Learning 'der die das' all wrong?? | German with Laura

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This mini-course explains WHY learning the difference between der die and das is so important.
In this ‘German for beginners’ video, you’ll discover the FIRST STEP in leveraging your advantage as an adult learner of German. Not only do you need to START WITH GRAMMAR, but you need to start with NOUN GENDER (der die das) specifically.
But, there are smarter vs. harder ways to learn German noun gender!
(For even more information, check out my German noun gender guide here: germanwithlaura.com/noun-gender/)
In this video we’ll talk about the power of working with NOUN ENDINGS and NOUN GROUPS to help you learn thousands of German nouns in a fraction of the time (and with much less aggravation, too).
Despite what you might think from working with Duolingo and the like, the ‘der die das’ coming in front of German nouns is NOT random!
There are principles & patterns that govern the assigned gender of most German nouns. There are about 70 distinct noun endings and groups that, if memorized, will give you major mileage toward learning thousands of German nouns!
And you MUST know the gender of any noun in order to actually USE it in a sentence. In fact, German noun gender is one of THREE grammar components that impact the DECLENSIONS we use as part of the German CASE SYSTEM (more on this coming up in this series!).
But, in brief:
1. German noun gender MATTERS a great deal.
2. Trying to memorize a RANDOM ‘der die das’ in front of thousands of nouns is a TERRIBLE idea that will ultimately FAIL.
3. Working with the PRINCIPLES & PATTERNS of noun groups & endings is the smarter, not harder way!

[@pradeepsyamala3967]

Laura, You are the best German grammer teacher in KZbin. Can't tell you enough how much helpful they are. I hope you continue doing them.

[@advocatrix4183]

I have taken German classes (in Germany!) up to B2.2 and have never been taught this information. Very helpful -- danke sehr!

[@vineetN82]

Oh my god, right! And I thought I was an idiot for not being able to remember genders...

[@fayette1963]

There are also strong tendencies for german nouns in the basic form: First step is to discriminate between words of one and words of two syllables. The bi-syllabic nouns consist of one long(pronounced) and one short(unpronounced) syllable. The second (short and unpronounced) syllable carries the information for the Artikel in its noun ending. -e --> feminine: die Har-fe, die Blu-me, die Do-se, die Kat-ze, die Bir-ne... -er --> masculine: der Ha-fer, der Ei-mer, der Be-cher, der Stec-ker, der Pfef-fer, der Kel-ler... -en --> masculine: der Ha-fen, der Bal-ken, der Re-gen, der Schin-ken, der Brun-nen... -el--> mostly masculine: der Dac-kel, der Krei-sel, der Pin-sel, der Schlüs-sel.... here the plural form doesn´t change (one Pinsel, lots of Pinsel) but if the plural form is formed with additional "-n" it´s feminine: die In-sel (lots of In-seln), die Windel (lots of Win-deln), die Ta-fel (lots of Ta-feln).. Mono-syllabic nouns consist of one very long syllable. They are mostly masculine, but the plural form is decisive. In the plural form this very long syllable splits is one long and one short syllable. The second syllable carries the information for the Artikel in its plural ending: -er --> neuter: das Kind (lots of Kin-der), das Kleid (lots of Klei-der), das Schloss (lots of Schlös-ser)... -e plus "Umlaut" (vowel letter with two dots above) --> masculine: der Stuhl (lots of Stüh-le), der Wolf (lots of Wöl-fe), der Topf (lots of Töp-fe) -en --> feminine: die Bahn (lots of Bah-nen), die Fahrt (lots of Fahr-ten)...

[@fraktal3968]

Your English is crystal clear so i am able to watch you at 1.75-2.00 speed without losing any meaing. thanks for that.

[@RajKumar-gl5oi]

Seriously

[@anyatigeorge4508]

Your approach to teaching is simple and precise that everyone learning will easily grasp the meaning of what you're talking about. Keep on teaching the world. I'm very grateful for all your lessons. Congratulations....

