Der, Die, Das in German
Know what der, die and das signal, use die for every plural, and choose er, sie or es for things.
English has one word for 'the'. German has three in the singular: der for masculine nouns, die for feminine nouns and das for neuter nouns.
The gender belongs to the word, not to the thing, so a table can be masculine and a girl can be neuter.
Three genders, three articles
Each noun has a fixed gender, shown by its article. In the plural the difference disappears and every noun takes die.
'The' in the nominative
- Masculineder Tisch
- Femininedie Lampe
- Neuterdas Bett
- Pluraldie Tischeall genders
Der Tisch ist neu.
The table is new.
Die Lampe ist kaputt.
The lamp is broken.
Das Bett ist sehr bequem.
The bed is very comfortable.
Die for every plural
Plural nouns always take die, whatever their gender in the singular. So die can mean a feminine 'the' or a plural 'the'.
- der Hund → die Hunde
- das Kind → die Kinder
- The verb tells you: ist = singular, sind = plural.
Die Kinder spielen im Park.
The children are playing in the park.
Die Brötchen sind frisch.
The bread rolls are fresh.
Grammar gender, not real gender
Things can be der, die or das, and English 'it' becomes er, sie or es to match. The pronoun follows the article, not the meaning.
Article → pronoun
- der Schlüsseler
- die Taschesie
- das Handyes
- die Schuhesieplural
Wo ist der Schlüssel? – Er liegt in der Küche.
Where is the key? – It's in the kitchen.
Das Mädchen ist neu hier. Es kommt aus Polen.
The girl is new here. She comes from Poland.
The article changes with the case
Der, die and das are the subject forms. When the noun is an object, the article can change, for example der → den.
- Subject: Der Bus kommt.
- Direct object: Ich sehe den Bus.
- Only masculine der changes in the accusative.
Common mistakes
✗
Das Kinder spielen.✓ Die Kinder spielen.
Every plural noun takes die.
✗
Der Mädchen ist nett.✓ Das Mädchen ist nett.
Mädchen is neuter because of the -chen ending.
✗
Wo ist der Schlüssel? – Es ist hier.✓ Wo ist der Schlüssel? – Er ist hier.
Der nouns are replaced by er, even for things.
Questions learners ask
Why does German have three words for 'the'?
German nouns have grammatical gender: masculine, feminine or neuter. Der, die and das show that gender, and they also change with case.
Is die always feminine?
No, die is the feminine singular article and also the plural article for all nouns. Die Frau is feminine; die Männer is plural.
How do I know if a noun is der, die or das?
Learn every noun with its article. Endings like -ung (die) or -chen (das) help you guess new ones.