A2 — THE EXPANSION

Der, die, das: the complete table (and where rules help)

Q: How do I know if a German noun is der, die or das?

Check the suffix first: *-ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft* → *die*; *-chen, -lein* → *das*; agent *-er, -ismus, -or* → *der*. That predicts roughly 40% of nouns. For the rest, there is no rule — only storage: the article must have been learned as part of the word from day one. If you're staring at an unknown bare noun mid-sentence, the dictionary is the honest answer, and the word goes into the deck with its article as one unit.

Q: What are the German article endings in all four cases?

Definite: nominative *der/die/das/die*; accusative changes only masculine (*den*); dative *dem/der/dem/den(+n)*; genitive *des(+s)/der/des(+s)/der*. Indefinite and possessives follow the same map minus the plural row. The genitive *-s* lands on the noun itself (*des Wagen**s***), not the article. The full tables, pattern rules included, are on [this page](/der-die-das-table/); the learning method that makes them stick is [here](/why-der-die-das-is-hard/).

The complete German article tables — definite, indefinite, negative, possessive, all four cases — plus the pattern rules that predict 40% of German genders.

VON GERMANIUM

Editorial desk — reviewed against Goethe A1–A2 frameworks

Reference page, not a lesson — the method for actually learning articles is here. What follows is the full table system A2 assumes you can navigate, plus the pattern rules worth knowing.

Definite articles (the)

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	der	die	das	die
Accusative	den	die	das	die
Dative	dem	der	dem	den + -n
Genitive	des + -s	der	des + -s	der

Indefinite, negative and possessive

ein follows the same map minus the plural (there is no 'ein' plural — use keine, meine, or the bare plural). kein and every possessive (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer) decline exactly like ein. The only surprise: genitive masculine/neuter add -s to the noun (des Wagens) — that -s belongs to the noun, not the article.

The rules that predict ~40% of genders

Pattern	Gender	Examples
-ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tion	die	die Zeitung, die Freiheit, die Nation
-chen, -lein	das	das Mädchen, das Brüderlein
-er (agent), -ismus, -or, -ling	der	der Lehrer, der Tourismus, der Motor
-um, -ment	das	das Zentrum, das Dokument
Days, months, seasons, compass points	der	der Montag, der Sommer, der Norden
Metals, most -o/-a loanwords	das	das Gold, das Auto, das Kino
Verbs as nouns (infinitives)	das	das Essen, das Lesen

Is there an app or trick to learn German genders faster?

The only 'trick' that survives research is storage discipline — article fused into every noun encounter — plus pattern-group practice for the rule-bearing 40%. Mnemonic stories (blue=masculine doors etc.) work for some learners; they are a personal add-on, not a system. The full method takes an afternoon to adopt and pays forever.

How do I know if a German noun is der, die or das?

Check the suffix first: -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft → die; -chen, -lein → das; agent -er, -ismus, -or → der. That predicts roughly 40% of nouns. For the rest, there is no rule — only storage: the article must have been learned as part of the word from day one. If you're staring at an unknown bare noun mid-sentence, the dictionary is the honest answer, and the word goes into the deck with its article as one unit.

What are the German article endings in all four cases?

Definite: nominative der/die/das/die; accusative changes only masculine (den); dative dem/der/dem/den(+n); genitive des(+s)/der/des(+s)/der. Indefinite and possessives follow the same map minus the plural row. The genitive -s lands on the noun itself (des Wagens**), not the article. The full tables, pattern rules included, are on this page; the learning method that makes them stick is here.