See a German noun. Choose the correct article: der, die, or das. Instant feedback, score tracking, and a full weak word review at the end. 100 A1 nouns. Free.
Every German noun has a grammatical gender — masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das). Unlike English, where the works for every noun, German uses three different definite articles. The article is not always predictable from the noun's meaning, which is why drilling nouns with their articles is one of the most effective things you can do as a beginner.
| Article | Gender | Colour | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| der | Masculine | Blue | der Zug — the train |
| die | Feminine | Red | die Schule — the school |
| das | Neuter | Green | das Kind — the child |
| die | All plurals | Red | die Kinder — the children |
While there is no perfect rule, these ending patterns are reliable enough to be worth memorising:
| Ending | Article | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ung | die | die Zeitung, die Heizung, die Wohnung |
| -heit, -keit | die | die Freiheit, die Möglichkeit |
| -tion, -sion | die | die Nation, die Pension |
| -in (female persons) | die | die Lehrerin, die Ärztin |
| -chen, -lein | das | das Mädchen, das Fräulein |
| -ment | das | das Dokument, das Instrument |
| -er (agent nouns) | der | der Lehrer, der Fahrer |
| Days, months, seasons | der | der Montag, der Januar, der Winter |
The most effective way to learn German articles is through repeated retrieval practice — which is exactly what this trainer is designed for. Each session shuffles the 100 nouns randomly, so you never see them in the same order. When you get a noun wrong, it is added to your weak word list. At the end of each session, review the weak words carefully. Then restart and aim for a higher accuracy than your previous session.
A common goal is to reach 80% accuracy before your A1 exam. If you can consistently score 80% or higher across 100 random A1 nouns, your article knowledge is strong enough for the exam.