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German Articles with 6 Easy to Remember Tables

Articles are the most commonly used words in all the languages. If you are a beginner, German articles can be a bit confusing.

You may find it difficult to remember the correct German articles all the time. But, don’t worry! We have simplified the learning process for you.

What is an Article?

Before we start learning the German articles, let’s revise a little about English articles. Nouns are preceded by either definite or indefinite articles. ‘The‘ is a definite article. ‘The’ is used to talk about a specific thing. For example, I want the pen. ‘A‘ or ‘An‘ are indefinite articles. They are used to talk about general things or places. For example, I want an apple. / I want to visit a museum.

In English, the articles remain the same, irrespective of the gender of the noun. However, German articles change according to the gender of the noun. German nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter. Accordingly, the articles are as follows:-

  • Masculine – der
  • Feminine – die
  • Neuter – das

There is no logical rule to guess the gender. So, it is important to always learn the nouns with their articles.

German Articles-Learn-All-About-Deutsch

Do you want to know an easier way to remember the German articles? There are a lot of noun endings which always have the same gender. For example, nouns ending in -ung are feminine, whereas nouns ending in -ling are masculine. Isn’t that great!

Study the tables below for details-

Masculine Article “der”

Noun endingExample
-lingder Frühling (spring)
der Neuling (newcomer)
-ismusder Tourismus (tourism)
der Optimismus (optimism)
-erder Fahrer (driver)
der Körper (body)
-istder Journalist (journalist)
der Polizist (policeman)
-ichder Bereich (region)
der Teppich (carpet)
-antder Laborant (lab worker)
der Diamant (diamond)

Feminine Article “die”

Noun endingExample
-ungdie Abdeckung (cover)
die Bildung (education)
-keitdie Möglichkeit (possibility)
die Tätigkeit (activity)
-heitdie Einheit (unity)
die Gewohnheit (habit)
-iondie Position (position)
die Kommission (commission)
-indie Bäckerin (baker)
die Dichterin (poetess)
-tätdie Identität (identity)
die Qualität (quality)
-schaftdie Mannschaft (team)
die Landschaft (landscape)
-enzdie Effizienz (efficiency)
die Konferenz (conference)
-iedie Anatomie (anatomy)
die Biologie (biology)

Neuter Article “das”

Noun endingExample
-chendas Hähnchen (chicken)
das Bäumchen (little tree)
-leindas Fräulein (young lady)
das Büchlein (booklet)
-mentdas Apartment (flat)
das Parlament (parliament)
-umdas Studium (degree course)
das Datum (date)
-nisdas Ergebnis (result)
das Zeugnis (certificate)

Do not forget, there are always a few exceptions! For example- die Kenntnis (knowledge), das Restaurant (restaurant) etc.

German articles are divided into 3 categories:-

  • Definite articles (der, die, das)
  • Indefinite article (ein)
  • Indefinite Negative article (kein)
German Articles-Grammar-All-About-Deutsch

Now, let’s learn how these articles change according to the case (Nominative, Accusative, Dative or Genitive) and number (singular or plural). It is called as ‘Artikel Deklination’ in German.

Definite German Articles

These are known as Bestimmte Artikel in German. They are equivalent to English ‘The’. Their declension is as follows-

Mask.Fem.Neut.Plural
Nominativ der die das die
Akkusativ den die das die
Dativ dem der dem den + n
Genitiv des + s/es der des + s/es der
  • Der Balkon des Wohnzimmers ist groß. (The balcony of the living room is large.)
  • Wir erzählen den Kindern die Geschichte. (We are telling the children the story.)

Indefinite German Articles

These are known as Unbestimmte Artikel in German. Ein is equivalent to English ‘A / An’. Hence, it is always used only with singular nouns and never with plurals. The declension is as follows-

Mask.Fem.Neut. Plural
Nominativein eineein
Akkusativeineneineein
Dativeinem einereinem
Genitiv eines + s/es einer eines + s/es
  • Die Wohnung hat eine Küche. (The apartment has a kitchen.)
  • Das ist ein Kuli. (That is a pen.)

Indefinite Negative Articles

These are known as Unbestimmte Negativartikel in German. There are no negative articles in English. We use the word ‘not’ to indicate negation in a sentence. For example, I do not like apples. But, in German language, we use the article ‘kein’ to indicate negation. For example, Ich mag keine Äpfel. It is used to negate only nouns, not verbs. The declension is as follows-

Mask.Fem.Neut.Plural
Nominativkeinkeinekeinkeine
Akkusativkeinenkeinekeinkeine
Dativkeinemkeinerkeinemkeinen + n
Genitivkeines + s/eskeinerkeines + s/eskeiner
  • Das Haus hat keinen Balkon. (The house does not have a balcony.)
  • Ich habe kein Auto. (I do not have a car.)

German Grammar Exercises

Do you want to practice what you learned in this lesson? Take this quiz to test your knowledge of German Articles.


If you enjoyed learning this lesson, also check out the topic German Pronouns on your favorite blog “All About Deutsch”.

Want to learn more about German Articles? Have a look at this tutorial on Rocket Languages.

PS – On this blog, you will find grammar lessons just like this one, vocabulary lists divided subject-wise as well as articles related to countries like Germany, Austria and Switzerland and a lot more. Keep scrolling, keep learning!

This Post Has One Comment

  1. ปั้มไลค์

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