[@milandrieoberholzer8207]

Every time I get stuck on explaining grammar to my students, I work through your beginner course for simpler explanations and it almost always helps. Moving from speaking German to teaching it is quite difficult sometimes. Thank you for the incredible information and help.

[@pmberkan]

Thank you! You will be best german language teacher in the you tube. Best regards🙏🏽

[@stela_solar]

Great tips as expected from the very start. Danke schön! 💐

[@kristinejadesorita2591]

Great, amazing teacher! Your videos are the best I've seen so far!

[@hilingtrip_]

I am a beginner in German and has confused to learn this, and finally found your channel. Such a piece of luck!

[@pro369]

Though I am an English speaker primarily, I should say you are doing so well, clear voice, and lucid explanation, just super

[@cocodiablo1]

Excellent and inspiring. The information on this video is very helpful. I have been stumbling through, learning der, die, das by memory. This helps to put structure to it. The colour coding is a neat memory aid. Thank you.

[@escape-chinacomscholarship4050]

Laura, this is the best video I found so far on explaining noun groups and gender. Danke!

[@Learn4Live]

Thank you so much, Laura. Your tip to deal with german articles are useful and much easier to apply than memorizing words.

[@meganj425]

Ich denke, dass du die beste Deutschlehrerin auf KZbin bist. Deine Webseite hat mir auch sehr viel geholfen.

[@tracekat6456]

Laura you're top notch! I wish I had a spanish instructor that taught like you teach German 😉 I look forward to my courses with you every day🤗🎉

[@user-me5tg7ur9s]

Thank you for your work 💕

[@Alexander-us7og]

Danke schön 👍

[@meganj425]

Wow VIELEN DANK für dieses sehr hilfreiche Video! Meine Deutschlehrer haben mir nie gesagt, dass es ein Muster gibt!

[@sandarms.9995]

Danke schön.

[@fang_shi_tong]

Laura, das Video ist wirklich toll! Vielen Dank!

[@Apsladye]

Thank you for this video! Very helpful!

[@leomikletic1617]

THANK YOU SO MUCH !

[@rwilliams6994]

Immer hervorragend; danke!

[@mwambuelijah9960]

You are a fantastic teacher. Danke!

[@FenderLewis]

This person makes so much sense! 😊

[@minookalantari]

Thank you

[@DiggerWhoops]

Great information....great delivery of it.

[@jjwatcher]

Danke, das freut mich.

[@alexanderyastrebov6815]

Thanks! You are simply the best!) Love a bunch of super helpful advices for memorizing

[@Psalm_27.4]

Laura, You’re very very knowledgeable in German! Your lessons will be highly effective in my review of, and growth in, German language skills. I HOPE the following may be useful to German language learners. When I first studied German in high school, I did not even think to use colors to help me associate masculine, feminine, or neuter. However, about 37 years later, when I studied Hebrew, I wrote feminine nouns and feminine verb endings with pink ink, and masculine nouns and masculine verb endings with blue ink. I used purple to write endings that applied to group endings which would include male AND female, because pink and blue make PURPLE!! 😄 There is no neuter in Hebrew, so I didn’t have to think about it. I also incorporated the MONTESSORI grammar symbols to mark my vocabulary so that it would remind me whether the word was a verb, noun, adjective, adverb, an article, pronoun, preposition, interjection, or a conjunction. Some people may NOT want to be this detailed, but it may help those who like to be very INTERACTIVE with their learning! 😄 So NOW, for German review of NEUTER nouns , I think I will use pencil since it looks GREY, or BLACK ink for neuter! Thank you again, for your excellent teaching!! You are helping many people! All the best!!!

