# German article rules: how to tell der, die and das apart

Source: https://yupolearn.com/en/german-article-rules/ · By Yupo · Last updated: October 21, 2026

Der, die or das? You don’t have to memorize every word on its own. The rules on this page predict the article of most German nouns. The figure next to each rule shows how often it holds in Yupo’s 3,079-word list.

## Short answer

- **die:** nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät (correct for 385 of 385 words in Yupo).
- **das:** nouns ending in -chen, -ment, -um (correct for 36 of 36 words in Yupo).
- **der:** nouns ending in -ling, -ich, -ismus (correct for 13 of 13 words in Yupo).
- **Compound nouns:** the last part almost always decides the article (der Salat → der Obstsalat).
- **Plural:** in the nominative, every plural noun takes die.
- **No rule?** Learn the word with its article and its color: der is blue, die is red, das is green.

## 1. Never learn a noun without its article

Every German noun has an article: **der** (masculine), **die** (feminine) or **das** (neuter). English has only “the”, so the most common mistake is learning the bare noun. Not “Tisch” but [der Tisch](https://yupolearn.com/en/word/tisch/); not “Tür” but [die Tür](https://yupolearn.com/en/word/tuer/). That’s why every article has a color in Yupo: der is blue, die is red, das is green. Picturing the word in its color makes the article easier to recall.

Knowing the article is about more than “der, die, das”. In the accusative, der becomes den; in the dative, der and das become dem, and die becomes der. A word learned with the wrong article trips you up every time you build a sentence.

### Suffixes that take die

More than half of the words in Yupo take die, and most of the reliable rules are in this group. If you see -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion or -ung, you can safely say die.

- **-schaft** → die — 100% in Yupo (37/37), rule. Examples: die Freundschaft, die Gemeinschaft, die Mannschaft, die Vaterschaft, die Elternschaft.
- **-heit** → die — 100% in Yupo (17/17), rule. Examples: die Echtheit, die Mehrheit, die Offenheit, die Minderheit, die Sicherheit.
- **-keit** → die — 100% in Yupo (23/23), rule. Examples: die Fähigkeit, die Übelkeit, die Ehrlichkeit, die Gefälligkeit, die Herzlichkeit.
- **-erin** → die (female forms of people and jobs) — 100% in Yupo (42/42), rule. Examples: die Lehrerin, die Partnerin, die Bieterin, die Bürgerin, die Helferin.
- **-ung** → die — 100% in Yupo (227/227), rule. Examples: die Ehrung, die Haftung, die Prüfung, die Wartung, die Beziehung.
- **-ion** → die — 100% in Yupo (67/67), rule. Examples: die Vision, die Mission, die Auktion, die Edition, die Pension.
- **-tät** → die — 100% in Yupo (14/14), rule. Examples: die Aktivität, die Identität, die Loyalität, die Universität, die Diversität.
- **-age** → die. Examples: die Garage, die Collage, die Plantage, die Vernissage.
- **-ade** → die — 100% in Yupo (11/11), rule. Examples: die Parade, die Ballade, die Fassade, die Roulade, die Limonade.
- **-enz** → die — 100% in Yupo (10/10), rule. Examples: die Sequenz, die Referenz, die Kompetenz, die Konferenz, die Residenz.
- **-anz** → die — 100% in Yupo (7/7), rule. Examples: die Distanz, die Toleranz, die Akzeptanz, die Resonanz, die Intendanz.
- **-ine** → die — 100% in Yupo (21/21), rule. Examples: die Cousine, die Kantine, die Kabine, die Rosine, die Tajine.
- **-ur** → die — 100% in Yupo (16/16), rule. Examples: die Figur, die Kultur, die Klausur, die Natur, die Armatur.
- **-ei** → die — 100% in Yupo (11/11), rule. Examples: die Partei, die Malerei, die Weberei, die Bäckerei, die Reederei.
- **-ie** → die — 98% in Yupo (53/54), rule. Examples: die Kopie, die Regie, die Chemie, die Familie, die Lilie. Exceptions: der Sellerie.
- **-e** → die — 96% in Yupo (583/607), rule. Examples: die Ähre, die Alge, die Arie, die Düne, die Ebbe. Exceptions: der Abgeordnete, der Baumriese, der Bekannte, das Erbe, der Falke.
- **-ik** → die — 92% in Yupo (23/25), rule. Examples: die Ethik, die Grafik, die Kritik, die Akustik, die Keramik. Exceptions: das Mosaik, der Schaschlik.
- **-ette** → die — 83% in Yupo (10/12), tendency. Examples: die Limette, die Toilette, die Operette, die Vignette, die Netiquette. Exceptions: das Baguette, das Raclette.

