Definite Articles (der, das, die) – A1 Grammar
In German, der, das, and die are the definite articles, equivalent to “the” in English. They are used when the speaker and listener both know or can see the person or thing being talked about.
When to use each article:
- der — for masculine nouns: der Mann (the man), der Kaffee (the coffee)
- das — for neuter nouns: das Kind (the child), das Auto (the car)
- die — for feminine nouns: die Frau (the woman), die Jacke (the jacket)
Examples:
- Der Mann heißt Herr Schneider. — The man is called Mr. Schneider.
- Das Kind heißt Peter. — The child is called Peter.
- Die Frau heißt Frau Meyer. — The woman is called Mrs. Meyer.
As you can see in the first example, der Mann can mean “the man” or “this man,” implying that the person is known or present to the speaker and listener.