{"id":94195,"date":"2023-06-30T15:12:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T19:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-articles\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T06:55:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T11:55:50","slug":"german-articles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-articles\/","title":{"rendered":"The Guide to German Articles"},"content":{"rendered":"

German articles, which are roughly the equivalent of the<\/em> and a<\/em> in English<\/strong>, go alongside nouns and indicate whether you’re referring to a specific (the<\/strong> box) or an unspecified noun (a<\/strong> box).<\/p>\n

They take on many forms, depending on the case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number (singular, plural). So given that, there are so many articles in German.<\/p>\n

Let me tell you exactly how to learn German articles quickly and easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Definite Articles:\u00a0Der, Die<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Das<\/em><\/h2>\n

Definite articles<\/a> are the equivalent of the<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here’s what they look like in each case, for each gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Case<\/th>Masculine<\/th>Neuter<\/th>Feminine<\/th>Plural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Nominative<\/td> Der <\/a>\n <\/td> Das <\/a>\n <\/td> Die <\/a>\n <\/td> Die <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accusative<\/td> Den <\/a>\n <\/td> Das <\/a>\n <\/td> Die <\/a>\n <\/td> Die <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dative<\/td> Dem <\/a>\n <\/td> Dem <\/a>\n <\/td> Der <\/a>\n <\/td> Den <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genitive<\/td> Des <\/a>\n <\/td> Des <\/a>\n <\/td> Der <\/a>\n <\/td> Der <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Let’s have a look at some examples of these.<\/p>\n

Ich gebe dem<\/strong> Lehrer den<\/strong> Apfel.<\/em> (I give an apple to the teacher.)<\/p>\n

Here, Lehrer<\/em>\u00a0(teacher) is a singular, masculine noun in the dative case. Apfel<\/em>\u00a0(apple) is a singular, masculine noun in the accusative case.<\/p>\n

Sie sah das<\/strong> Auto der<\/strong> \u00c4rztin.<\/em> (She saw the car of the [female] doctor.)<\/p>\n

And in this example, \u00c4rztin<\/em> (doctor) is a singular, feminine noun in the genitive case. Auto<\/em>\u00a0(car) is a singular, neuter noun in the accusative case.<\/p>\n

The Indefinite Articles:\u00a0Ein<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Eine<\/em><\/h2>\n

Indefinite articles are the equivalent of a\/an<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In German, the indefinite article can have various forms, and like in English, there\u2019s no plural form. When it\u2019s used without an adjective, it takes on a form remarkably similar to the definite article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Case<\/th>Masculine<\/th>Neuter<\/th>Feminine<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Nominative<\/td> Ein <\/a>\n <\/td> Ein <\/a>\n <\/td> Eine <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accusative<\/td> Einen <\/a>\n <\/td> Ein <\/a>\n <\/td> Eine <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dative<\/td> Einem <\/a>\n <\/td> Einem <\/a>\n <\/td> Einer <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genitive<\/td> Eines <\/a>\n <\/td> Eines <\/a>\n <\/td> Einer <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Here are a couple of examples to illustrate that usage.<\/p>\n

Hier ist eine<\/strong> Frau.<\/em> (Here is a woman.)<\/p>\n

Easy! A singular, feminine noun in the nominative case.<\/p>\n

Hier ist eine<\/strong> Frau mit einem<\/strong> Glas.<\/em> (Here is a woman with a glass.)<\/p>\n

Now we’ve added\u00a0Glas<\/em> (glass), a singular, neuter noun in the dative case.<\/p>\n

So you see, with no adjective between the article and the noun, the indefinite article behaves very much like the definite article.<\/p>\n

What happens when we add an adjective?<\/p>\n

In that case, the adjective must also be modified<\/strong> depending on the gender and case.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll add the adjective gut<\/em>\u00a0(good) to the chart above to illustrate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Case<\/th>Masculine<\/th>Neuter<\/th>Feminine<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Nominative<\/td> Ein guter <\/a>\n <\/td> Ein gutes <\/a>\n <\/td> Eine gute <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accusative<\/td> Einen guten <\/a>\n <\/td> Ein gutes <\/a>\n <\/td> Eine gute <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dative<\/td> Einem guten <\/a>\n <\/td> Einem guten <\/a>\n <\/td> Einer guten <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genitive<\/td> Eines guten <\/a>\n <\/td> Eines guten <\/a>\n <\/td> Einer guten <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Now, there are additional rules about adjective declension<\/a> (modifying a word for gender\/case) that fall beyond the scope of this particular discussion.<\/p>\n

The most important thing for you to learn right now is how to internalize the gender of each noun.<\/p>\n

Demonstrative Articles<\/h2>\n

Demonstrative articles are a way of specifying a specific noun, usually to the exclusion of another: Not these<\/em> pineapples, those<\/em> pineapples.<\/p>\n