### Suffixes that take das

Fewer words take das, but the diminutive suffixes and Latin-based endings like -um and -ment are very reliable.

- **-chen** → das (diminutive) — 100% in Yupo (11/11), rule. Examples: das Märchen, das Brötchen, das Hähnchen, das Veilchen, das Frettchen.
- **-ment** → das — 100% in Yupo (7/7), rule. Examples: das Parlament, das Kompliment, das Management, das Medikament, das Zeitmanagement.
- **-ett** → das — 100% in Yupo (6/6), rule. Examples: das Ballett, das Brikett, das Etikett, das Parkett, das Kabarett.
- **-um** → das — 100% in Yupo (18/18), rule. Examples: das Forum, das Visum, das Museum, das Jubiläum, das Publikum.
- **-lein** → das (diminutive).

### Suffixes that take der

For der, the patterns are less reliable: -er, the most common one, is only a tendency. Still, with words ending in -ling, -ismus and -ich you can say der with confidence.

- **-ismus** → der. Examples: der Journalismus, der Surrealismus, der Expressionismus, der Impressionismus.
- **-ling** → der — 100% in Yupo (5/5), rule. Examples: der Frühling, der Lehrling, der Zwilling, der Schmetterling, der Findling.
- **-eur** → der. Examples: der Regisseur, der Souffleur, der Requisiteur.
- **-ich** → der. Examples: der Teppich, der Rettich, der Pfirsich, der Meerrettich.
- **-or** → der — 92% in Yupo (12/13), rule. Examples: der Autor, der Tenor, der Mentor, der Sektor, der Bachelor. Exceptions: das Dekor.
- **-er** → der — 80% in Yupo (179/221), tendency. Examples: der Adler, der Anker, der Biber, der Döner, der Eimer. Exceptions: das Abenteuer, das Assessment-Center, das Atelier, die Auster, das Backpulver.
- **-ig** → der. Examples: der Essig, der Honig. Exceptions: das Reisig.

## 5. Compound nouns: the last part wins

German builds new words by joining words together. The article then **almost always comes from the last part**; the article of the first part doesn’t matter. For example, das Obst + der Salat = [der Obstsalat](https://yupolearn.com/en/word/obstsalat/). Rare exceptions include der Mittwoch (from die Woche). In Yupo’s list, 384 words get their article from this rule.

## 6. Plural nouns take die in the nominative

In the nominative, every plural noun takes **die**, whatever its gender: der Tisch → die Tische, das Haus → die Häuser. Some words are only used in the plural in German, or mostly said in the plural. Don’t mistake them for feminine singular nouns: die Antipasti (antipasti), die Cannelloni (cannelloni), die Eltern (parents), die Farfalle (farfalle), die Flitterwochen (honeymoon), die Fritten (fries), die Fusilli (fusilli), die Geschwister (siblings), die Gezeiten (tides), die Gnocchi (gnocchi), die Großeltern (grandparents), die Haferflocken (oatmeal), die Heizkosten (heating costs), die Mehrlinge (multiple-birth children), die Nebenkosten (additional costs), die Penne (penne), die Pilzsporen (fungal spores), die Pommes (French fries), die Ramen (ramen), die Ravioli (ravioli), die Rigatoni (rigatoni), die Spaghetti (spaghetti), die Tagliatelle (tagliatelle), die Tapas (tapas), die Tortellini (tortellini).

## 7. Hints from meaning groups

When a suffix doesn’t help, the meaning can. Some groups that grammar books commonly list:

- **der:** days, months and seasons (der Montag, der Mai, der Sommer), compass points (der Norden), most weather words (der Regen, der Schnee).
- **die:** most trees and flowers (die Eiche, die Rose), numbers (die Eins, die Zehn).
- **das:** verbs used as nouns (das Essen, das Leben), colors as nouns (das Rot), most metals (das Gold, das Silber).

These groups have exceptions too (das Gewitter, der Ahorn). When in doubt, check the word’s page.