No Article (Nullartikel)

In German, some nouns appear without any article (no definite, indefinite, or negative article). This is called the Nullartikel (zero article).

When is No Article Used?

• With uncountable nouns (especially in a general sense):
  • Ich trinke Kaffee. (I drink coffee.)
  • Sie mag Musik. (She likes music.)
• With plural nouns in a general sense:
  • Kinder spielen im Park. (Children are playing in the park.)
• With names of countries, cities, continents (unless modified):
  • Er lebt in Deutschland. (He lives in Germany.)
  • Wir fahren nach Berlin. (We are going to Berlin.)
• With professions, nationalities, religions after 'sein', 'werden', 'bleiben':
  • Sie ist Lehrerin. (She is a teacher.)
  • Er bleibt Katholik. (He remains Catholic.)
• In set expressions and some prepositional phrases:
  • zu Hause (at home)
  • mit Auto (by car)

Examples

• Ich esse Brot. (I eat bread.)
• Studenten lernen viel. (Students study a lot.)
• Sie arbeitet als Ärztin. (She works as a doctor.)

Notes

• If you want to specify or limit the meaning, use an article or another determiner (e.g., "der Kaffee" = the coffee, "ein Brot" = a bread/loaf).
• Some nouns can appear with or without an article depending on context.

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Learning when to use no article is important for sounding natural in German.

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