[@ritac.g3314]

in portuguese, my native language, we have genders for nouns as well and it was so confusing because in portuguese, for example: table is feminine " a mesa" but in german is masculine "der tisch" but now you explained things go automatic in my brain, that helped a lot

[@mohamadkabrit2013]

Laura, you’re beautiful + the best teacher I’ve learnt from till now. Thank you

[@deedeeannash]

I'm happy that I came across your channel. You're good at this. As an anglophone who's studied French, I have no problem with French noun gender. It's because I have heard the language enough now that I can hear the music. I expect that I will pick up the music of German as I need to.

[@k.h.1037]

You will! And it is the best ways to learn, I'd say.

[@ivaansteven905]

Danke schon

[@izzyrov5814]

Associating the gender of nouns with color sounds like a great idea! I'm gonna do it. Thanks for the tips! 💯

[@jaws8154]

thank you so much!!

[@JTemperance]

I recently started learning german (A1), i just hope i would be able to make it til B2 😭

[@PhaulTscuheng]

Finally find a channel to teach basic German, great and thanks!

[@schachspieler3254]

thank you Laura

[@lonelyteens5715]

Omg, finally someone who can make sense to the die der das problems😅tnx a lot for your videos, i will definitely try

[@Relmonn]

Well, I have been watching some videos about this topic and I think this video is the best one which clearly tells the topic without leaving a question mark. I saw noun endings method but didn't really understand till I watch this video. I will recommend this video to my German learner friends too. Thank you so much for your great effort.

[@GermanwithLaura]

I appreciate the recommendation! :-)

[@rosstopherrub]

You are really excellent, Laura. Thank you so much for your videos. This one in particular is making my learning so much simpler!

[@GermanwithLaura]

Glad it was helpful!

[@boufontleflamingoetta8433]

You’re wonderful! Not everyone’s learning style is the same. So, your information is AMAZING for me. Thank you.

[@GermanwithLaura]

You are so welcome!

[@boul80572]

That is absolutely great memory aids for me!! Thanks !!- from Korean beginner :)

[@ethanclement9647]

Wow this is really interesting noun endings and noun groups! I will have to listen to your whole presentation on this one! Thanks

[@ahmedal-gazar2850]

wow that's so efficient

[@mojtabakazemi7606]

So helpful

[@fayette1963]

There are also strong tendencies for german nouns in the basic form: First step is to discriminate between words of one and words of two syllables. The bi-syllabic nouns consist of one long(pronounced) and one short(unpronounced) syllable. The second (short and unpronounced) syllable carries the information for the Artikel in its noun ending. -e --> feminine: die Har-fe, die Blu-me, die Do-se, die Kat-ze, die Bir-ne... -er --> masculine: der Ha-fer, der Ei-mer, der Be-cher, der Stec-ker, der Pfef-fer, der Kel-ler... -en --> masculine: der Ha-fen, der Bal-ken, der Re-gen, der Schin-ken, der Brun-nen... -el--> mostly masculine: der Dac-kel, der Krei-sel, der Pin-sel, der Schlüs-sel.... here the plural form doesn´t change (one Pinsel, lots of Pinsel) but if the plural form is formed with additional "-n" it´s feminine: die In-sel (lots of In-seln), die Windel (lots of Win-deln), die Ta-fel (lots of Ta-feln).. Mono-syllabic nouns consist of one very long syllable. They are mostly masculine, but the plural form is decisive. In the plural form this very long syllable splits is one long and one short syllable. The second syllable carries the information for the Artikel in its plural ending: -er --> neuter: das Kind (lots of Kin-der), das Kleid (lots of Klei-der), das Schloss (lots of Schlös-ser)... -e plus vowel change in the stem (Umlaut = vowel letter with two dots above) --> masculine: der Stuhl (lots of Stüh-le), der Wolf (lots of Wöl-fe), der Topf (lots of Töp-fe) -en --> feminine: die Bahn (lots of Bah-nen), die Fahrt (lots of Fahr-ten)...

[@kirankumar-gg1mm]

Perfect......!

