Gender & Articles
In German every noun has a gender: masculine, feminine or neuter. The gender determines which article you use and affects adjectives and pronouns. This guide covers the basic genders and the definite and indefinite articles you need to know.
Gender
German has three grammatical genders: masculine (der), feminine (die) and neuter (das). The gender is mostly arbitrary and must be learned for each noun. Some endings give reliable clues.
| German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🐶 Der Hund schläft auf dem Teppich. | The dog is sleeping on the rug. |
| 🐱 Die Katze trinkt Milch aus der Schale. | The cat is drinking milk from the bowl. |
| 🐰 Das Kaninchen sitzt im Korb. | The rabbit is sitting in the basket. |
Definite Articles
The definite article ("the") changes according to gender and case. In the nominative case the forms are der for masculine, die for feminine, and das for neuter. Plural is die.
| Gender | Definite Article | Example German Word | English Translation | Sentence Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | der | der Bär | the bear | Der Bär schläft. |
| Feminine | die | die Biene | the bee | Die Biene summt. |
| Neuter | das | das Buch | the book | Das Buch ist neu. |
| Plural | die | die Blumen | the flowers | Die Blumen sind schön. |
| German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🐶 Der Hund frisst das Futter. | The dog is eating the food. |
| 🐱 Die Katze spielt mit dem Ball. | The cat is playing with the ball. |
| 🐰 Das Kaninchen hoppelt über die Decke. | The rabbit is hopping over the blanket. |
Indefinite Articles
The indefinite article ("a/an") also changes by gender and case. In the nominative case the forms are ein for masculine and neuter, and eine for feminine. There is no indefinite article in the plural.
| Gender | Indefinite Article | Example German Word | English Translation | Sentence Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | ein | ein Bär | a bear | Ein Bär läuft. |
| Feminine | eine | eine Biene | a bee | Eine Biene fliegt. |
| Neuter | ein | ein Buch | a book | Ein Buch liegt da. |
| German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🐶 Ein Hund bellt im Hof. | A dog is barking in the yard. |
| 🐱 Eine Katze klettert auf den Baum. | A cat is climbing the tree. |
| 🐰 Ein Kaninchen versteckt sich im Gras. | A rabbit is hiding in the grass. |
Signal Endings
Certain noun endings reliably indicate gender and can help you guess the article. For example nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft are feminine; -chen and -lein are neuter diminutives; -er, -en and -ling often masculine.
| German Example | English Translation | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| 🐕 Der Hund ist freundlich. | The dog is friendly. | Masculine |
| 🐈 Die Katze ist flink. | The cat is agile. | Feminine |
| 🐇 Das Kaninchen ist weiß. | The rabbit is white. | Neuter |
| 🧴 Das Futter ist lecker. | The food is tasty. | Neuter |
| 🧺 Der Korb ist groß. | The basket is large. | Masculine |
| 🧷 Die Decke ist warm. | The blanket is warm. | Feminine |
Summary
Learn each noun's gender along with its article. Use the definite articles der/die/das to say "the" and the indefinite articles ein/eine to say "a/an" in the nominative. Pay attention to common endings that signal gender.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025