der
/deːr/masculine
The word the in German is der for masculine nouns, die for feminine and plural nouns and das for neuter nouns. If unsure, use der.
Meaning: article (article)
Ways to say it
| German | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| der | /deːr/ | masculine |
| die | /diː/ (stressed) /dɪ/ (unstressed) |
feminine, plural |
| das | /das/ /dɑs/ (standard) |
neuter |
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Bavarian dialects the article often shrinks to a single sound joined to the noun, as in D'Katz for the cat and D'Wand for the wall. Swiss German does the same, as in D'Frau for the woman.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The article also changes for case, so der, die, das, den, dem and des are all forms of the. The feminine die is used for all plural nouns, whatever their gender.
How do you pronounce it?
der is pronounced /deːr/, with a long e sound.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often assume gender follows biological sex. In German the gender of words like table or door is a grammatical property, so learn each noun together with its article.
Did you know?
- The German article der is a close relative of the Yiddish word דער, showing the deep historical links between these two languages.
Examples in context
- Wo ist der Zoo?Where's the zoo?der Zoo uses der because Zoo is masculine.Tatoeba #868629 by Esperantostern, translation #843244 by parheliu
- Wo ist das Klo?Where is the bathroom?das Klo uses das because Klo is neuter.Tatoeba #976178 by Esperantostern, translation #2136 by brauliobezerra
- Mach die Tür zu.Shut the door.die Tür uses die because Tür is feminine.Tatoeba #541133 by kroko, translation #38992 by CK
- Der MannThe man
- Der TischThe table
- Die FrauThe woman
- Die LampeThe lamp
- Das KindThe child
- Das BuchThe book
- 14334 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sarah and Julian are standing in front of a local park.
- SarahIst das der Park?Is that the park?
- JulianJa, das ist der Park.Yes, that is the park.
- SarahDer Park ist sehr schön.The park is very beautiful.
- JulianJa, er ist toll.Yes, it is great.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “the” translations and entries der, die, das, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries das, der, die, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
