דער
der[dɛr]masculine
In Yiddish, the English word 'the' is expressed using the definite articles דער (der), די or דאָס depending on the noun.
Meaning: article (article)
Ways to say it
| Yiddish | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| דער | der | [dɛr] (narrow) | masculine |
| די | di | [di] (narrow) | feminine |
| דאָס | dos | [dɔs] (Northeastern, narrow) [dʊs] (narrow) |
neuter |
In Yiddish, you must select the specific form that matches the grammatical gender and number of the noun being modified.
Which one should you use?
While English uses the single word 'the' for all nouns, Yiddish requires a different form based on whether the noun is masculine, feminine or neuter.
How does it change in a sentence?
The article used depends on the noun's gender: use דער for masculine nouns, די for feminine nouns and דאָס for neuter nouns. Additionally, די is the appropriate definite article for all plural nouns, regardless of their gender.
How do you pronounce it?
der
Did you know?
- While Yiddish is written with Hebrew letters, the articles דער, די and דאָס are linguistic cousins of the German articles 'der', 'die' and 'das'.
- Yiddish uses these articles to create 'nominalized' adjectives, where adding דער or די can turn a descriptive word into a specific person or thing.
- The Yiddish articles help distinguish between identical-sounding words that have different genders, acting as a crucial clue for the listener to understand the meaning.
Examples in context
- בין איך דער פאטער?Am I the father?This is useful for asking a question about one's identity as a father using דער.Tatoeba #2401749 by negativeclock, translation #1324306 by Scott
- ווארף איר דער פילקע.Toss her the ball.This demonstrates the use of דער when referring to an object being tossed.Tatoeba #4293954 by negativeclock, translation #3905191 by CH
- וואו איז דער באדצימער?Where is the bathroom?This shows how to use דער when asking for the location of a specific place.Tatoeba #4802721 by negativeclock, translation #2136 by brauliobezerra
- 3430 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Berl and Reyzl are looking for a key in the house.
- בערל Berelוואו איז דער שליסל?Vu iz der shlisel?Where is the key?
- רייזל Reizelאיך ווייס נישט, בערל.Ikh veys nisht, Berl.I don't know, Berl.
- בערל Berelדער שליסל איז נישט דא!Der shlisel iz nisht do!The key is not here!
- רייזל Reizelזוכט איר אויף טיש.Zukht ir oyf tish.Look on the table.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “the” translations and entries דער, די, דאָס, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
