der, die, das
Every noun has a gender. Tendencies help; the article is still part of the word.
You have been using der, die and das since Lesson 3 without ever being told how to choose one. Here it is, plainly: German nouns have a grammatical gender, and it is mostly not predictable from meaning. Das Mädchen (the girl) is neuter. Der Tisch (the table) is masculine for no reason at all.
Learn the article as part of the noun. Not Tisch but der Tisch. The extra word costs nothing now and saves every case ending later.
That said, there are tendencies. They are useful, and they are tendencies, not rules — each one has exceptions you will meet.
| Often der | Often die | Often das |
|---|---|---|
| male people: der Mann, der Bruder | female people: die Frau | -chen / -lein: das Mädchen |
| days, months: der Montag | -ung: die Wohnung | most -o words: das Auto, das Büro |
| weather: der Regen | -heit, -keit: die Arbeit | young things: das Kind |
| -er (doer): der Lehrer | -in (female job): die Kollegin | infinitives as nouns: das Essen |
The -ung and -in endings are worth trusting: they are feminine essentially without exception, and they are extremely common. Die Wohnung, die Besprechung, die Zeitung, die Kollegin, die Freundin, die Ärztin.
das Wohnungdie Wohnung
Anything ending in -ung is feminine. This one is free — take it.
Why this matters so much: gender is what decides den vs dem vs die, and whether your adjective ends in -en or -e. Get the gender wrong and everything downstream goes wrong with it, even when you know the case perfectly.
Der Tisch ist neu.
The table is new.
masculine, nominative
Ich kaufe den Tisch.
I am buying the table.
same noun, accusative → den
Die Wohnung ist klein.
The flat is small.
Ich fahre mit dem Auto.
I am driving the car.
neuter, dative after mit → dem
Das Kind schläft.
The child is asleep.
Words from this topic
- der Tischtable
- der Stuhlchair
- das Kindchild
- das Mädchengirl
- die Zeitungnewspaper
- der Schlüsselkey
- das Fensterwindow
- die Stadtcity, town
- das Haushouse
- der Lehrerteacher (m)
- die Lehrerinteacher (f)