The Ultimate Guide to German Articles: How to Use Der, Die and Das Correctly (The rules and when they apply)

Der Die Das Article and Noun Gender Rules in German

In German, nouns have one of three gender classifications: masculine, feminine or neuter. Each gender has a specific definite article in the singular form: “der” for masculine nouns, “die” for feminine nouns and “das” for neuter nouns. While native German speakers intuitively know which article to use with each noun, non-native speakers must memorize them. There are some rules and guidelines that can help determine the correct article for certain categories of nouns, but be aware that there are many exceptions.

Please note that these rules only apply to singular nouns. All plural nouns use the definite article “die”.

Der Rules.

Based on word ending

-er

Approximately 79.46% of German nouns ending in “-er” are masculine.

Examples: Dezember, Gegner, Kilometer, Mitarbeiter, Schüler, Sommer, Vertreter

Common Exceptions: Alter, Opfer, Theater, Tier, Tochter, Wasser, Zimmer

-en

Approximately 38.47% of German nouns ending in “-en” are masculine. This means that a significant 61.53% of nouns ending in “-en” do not follow this rule.

Examples: Boden, Flughafen, Garten, Hafen, Knochen, Morgen, Rücken

Common Exceptions: Brötchen, Essen, Gewissen, Kennzeichen, Kissen, Zeichen

-ig

Approximately 87.27% of German nouns ending in “-ig” are masculine.

Examples: Essig, Gehsteig, Honig, König

Common Exceptions: Braunschweig, Leipzig, Venedig (most exceptions are place names)

-ling

Approximately 84.1% of German nouns ending in “-ling” are masculine.

Examples: Flüchtling, Frühling, Lehrling, Schützling

Common Exceptions: Bowling, Controlling, Dribbling, Recycling, Styling (most of which are borrowed from english.)

-or

Approximately 89.02% of German nouns ending in “-or” are masculine.

Examples: Autor, Direktor, Faktor, Korridor, Moderator, Monitor, Motor, Professor

Common Exceptions: Tor, Labor

-ismus

All German nouns ending in “-ismus” are masculine.

Examples: Kapitalismus, Mechanismus, Optimismus, Rassismus, Tourismus

Common Exceptions: There are no exceptions to this rule.

-ist

Approximately 91.35% of German nouns ending in “-ist” are masculine.

Examples: Aktivist, Geist, Journalist, Polizist, Spezialist

Common Exceptions: Frist, Watchlist

Based on categorization

The definite article “der” is used with the following nouns:

Masculine persons and professions or roles: Vater, Pilot, Arzt
Seasons: Frühling, Sommer, Herbst, Winter
Months: Januar, Juli, Dezember
Days of the week: Montag, Dienstag, Sonntag
Precipitations: Regen, Schnee, Hagel
Car brands: Audi, BMW, Mercedes
Nouns derived from verbs without a suffix: Gang, Fang

The definite article “der” is mainly used with the following categories of nouns:

Alcoholic beverages: Cognac, Wein, Whiskey. Exception: das Bier.
Rivers outside Europe: Amazonas, Mississippi.
Mountains: Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro. Exception: die Zugspitze.

Die Rules.

Based on word ending

-ung

Approximately 98.86% of German nouns ending in “-ung” are feminine. Contrary to popular belief, not all German words ending in “-ung” are feminine. Now you can correct those who make this mistake.

Examples: Ausstellung, Entscheidung, Entwicklung, Hoffnung,Leistung, Lösung,Meinung, Veranstaltung

Common Exceptions: Vorsprung, Sprung, Kurssprung, Hochsprung, Aufschwung, Ursprung (Most exceptions are words for movement derived from the verbs springen and schwingen)

-e

Approximately 87.59% of German nouns ending in “-e” are feminine.

Examples: Aufgabe, Bühne, Familie, Frage, Kirche

Common Exceptions: Auge, Ende, Gebäude, Interesse, Hase, Name, Wochenende, Kaffee, Tee

-heit

Approximately 99.19% of German nouns ending in “-heit” are feminine.

Examples: Gesundheit, Mehrheit, Sicherheit, Vergangenheit

Common Exceptions: Holzscheit, Fahrenheit

-keit

All German nouns ending in “-keit” are feminine.

Examples: Fähigkeit, Möglichkeit, Tätigkeit

Common Exceptions: There are no exceptions to this rule.

-in

Approximately 86.39% of German nouns ending in “-in” are feminine.

Examples: Schauspielerin, Richterin, Polizistin, Ärztin, Anwältin

Common Exceptions: Verein, Wein, Termin, Stein, Magazin, Benzin

-ei

Approximately 88.81% of German nouns ending in “-ei” are feminine.

Examples: Datei, Partei, Polizei

Common Exceptions: Papagei, Schrei

-frau

All German nouns ending in “-frau” are feminine.

Examples: Ehefrau, Hausfrau

Common Exceptions: There are no exceptions to this rule.

-schaft

Approximately 98.59% of German nouns ending in “-schaft” are feminine.

