculine forms change: der becomes den and ein becomes einen. Ich sehe den Mann. (I see the man.) Ich habe einen Bruder. (I have a brother.)
kein: the negative article
kein (no, not a, not any) works like ein: kein with masculine and neuter nouns, keine with feminine nouns and in the plural.
Das ist kein Problem.That's no problem.
Ich habe keine Zeit.I don't have any time.
Wir haben keine Kinder.We don't have any children.
Common mistake
Ich habe nicht ein Auto. is wrong; correct: Ich habe kein Auto.
English says "I don't have a car", but German replaces ein with kein. A noun that would have ein or no article at all is negated with kein.
When the noun has a definite article or a possessive such as mein, nicht is used instead: Das ist nicht mein Auto. (That isn't my car.) Ich finde den Schlüssel nicht. (I can't find the key.)
No article with jobs and nationalities
After sein and werden, German uses no article with professions, nationalities and religions, where English needs a or an. The same applies after als (as): Er arbeitet als Koch. (He works as a cook.)
Ich bin Lehrerin.I'm a teacher.
Sie ist Engländerin.She's English.
Er ist Katholik.He's a Catholic.
With an adjective, the article comes back: Sie ist eine gute Lehrerin. (She is a good teacher.)
Common mistake
Ich bin ein Student. is wrong; correct: Ich bin Student.
With a profession or role after sein, German leaves out the article that English needs (I am a student). Note that Student means a university student; a pupil at school is a Schüler or Schülerin.
Check yourself
Written by: Fatih Ün, German teacher · Last updated: