Definite Articles (Bestimmte Artikel)

Definite articles in German correspond to “the” in English. They indicate the gender, number, and case of the noun they accompany.

Definite Article Table

Case (Kasus)	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	der	die	das	die
Accusative	den	die	das	die
Dative	dem	der	dem	den
Genitive	des	der	des	der

Examples

• Der Mann liest. (The man reads.) – Nominative
• Ich sehe den Mann. (I see the man.) – Accusative
• Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. (I give the man the book.) – Dative
• Das Auto des Mannes ist neu. (The man’s car is new.) – Genitive

Notes

• Plural nouns always use die in the nominative and accusative, regardless of gender.
• Masculine nouns are the most irregular (watch den in accusative).
• Feminine is easiest (same form in nominative/accusative and same in dative/genitive).
• Learn articles with the noun: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Haus.

Quick Reference

Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
der	die	das	die

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In everyday speech, the genitive is often replaced by the dative.

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