Examples: Gesellschaft, Mannschaft, Wirtschaft

Common Exceptions: Nagelschaft, Turmschaft, Schaft

-ät

Approximately 80.33% of German nouns ending in “-ät” are feminine.

Examples: Aktivität, Mobilität, Realität, Universität

Common Exceptions: Porträt, Gerät, (and mostly compound nouns with Gerät for example Hörgerät, Messgerät, Navigationsgerät, Sportgerät)

-ik

Approximately 95.09% of German nouns ending in “-ik” are feminine.

Examples: Grafik, Klinik, Kritik, Musik, Politik, Technik

Common Exceptions: Atlantik, Mosaik, Pazifik, Plastik, Streik

-ion

Approximately 96.62% of German nouns ending in “-ion” are feminine.

Examples: Aktion, Diskussion, Information, Region

Common Exceptions: Champion, Skorpion, Stadion, Spion

-ie

Approximately 98.47% of German nouns ending in “-ie” are feminine.

Examples: Chemie, Demokratie, Familie, Fotografie, Galerie, Kopie, Studie, Therapie

Common Exceptions: Genie, Hippie, Knie, Movie, Portemonnaie, Zombie

-ur

Approximately 68.53% of German nouns ending in “-ur” are feminine.

Examples: Figur, Kultur, Literatur, Reparatur, Temperatur, Tour

Common Exceptions: Abitur, Ingenieur, Friseur, Redakteur, Regisseur (most exceptions are male professions)

-enz

Approximately 97.04% of German nouns ending in “-enz” are feminine.

Examples: Intelligenz, Konferenz, Konkurrenz

Common Exceptions: Florenz (cities ending with “-enz”)

Based on categorization

The definite article “die” is used with the following nouns:

Feminine persons and professions or roles: Mutter, Friseurin, Ärztin;
Motorcycle brands: Harley Davidson, BMW (only motorcycles), Yamaha;
Planes and ships: Boeing 747, Titanic;
Cardinal numbers: Eins, Drei.

Additionally, “die” is mainly used with:

Names of plants and trees: Birke, Rose. However, there are exceptions such as der Ahorn and das Veilchen.

Das Rules.

Based on word ending

-chen

Approximately 88.83% of German nouns ending in “-chen” are neuter.

Examples: Anzeichen, Blutkörperchen, Brötchen, Kennzeichen, Mädchen, Zeichen

Common Exceptions: Knochen, Kuchen, Tauchen

-lein

All German nouns ending in “-lein” are neuter.

Examples: Most outdated and considered somewhat derogatory (Fräulein, Männlein) or to indicate smallness (Vöglein, Häuslein)

Common Exceptions: There are no exceptions to this rule.

-ment

Approximately 95.94% of German nouns ending in “-ment” are neuter.

Examples: Abonnement,Apartment, Dokument,Instrument, Medikament, Parlament

Common Exceptions: Konsument, Komment, Moment, Zement

-nis

Approximately 76.69% of German nouns ending in “-nis” are neuter.

Examples: Ergebnis, Gefängnis, Geheimnis, Verständnis, Zeugnis

Common Exceptions: Erlaubnis, Kenntnis, Wildnis

-tum

Approximately 92.48% of German nouns ending in “-tum” are neuter.

Examples: Eigentum, Faktum, Wachstum

Common Exceptions: Irrtum, Reichtum

-um

Approximately 77.09% of German nouns ending in “-um” are neuter.

Examples: Forum, Gymnasium, Museum, Praktikum, Studium,Visum, Zentrum

Common Exceptions: Baum, Traum, Raum

Based on categorization

The definite article “das” is used with the following nouns:

Diminutives (ending in -chen or -lein): Kaninchen, Fräulein;
Nouns derived from infinitives: Essen, Schreiben;
Nouns derived from adjectives: Gute, Böse;
Names of colors: Rot, Gelb, Blau.

Additionally, “das” is mainly used with:

Almost all known chemical elements are of the neuter gender. However, there are six exceptions: der Sauerstoff, der Schwefel, der Stickstoff, der Wasserstoff, der Kohlenstoff and der Phosphor.
Names of metals: Blei, Messing, Zinn. However, there are exceptions such as die Bronze and der Stahl;
Fractions: Drittel(⅓) and Viertel(¼). However, there is an exception such as die Hälfte(½).

Nouns with multiple articles.

Based on meaning

Band (der, die, das)

Band is an example of a word in German that can have different articles depending on its meaning. When it refers to a hardcover book, it is masculine and takes the article “der”. When it refers to a music group, it is feminine and takes the article “die”. When it refers to tape or ribbon, it is neuter and takes the article “das”.

Leiter (der, die)

Leiter is another example of a word in German that can have a different articles depending on its meaning. When it refers to a ladder, it is feminine and takes the article "die". When referring to a leader or director it taker the masculine gender and thus the article "der".

Gehalt (der, das)

When “Gehalt” refers to income or salary it is normally neuter and takes the article “das”, but it can also be masculine and take the article “der”. When it refers to content it is always masculine and takes the article “der”.

Regional differences

The use of articles in German can sometimes be a topic of debate and there may be regional differences in usage.