Die Grundlagen · Unit 9 of 10 · 9 min
Nomen, Artikel und Großschreibung
Nouns, articles and capitalization
Why every noun is capitalized and why you never learn one without der, die or das.
German writes every noun with a capital letter and gives every noun a gender. Neither is optional, and the gender is rarely guessable — which is why you never learn a noun on its own.
Learning objectives
- Capitalise German nouns correctly.
- Store every new noun with der, die or das and its plural.
- Recognise nouns in a written sentence.
Can-Do outcomes
- I can write a short sentence with correctly capitalised nouns.
- I can give the article of the nouns I have learned.
- I can say why “Computer” alone is an incomplete vocabulary entry.
Native-speaker review required
Three rules to start with
Every German noun is capitalized, wherever it stands in the sentence: Ich habe einen Computer.
Every noun has a grammatical gender — der, die or das — and it is not always predictable from meaning. Das Mädchen (the girl) is neuter, and that is simply how it is.
So learn the article as part of the word. A vocabulary card should never show a bare noun when an article belongs to it.
Learn it like this
| Learn | Not |
|---|---|
| der Computer | Computer |
| die Verbindung | Verbindung |
| das Internet | Internet |
Plurals come along too
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| der Computer | die Computer |
| die Verbindung | die Verbindungen |
| das Wort | die Wörter |
In the plural, every gender takes die. German plural endings vary, so store the plural with the word — the same way you store the article. Detailed case grammar (den, dem, des) waits for A1 and later.
Say it aloud
Aussprachetrainer
Der Computer funktioniert nicht.
The computer isn't working.
Aussprachetrainer
Die Verbindung ist langsam.
The connection is slow.
Wortschatz
- derComputer— computerPlural: die Computer
- dieVerbindung— connectionPlural: die Verbindungen
- dasInternet— internetUsed without a plural.
- derTisch— tablePlural: die Tische
- dieTür— doorPlural: die Türen
- dasFenster— windowPlural: die Fenster
- dasWort— wordPlural: die Wörter
Übungen
Select the article
Welcher Artikel gehört zu „Verbindung“?
Which article belongs with “Verbindung”?
Optional between-session assignment
Meine zehn Dinge
My ten things
Vocabulary collection · about 12 min · Self-reported completion
- 1.Pick ten objects you can see right now.
- 2.Look up each German noun with its article and, where it has one, its plural.
- 3.Save all ten to your Wortschatz as article + noun, never the bare noun.
In-app alternative · Save the seven nouns from this unit's vocabulary list, then add three of your own from the Wortschatz page.
Willkommen zurück!
Return checkpoint
Two or three quick checks the next time you open this unit. Attempting it is what counts — anything you miss becomes a review recommendation, not a failure.
1. Which is correct?
2. Which sentence is written correctly?
3. What is the plural of das Wort in the sense of individual words?
Completion summary
Nomen, Artikel und Großschreibung abgeschlossen
You now collect nouns the way German expects: capitalised, with an article, and with a plural.
Unit 10 checks the whole foundation.
Marking a unit complete adds its Can-Do outcomes to your spaced-repetition queue. Perfect scores are never required.