[@medfox09]

Thanks you a lot . So useful... Piece of advice : add some pauses when you are giving a speech

[@AbhilashaKumari-vs7vu]

You are awesome Laura

[@jmaibauer]

This video was super helpful!

[@GermanwithLaura]

I'm so glad!

[@yesimkerem3520]

Blue, red and green, thanks Laura, I have started watching you on 05.11.2022 from İstanbul

[@xymox1733]

I really benefitted from your german grammar course. I also really appreciate that it was free. It has helped me develop the motivation to practice again. I'll hopefully be able to save up for your German foundations course soon! Have a lovely day :)

[@timdavis7845]

Great advice, Laura! Decades ago, when I was learning German, I actually took 3 smallish notebooks (one yellow, one red and one green) and assigned the "der nouns" to the green notebook, the "die nouns" to the yellow notebook and the "das nouns" to the red notebook. I bought a small German dictionary and painstakingly wrote all of the masculine der nouns in the green notebook; the feminine nouns in the yellow notebook and the neuter nouns in the red notebook. Once I had done that, I "lightly-colored" each noun with colored pencils corresponding to the color of their notebook covers. I would practice learning German nouns genders that way. :-)

[@GermanwithLaura]

I'm so glad that color coding has also worked for you!

[@Florida1213]

This is MARVELOUS!! I shall make my students watch this.

[@GermanwithLaura]

Thank you so much!

[@tintin1746]

Hope.i can learn a German .. thank you alot

[@mdsywodhridoy187]

I am feeling tenson about article but you make it easy danke schön

[@GermanwithLaura]

Happy to help

[@drem1228]

This makes so much more sense even for a sixth grader like me

[@maggieznoodles]

you are godsend

[@sanchezjean38]

underrated!

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

Der Campus im Berlin ist sehr gut. Guten Tag Laura. Yes , i like the motto " Learn German Smarter not harder " . Yes, i try to learn German using your channel #GermanWithLaura 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 Danke Schön.

[@Zoxuk]

Hi Laura, I love the way you present. Do you have videos where you present in German, or predominantly in German?

[@GermanwithLaura]

Currently, my videos are geared toward helping native English speakers learn German, but this could change in the future. Thank you for watching!

[@alicetwain]

What you explain is exactly how set up for failure anyone with even the midlest dyslexia.

[@TheAashiaana]

Namaste...Guten Tag.... Thank you have sorted Der Die Das issues so beautifully..

[@MsTranthihai71]

Could you please set automatic subtitles? Thank you.

[@ranjancyberphoton3295]

Hello Laura, Thanks for sharing these videos. I want to learn German but want to start with the first video. Could you please put the videos with a sequence it will help us to go through a sequence and learn step by step.

[@GermanwithLaura]

I actually did a compilation video right here! :-D -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppKnf4egpLx4rqs

[@biljanapajovic8841]

and what do i do whit Bank post park....

[@mayadamoustafa8606]

How do i memories ig and ich when they have the same pernonsing????

[@John_Weiss]

FYI: In the German grammar text I have … which is written _in German_ for Germans … they're not called "noun genders", they're called "noun _Genus."_ Which, think about it, makes more sense: "Genus" being Latin for "category" or "group". "Genus" can _also_ be translated as "gender," but it's pretty far down the list. So don't think, "Noun Gender", think: "Noun Genus" … i.e. Noun Category.

[@javidmohammady3795]

Hello my teacher .i hope you are great (Das ist ein auto). We have here one Subject or two subject ?I think das here is a demonstrative and Because a teacher told we have two subject( das and auto ) Thanks for responding

[@sahinsarkar7293]

Hi Laura, this video was really clear about der, die, das. I was confused when I read das madchen in german, thinking why are the girls (clearly feminine) associated with the neuter "das", which thanks to you, I know now. But in 11:22, can you please mention which rule here gets precedence when a noun is for example, masculine according to ending, but not masculine according to the noun group?

