🔹 1. Types of Articles in German

🏷 Article type	📝 Use	📌 Example
Definite article (der, die, das)	Used when the noun is already clearly specified.	Der Hund schläft. (The dog is sleeping.)
Indefinite article (ein, eine)	Used when the noun is not yet specified.	Ich habe eine Katze. (I have a cat.)
Negative article (kein, keine)	Negates the existence of the noun.	Ich habe kein Auto. (I don't have a car.)

🔹 2. The Genders of German Nouns

German nouns have three main genders:

Usually: people, male animals, days/months/seasons, directions, and nouns with certain endings.

Noun group	📖 Examples
People, male animals	der Vater (father), der Lehrer (male teacher), der Hund (male dog)
Days, months, seasons, directions	der Montag (Monday), der Dezember (December), der Sommer (summer), der Norden (north)
Typical endings: -er, -en, -el, -ling, -ismus	der Computer, der Löffel (spoon), der Kapitalismus (capitalism)

Usually: people, female animals, and nouns with certain endings.

Noun group	📖 Examples
People, female animals	die Mutter (mother), die Lehrerin (female teacher), die Katze (female cat)
Typical endings: -heit, -keit, -ung, -schaft, -ion, -e	die Freiheit (freedom), die Freundschaft (friendship), die Nation (nation), die Blume (flower)

Usually: countries, cities, abstract nouns, and nouns with certain endings.

Noun group	📖 Examples
Countries, cities (no article)	das Deutschland, das Berlin
Abstract nouns	das Glück (luck), das Leben (life)
Typical endings: -chen, -nis, -ment, -um, -zeug	das Spielzeug (toy), das Gebäude (building)

ℹ️ Note

Note

Change	📖 How to recognize it	✏ Example (singular → plural)
Add -e	Most masculine nouns and some neuter nouns	der Hund → die Hunde
Add -er + Umlaut	Mainly neuter nouns	das Kind → die Kinder
Add -n / -en	Feminine (die) nouns and those ending in -e, -heit, -keit, -ung, -ion	die Blume → die Blumen
Add -s	Loanwords from English/French or ending in -o, -z	das Auto → die Autos
No change	Nouns ending in -er, -en, -el	der Lehrer → die Lehrer
Add -se	Nouns ending in -nis (stressed last syllable)	das Ergebnis → die Ergebnisse
Add -nen	Nouns ending in -in (feminine professions)	die Lehrerin → die Lehrerinnen

Articles change according to the four cases (Kasus):

Case	Masculine (Maskulin)	Feminine (Feminin)	Neuter (Neutrum)	Plural
Nominativ	der Mann	die Frau	das Kind	die Kinder
Akkusativ	den Mann	die Frau	das Kind	die Kinder
Dativ	dem Mann	der Frau	dem Kind	den Kindern
Genitiv	des Mannes	der Frau	des Kindes	der Kinder

💡 Quick memory aid

Quick memory aid

ℹ️ Summary

Summary

German nouns have three genders: masculine (der), feminine (die), neuter (das)
Plurals have many forms — there is no single absolute rule.
Articles change with the case: Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, Genitiv
Nouns are always capitalized.
Plural nouns always take the definite article "die".
📌 Always learn a noun together with its gender and plural form from the start!

ℹ️ Exercises

Practice exercises

Apply what you just learned about Artikel and Nomen with these exercises:

Practice using der, die, das with basic nouns.

Advanced exercises on articles and case declension.