What is a noun?

​

A noun (in German: Substantiv or Nomen) is a word for a person, place, thing, animal, or idea. Just like in English.

But in German, nouns follow two golden rules:

​

Rule 1: All German nouns start with a capital letter

This is one of the most important spelling rules in the German language. It applies to every noun, whether it’s common (das Buch), proper (Deutschland), or abstract (die Freiheit).

Examples:

• Der Hund schläft. (The dog is sleeping.)

• Ich lese ein Buch. (I’m reading a book.)

• Sie spricht über Liebe. (She’s talking about love.)

• ​

Tip: If a word is capitalised in the middle of a German sentence, it’s probably a noun. That’s a great clue for learners!

​

Rule 2: Every noun has a gender

German has three grammatical genders:

• masculine → der

• feminine → die

• neuter → das

Examples:

• der Hund (the dog)

• die Lampe (the lamp)

• das Auto (the car)

• das Mädchen (the girl – yes, neuter!)

Tip: Gender in German is grammar, not biology. Accept it – don’t fight it. Memorise nouns with their article!

Definite & indefinite articles (nominative case)

​

In English, we say “the book” or “a book.” These words - “the” and “a” - are called articles. German also uses articles, but they change based on gender and case.

Let’s focus on the nominative case first. This is used when the noun is the subject of the sentence - the thing or person doing the action.

There are two types of articles in German:

Definite articles (used for specific things – “the”):

• der – for masculine nouns

• die – for feminine nouns

• das – for neuter nouns

Indefinite articles (used for non-specific things – “a” or “an”):

• ein – for masculine and neuter nouns

• eine – for feminine nouns

 

Examples:

• Der Mann liest. → The man is reading.

• Die Frau kocht. → The woman is cooking.

• Das Kind spielt. → The child is playing.

• Ich sehe ein Haus. → I see a house.

• Sie hat eine Idee. → She has an idea.

 

Quick Tip: You will often hear people say “Learn the noun with its article.” That means: never learn Tisch by itself — always learn der Tisch. Even better: learn it with the plural! Write your own mini dictionary with this pattern: article – noun – plural. This will help you remember the gender and the plural form together!

• der Tisch – die Tische

• die Lampe – die Lampen

• das Auto – die Autos

​

​​Typical plural endings in German

There are several typical plural endings in German. Most nouns follow one of these patterns:

-e

Very common for masculine and neuter nouns.
Sometimes used with an Umlaut, but not always.

• der Tisch – die Tische

• der Tag – die Tage

With Umlaut:

• der Apfel – die Äpfel

• der Stuhl – die Stühle

​

-er

Common for neuter nouns.
Usually adds an Umlaut if possible.

• das Kind – die Kinder

• das Buch – die Bücher

• das Haus – die Häuser

​

-n / -en

Most feminine nouns, and some masculine nouns ending in -e, -ant, -ent, or -ist.

• die Frau – die Frauen

• die Lampe – die Lampen

• der Student – die Studenten

• der Journalist – die Journalisten

​

-s

Often used for foreign words, abbreviations or words ending in vowels.

• das Auto – die Autos

• das Hotel – die Hotels

• der Park – die Parks

​

No change

Some nouns, especially masculine professions and neuter objects, do not change in the plural.

• der Lehrer – die Lehrer

• das Fenster – die Fenster

• der Manager – die Manager

​

Note: Some plurals add an Umlaut (ä, ö, ü) and a plural ending.
Always learn the singular and the plural form together.

​

No matter the gender of the noun in the singular (der, die, das), the plural article is always die in the nominative case.

 

Examples:
der Hund → die Hunde (masculine)
die Frau → die Frauen (feminine)
das Buch → die Bücher (neuter)

 

Quick Tip: Always learn the plural form along with the noun!
In your vocabulary list, write it like this:

• die Blume, -n → this means the plural is Blumen

• der Tisch, -e → die Tische

• die Lampe, -n → die Lampen

• das Auto, -s → die Autos

 

10 important everyday nouns – regular plural patterns:

• der Tisch – die Tische (table)

• die Lampe – die Lampen (lamp)

• das Auto – die Autos (car)

• der Hund – die Hunde (dog)

• die Blume – die Blumen (flower)

• das Fenster – die Fenster (window)

• der Stuhl – die Stühle (chair – with Umlaut)

• die Tasche – die Taschen (bag)

• das Bild – die Bilder (picture – with -er)

• der Apfel – die Äpfel (apple – with Umlaut)

These follow -e, -n, -s, -er or add an Umlaut – useful and predictable!