[@GermanwithLaura]

It's because of the supreme strength of the neuter -chen / -lein endings, which outweighs even 'intuitive gender'! The basic gender hierarchy (I'm not including some nuances here) is: -chen / -lein intuitive gender most endings (e.g. -ling, -ung, -ment) the remaining noun groups (e.g. animals, plants, weather, fabrics, etc.) the weakest endings (e.g. -a, -om, -al, etc.)

[@supadupahilton6848]

Yeah, I had "hit the ceiling" a while ago, with minimal progress for some time now. Duolingo sucess was limited, while Rosetta stone had techical issues with no support or refuind. Truly horrible!! This is WAAYYYYY Better!!!

[@jjwatcher]

Die Farben ist eine gut idee.

[@SDKhan-yv7bs]

Das Wort "Idee" wird großgeschrieben, weil es ein Nomen ist. Ich würde es eher so ausdrücken: Es ist eine gute Idee, die Farben zu verwenden.

[@wyaynrasmussen2561]

Where can I find the German Noun Gender: Your Essential Guide? I looked on your website but could not find it.

[@GermanwithLaura]

Hey there, You can find it right here ->> germanwithlaura.com/der-die-das/ I hope that helps!

[@ninarewizorska9714]

When I saw the fruit section for "Die", der Apfel immediately came to my mind lol.

[@fergusre]

Question, if feminine nouns include endings in -keit then why do we sing Der Gemutlichkeit in Ein Prosit?

[@GermanwithLaura]

It is a feminine noun. This is where declensions and cases come into play. It is a feminine noun being used in the dative case, and that is why it is using 'der' instead of 'die.' I teach in depth about declensions and the case system in my courses. You can get started here for free! germanwithlaura.com/unlocking-german-grammar/

[@CristianSGuedes]

hi! is there any video from you speaking German? Are you a native speaker? Just asking because I liked your video.

[@ashanti.191]

Im struggling with this ://

[@TaimoorAhmaddKhan]

Du siehst frisch immer❤

[@kerryhill4175]

es wunderbar unt fantastich

[@mohammadabdelrahman786]

I'm kinda confused. You said you'll reference a link to an article about more details, but there's no link in the description (the provided link is something else)

[@GermanwithLaura]

Oh! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Here you go (and I'll get the description updated, too): germanwithlaura.com/noun-gender/

[@zoraidaquintero-hardie4461]

I can’t understand why language teachers don’t think that WORDS that are not of common use should not be placed as example, let alone to be memorised. Here you are one: der Fäustling. When was the last time that you used a mitten in a day to day conversation? Hope you get this tip for your superb videos teaching. Language is communication , so let’s have useful vocabulary at all time.

[@GermanwithLaura]

I can understand your thoughts on this. It is difficult to include vocabulary that will work for everyone.

[@juns597]

How are these lessons different from the one you offer (for sale)?

[@GermanwithLaura]

Many of the same topics are covered, but in much greater depth and with tons of practice exercises.

[@sreejith319]

May i know the fees for doing just grammar with you? I have completed till b1 level.

[@GermanwithLaura]

I would recommend starting with my free course Unlocking German Grammar. My German Foundations course covers a variety of information from a1-c1 but I present it in a different way that any other program I've seen, so I think it would still be very valuable for you! Here's the link for the free course. germanwithlaura.com/unlocking-german-grammar/

[@sreejith319]

@@GermanwithLaura thanks for your responds.

[@GeneRauXxX]

der BMW or die BMW you wrote both of this in your web site? of course masculine one is for car other one is other carriers but what is the diffrence if I mean the brand in general. which one should I choose?

