Articles — der, die, das
ලේඛ — ඩෙයා, ඩී, ඩාස්
Every German noun has a gender. Learn the system that trips up most beginners.
German nouns are masculine, feminine, or neuter — and the article changes accordingly. There's no shortcut: you must learn each noun together with its article from day one.
Definite articles ('the')
| Gender | Article | Example | Sinhala pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | der | der Mann | ඩෙයා මාන් | the man |
| Feminine | die | die Frau | ඩී ෆ්රව් | the woman |
| Neuter | das | das Kind | ඩාස් කින්ට් | the child |
| Plural (all genders) | die | die Kinder | ඩී කින්ඩර් | the children |
Indefinite articles ('a/an')
| Gender | Article | Example | Sinhala pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | ein | ein Mann | අයින් මාන් | a man |
| Feminine | eine | eine Frau | අයිනෙ ෆ්රව් | a woman |
| Neuter | ein | ein Kind | අයින් කින්ට් | a child |
Practice nouns — learn the article with the word
der Tisch
the table
die Lampe
the lamp
das Buch
the book
der Stuhl
the chair
die Tasche
the bag
das Fenster
the window
Negation with kein / keine
To say 'not a' or 'no', German uses kein (masculine/neuter) or keine (feminine/plural) instead of 'nicht ein'.
Ich habe kein Buch.
ඉශ් හාබෙ කයින් බුඛ්.
I don't have a book.
Ich habe keine Katze.
ඉශ් හාබෙ කයිනෙ කට්සෙ.
I don't have a cat.
Golden rule: never memorize a noun alone. Always learn 'das Buch', not just 'Buch'. Color-code your flashcards by gender if it helps — blue for der, red for die, green for das.
රන් රීතිය: noun එක තනියම කටපාඩම් කරන්න එපා. 'Buch' නෙවෙයි, 'das Buch' විදිහට ඉගෙන ගන්න.
Check your understanding
What is the correct article for 'Buch' (book)?