The demonstrative articles in English are this<\/em>, that<\/em>, these<\/em>, and those<\/em>. German, on the other hand, only has one\u2014well, one base, dies-<\/em>, which takes an ending just like other articles. This is how they work in each case and gender:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Case<\/th>Masculine<\/th>Neuter<\/th>Feminine<\/th>Plural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Nominative<\/td> dieser <\/a>\n <\/td> dieses <\/a>\n <\/td> diese <\/a>\n <\/td> diese <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accusative<\/td> diesen <\/a>\n <\/td> dieses <\/a>\n <\/td> diese <\/a>\n <\/td> diese <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dative<\/td> diesem <\/a>\n <\/td> diesem <\/a>\n <\/td> dieser <\/a>\n <\/td> diesen <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genitive<\/td> dieses <\/a>\n <\/td> dieses <\/a>\n <\/td> dieser <\/a>\n <\/td> dieser <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

You\u2019ll notice it\u2019s pretty much identical to the other charts. The main difference is that dies<\/em> doesn\u2019t typically stand alone as a base word, the way ein<\/em> or das<\/em> do.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at some demonstrative articles in action.<\/p>\n

Dieser Mann wohnt in diesem Haus.<\/em> (This man lives in this house.)<\/p>\n

Ich nehme diese Jacke mit.<\/em> (I take this jacket with me.)<\/p>\n

Possessive Articles<\/h2>\n

Possessive articles (also called possessive adjectives or possessive pronouns) are pronouns that show ownership of another noun, like his<\/em>, your<\/em>, or our<\/em>. They may seem tricky at first since there are so many pronouns, but they function just like every other article in terms of case and gender.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s first go through all of the pronouns we have to work with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
English<\/th>German<\/th>German Possessive<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
I<\/td> ich <\/a>\n <\/td> mein <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
he<\/td> er <\/a>\n <\/td> sein <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
she<\/td> sie <\/a>\n <\/td> ihr <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
it<\/td> es <\/a>\n <\/td> sein <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
they<\/td> sie <\/a>\n <\/td> ihr <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you (formal)<\/td> Sie <\/a>\n <\/td> Ihr <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you (singular)<\/td> du <\/a>\n <\/td> dein <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you (plural)<\/td> ihr <\/a>\n <\/td> euer <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wir<\/td> wir <\/a>\n <\/td> unser <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Mein<\/em>, sein<\/em>, and dein<\/em> are all basically ein<\/em> with an extra letter at the beginning: they function the exact same way.<\/p>\n

That leaves ihr\/Ihr<\/em>, euer<\/em>, and unser<\/em>. By now you can probably guess where this is going.<\/p>\n

In the neuter form, ihr\/Ihr<\/em>, euer<\/em>, and unser<\/em> all stay exactly the same. In the feminine case an -e<\/em> is added to the end; in the masculine, an -er<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And they change for cases just like normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Case<\/th>Masculine<\/th>Neuter<\/th>Feminine<\/th>Plural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Nominative<\/td> ihrer <\/a>\n
\n eurer <\/a>\n
\n unserer <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihr <\/a>\n
\n euer <\/a>\n
\n unser <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihre <\/a>\n
\n euere <\/a>\n
\n unsere <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihre <\/a>\n
\n euere <\/a>\n
\n unsere <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accusative<\/td> ihren <\/a>\n
\n euren <\/a>\n
\n unseren <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihr <\/a>\n
\n euer <\/a>\n
\n unser <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihre <\/a>\n
\n eure <\/a>\n
\n unsere <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihre <\/a>\n
\n eure <\/a>\n
\n unsere <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dative<\/td> ihrem <\/a>\n
\n eurem <\/a>\n
\n unserem <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihrem <\/a>\n
\n eurem <\/a>\n
\n unserem <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihrer <\/a>\n
\n eurer <\/a>\n
\n unserer <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihren <\/a>\n
\n euren <\/a>\n
\n unseren <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genitive<\/td> ihres <\/a>\n
\n eures <\/a>\n
\n unseres <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihres <\/a>\n
\n eures <\/a>\n
\n unseres <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihrer <\/a>\n
\n eurer <\/a>\n
\n unserer <\/a>\n <\/td>		 ihrer <\/a>\n
\n eurer <\/a>\n
\n unserer <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

The only unusual one is euer<\/em>. Whenever an ending is added, the second e<\/em> is dropped. So the masculine becomes eurer<\/em> instead of euerer<\/em>, the feminine becomes eure<\/em> instead of euere<\/em>, and so on. This may look a little strange on paper, but it\u2019s a lot more natural in speech to say eurem<\/em> instead of euerem<\/em>. In all likelihood, you\u2019ll stop noticing it at all after a few practices.<\/p>\n

These articles might seem intimidating at first, but as you keep reading and listening to German, the less you\u2019ll have to consciously memorize these patterns.<\/p>\n

One way to do this is by using a language learning program such as FluentU.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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