[@GermanwithLaura]

When referring to the BMW brand in general, you would typically use "der BMW" because "BMW" (Bayerische Motoren Werke) is a masculine noun, and it is common to use the definite article "der" with masculine nouns in German. So, if you're talking about the BMW brand itself, you would say: - "Der BMW ist eine bekannte Automarke." (BMW is a well-known car brand.) The use of "die BMW" would not be appropriate when referring to the brand as a whole. It might be used in contexts where you are specifying a particular model or referring to several BMW cars collectively, but when discussing the brand itself, "der BMW" is the correct choice. Hope this helps! - Nicole, GwL Team

[@GeneRauXxX]

thank you so much for the explanation. It makes sense now. @@GermanwithLaura

[@pustoontypist.5869]

my teacher name is also laura

[@gray3727]

Hey I just invented the color-coding idea literally 10 minutes ago!

[@rukiminguntur9503]

Do you use feminim article for Apfel, orange? Die Äpfel, die orange.

[@GermanwithLaura]

der Apfel -> die Äpfel (plural) die Orange -> die Orangen (plural) Just remember that 'die' could be either feminine or plural. :-)

[@elboujdainiilias2244]

pls, can someone recommend a good app that would help with words gender training and thanks

[@GermanwithLaura]

Unfortunately, there isn't one that I would personally recommend, but hopefully that will be something I might put together in the future! We'll see!

[@elboujdainiilias2244]

@@GermanwithLaura Okay, thank you so much teacher Laura. Concerning noun groups genders, I would like to hint to something important, As I see we can not depend 100 percent on the noun groups method in order to determine the right article for a group noun. For instance, animals are not all masculine even those biologically masculine ones. There are many feminine, masculine and few neutral animals so every group comes with exceptions and the same thing applies to every group so, a learner of German language must have to deal with all those exceptions too.

[@ozgurkaplan6153]

Laura, çok tatlı bir öğretmen olman bir yana, seninle tanışmayı çok isterim. I have been learning English and German with you. Thanks a lot.

[@ozgurkaplan6153]

@@webmittutorialseries9711 what? Why did you say that? Do you know something or else?

[@GeneRauXxX]

good luck for those of you who are learning german bcs you will need it, jk it is pretty easier when you compare to slavic languages.

[@sarahalkin6121]

thanks a lot Laura for the amazing german learning guidline, one question about the groups gender is it might have exceptions as well? because I am from IRAQ and its Masculine (der Irak) since its from group countries!

[@GermanwithLaura]

Hey Sarah, sorry I'm just seeing this! There are definitely some exceptions for the groups, but I put them together in groups where the vast majority will follow the same gender. I hope that helps!

[@lolla_tiamolto]

can we say die Männer oder it can change depending the contest of the sentence?

[@GermanwithLaura]

If you're asking if we could use a different gender for the article (like der or das) then no. It would always be 'die'. But, there will be times where you use a different determiner (e.g. these, many, some, etc.) or no determiner at all.

[@joshk2123]

!! 2 questions... what's with rolling the R's? Is that reminiscent of Nazism... or is it okay to do in Germany? Also, is pronunciation of "ich" regional? "ish" or "ich"? DANKE!

[@GermanwithLaura]

Well, Hitler definitely did have a very distinctive pronunciation pattern, but I would not consider rolling R's to have ties to Nazism. You'll find that rolling R's and the pronunciation of 'ich' is, indeed, a regional issue. :-)

[@blessedlife7581]

💕

[@gracyjomon3223]

❤❤

[@camillescottxenoenthusiast7929]

Cutest thumbnail ever.

[@koni2568]

Kurze Ausbesserung für die Aussprache von Essig 😅 Man kann es wie Laura artikulieren, aber korrekterweise würde es nicht wie „ich“ ausgesprochen werden 😊 sorry for being a „Neunmalklug“ 😅

[@GermanwithLaura]

From Laura's experience, the word 'vinegar' can have several pronunciations - it just depends on the region! - Nicole, GwL Team

[@kundaliniairport]

das Pfund .. die Rupie .. careful with currencies fruits, generally feminine.. but der Apfel

[@GermanwithLaura]

Yep! The point is to learn the rule & then the exceptions, though. :-) Much easier than never learning the rule and thinking it's all thoroughly random.