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Der, die oder das? Der, die or das?

Der, Die or Das? The Rules

In German every noun has its article, and the article belongs to the word. A few rules and good habits help a lot.

Play: Der, Die or Das?

20 nouns, 60 seconds. Pick the article: how many do you get right?

How to Remember Them

Habits that work:
  • Learn every noun with its article and its plural: der Schlüssel, die Schlüssel.
  • Look at the ending: many endings tell the article (below).
  • A compound noun takes the article of its last word: das Haus + die Tür = die Haustür.
  • In the plural the article is the same for all three: die Schlüssel, die Türen, die Häuser (in the nominative).

Endings That Tell the Article

These endings almost always give the same article. There are a few exceptions, so learn the article with the word anyway.

The Articles in the Four Cases

The article changes with the case. The German question helps to find the case; the second line is the indefinite article (a, an).

Case der masculine die feminine das neuter Plural
Nominative wer? was? der ein die eine das ein die –
Accusative wen? was? den einen die eine das ein die –
Dative wem? dem einem der einer dem einem den –
Genitive wessen? des eines der einer des eines der –

1,771 nouns of the dictionary, A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Z

Learn every word with its article, in spaced repetition with Otti. Free.