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der, die, das — Every German Noun Has a Gender
🚹🚺 der, die, das — Every German Noun Has a Gender
Every German noun is masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das) — and you can't always guess which one it is. The article is part of the word itself. Learn each noun WITH its der/die/das and German grammar suddenly clicks into place.
The three genders
German has three grammatical genders. The article tells you the gender, so always store a new noun together with its article.
Earn the mark scheme marks
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- Always learn a noun as "der/die/das + noun", e.g. der Tisch, not just Tisch. The gender is impossible to guess later.
- In the accusative, ask one quick question: "Is it masculine?" If yes, use den / einen. If no, nothing changes.
- Because die and das never change, the accusative only ever trips you up on masculine nouns — focus your attention there.
❌ Common error: Ich habe ein Hund.
✓ Correct: Ich habe einen Hund.
Why it costs marks: Hund is masculine, and in the accusative (direct object) the masculine ein becomes einen. Forgetting the -en on a masculine accusative is one of the most common GCSE errors. Because die and das don't change, this only ever matters for masculine nouns.