Nouns in German are often preceded by determiners. These are small words which give extra information about the noun.
One important type of determiner are articles. There is the definite article der/die/das, which is equivalent to the in English, and the indefinite article ein/eine, which is equivalent to a/an.
Just like in English, der/die/das refers to a specific thing which is already known, while ein/eine refers to a thing generically or introduces a new thing into the conversation.
| Das ist ein Baum. | That is a tree. |
| Der Baum ist groß. | The tree is big. |
| Ich habe eine Schnecke. | I have a snail. |
| Die Schnecke heißt Wilhelm. | The snail is called William. |
Alongside the definite and indefinite articles, there are many other determiners which we will look at later on.
no article
Nouns can also exist without an article, especially in the plural, for example:
| Katzen sind süß. | Cats are cute. |
| Äpfel sind lecker. | Apples are tasty. |
Unlike English, German sometimes omits articles before predicate nouns. A noun is a predicate noun when it is connected to the subject with a linking verb. This construction is used to show equivalence – that something is something. The examples will make this easier to understand:
| Er ist Student. | He is a student. |
| Sie ist Astronautin. | She is an astronaut. |
| Er arbeitet als Mechaniker | He works as a mechanic. |
| Sie ist Deutsche. | She is German. |
Note that in the last example, Deutsche is a noun whereas German is used as an adjective in the English example.
determiners and gender
Determiners in German match the gender of the noun they precede. Look at these examples using the definite and indefinite articles.
| definite article (the) | indefinite article (a/an) | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | der König (the king) | ein König (a king) |
| feminine | die Tochter (the daughter) | eine Tochter (a daughter) |
| neuter | das Buch (the book) | ein Buch (a book) |
| plural | die Vögel (the birds) | Vögel (birds) |
You may have noticed that both masculine and neuter (der/das) use the article ein. This means that when using an indefinite article you only need to pay attention to whether the noun is feminine or not, as feminine nouns use eine.
countries
Some countries in German are preceded by a definite article. This is a bit like how we say the Netherlands or the Phillippines, and how some people (incorrectly) refer to Ukraine as the Ukraine:
| masculine | der Iran der Irak der Vatikan der Jemen Wir fliegen in den Iran. | Iran Iraq the Vatican Yemen We are flying to Iran. |
| feminine | die Schweiz die Mongolei die Ukraine die Türkei Wir fahren in die Türkei. | Switzerland Mongolia Ukraine Turkey We are going to Turkey. |
| plural | die Niederlande die Philippinen die Bahamas die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika Ich bin in den USA. | the Netherlands the Philippines the Bahamas the United States of America I am in the USA. |
universal statements
German often uses the definite article when making universal statements where we would omit it in English. This is especially the case with abstract nouns. Take a look at these examples:
| Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. | Human dignity is inviolable. |
| Die Zeit heilt alle Wunden. | Time heals all wounds. |
| Die Menschheit braucht nichts nötiger als den Frieden. | Humanity needs nothing more than peace. |