 

10 common nouns – irregular or tricky plurals:

• das Buch – die Bücher (book – Umlaut + -er)

• der Mann – die Männer (man – Umlaut + -er)

• die Mutter – die Mütter (mother – irregular)

• der Vater – die Väter (father – Umlaut + -er)

• das Kind – die Kinder (child – ends in -er, no Umlaut)

• der Mensch – die Menschen (person – ends in -en)

• das Haus – die Häuser (house – Umlaut + -er)

• die Frau – die Frauen (woman – regular but essential!)

• das Herz – die Herzen (heart – ends in -en)

• der Lehrer – die Lehrer (teacher – no plural ending)

Learn these by heart – they don’t follow typical patterns.

​​

The accusative case – what changes?

​​

German uses cases to show the role of a noun in a sentence. One of the most important is the accusative case. It is used when the noun is the direct object - the thing that is directly affected by the action of the verb.

​

Subject (nominative) = who or what is doing the action.
Object (accusative) = who or what is receiving the action.

For example:

• Der Mann sieht den Hund.
  → “The man sees the dog.” → “Der Mann” is the subject. “den Hund” is the object.

Only masculine articles change in the accusative case.

 

Here are the changes:

• der → den

• ein → einen

Feminine and neuter articles do not change:

• die → die

• das → das

• eine → eine

 

Examples of accusative in action:

• Ich sehe den Mann. → I see the man. (masculine)

• Sie kauft einen Apfel. → She buys an apple. (masculine)

• Er hört die Musik. → He hears the music. (feminine)

• Wir brauchen das Buch. → We need the book. (neuter)

 

Common accusative verbs: Some verbs almost always take the accusative, including:

• sehen (to see)

• kaufen (to buy)

• haben (to have)

• brauchen (to need)

• lieben (to love)

 

Examples with these verbs:

• Ich habe einen Hund. → I have a dog.

• Wir lieben die Stadt. → We love the city.

• Sie braucht einen Stift. → She needs a pen.

 

Questions to identify accusative: Ask “Wen?” (Whom?) or “Was?” (What?)

• Wen siehst du? → Ich sehe den Lehrer.

• Was hast du? → Ich habe einen Apfel.

 

Tip: If you only remember one thing: → Only masculine articles change in the accusative case!

German plurals (and the article "die")

​

Plural forms in German are... not so simple! Unlike English where most plurals just add “-s”, German nouns have various plural endings depending on their gender, origin, and ending.

The plural of a noun can end in:

• -e

• -en

• -n

• -s

• or add an umlaut (a → ä, o → ö, u → ü)

 

All plural nouns take the article “die” in the nominative case - regardless of the gender of the singular form.

 

Examples:

• der Hund → die Hunde

• die Frau → die Frauen

• das Buch → die Bücher

• das Auto → die Autos

 

More examples:

• der Apfel → die Äpfel

• die Blume → die Blumen

• das Fenster → die Fenster

 

Tip: Make flashcards with singular and plural on each side. Review them regularly to train your brain to think in both forms! Some plurals require changes to the vowel or add both an ending and an umlaut. There is no single rule - you’ll get better with exposure and practice.

Personal & possessive pronouns

 

In German, pronouns make sentences shorter and smoother. Instead of repeating a noun, you can replace it with a pronoun. Learning these will help you sound more natural.

 

Subject pronouns – these replace the person or thing doing the action (Nominative case):

• ich – I

• du – you (informal)

• er – he

• sie – she

• es – it

• wir – we

• ihr – you all

• sie – they

• Sie – you (formal)

​

Object pronouns – these replace the person or thing receiving the action (Accusative case): 

• mich – me

• dich – you

• ihn – him

• sie – her

• es – it

• uns – us

• euch – you all

• sie – them

• Sie – you (formal)

 

Possessive pronouns – these show ownership:

• mein – my

• dein – your (informal)

• sein – his

• ihr – her

• unser – our

• euer – your (plural)

• ihr – their

• Ihr – your (formal)

 

Examples in action:

• Ich sehe dich. → I see you.

• Er liebt sie. → He loves her.

• Wir hören es. → We are listening to it.

• Das ist mein Buch. → That is my book.

• Ist das dein Auto? → Is that your car?

• Unser Lehrer ist nett. → Our teacher is nice.

• Sein Hund ist laut. → His dog is loud.

 

Tips for learning:

• Start with subject pronouns. They are used all the time.

• Add object pronouns once you are confident.

• Practise possessives by talking about your things: mein Handy, dein Tisch, unser Haus

• Pronouns change depending on the case. At A1, focus mostly on nominative and accusative.

Summary – what you should remember

​

• all German nouns are capitalised

• every noun has a gender: der, die, or das

• masculine nouns change in the accusative: der → den, ein → einen

• all plural nouns use die

• learn every new word like this: article + noun + plural

• use pronouns to speak more fluently and naturally

What’s next?

​

Continue to: Verbs & Conjugation
Download: A1 Grammar Cheat Sheet (PDF)
Try Our Article Quiz
Book a German class with GermanMind