Common German Nouns With Articles and Plurals: 100 A1 Words

Here are 100 common German nouns with their articles and plurals, the ones you'll use most at A1. Each comes with der, die or das, its plural and the English meaning, sorted by the situations where you'll actually need them: your flat, the bakery, the station, work, the doctor's and the Bürgeramt.

Learn each noun as one unit with its article and plural, like der Bahnhof, die Bahnhöfe. That single habit saves you hundreds of mistakes later, because the article changes how every sentence around the noun is built.

How to Use This List

Say the whole unit out loud: "der Tisch, die Tische". Your ear remembers the rhythm better than your eyes remember the letters.
Learn one group at a time. Ten words that belong to the same situation stick together.
Read the example sentences. They show the noun in a real sentence, which is how you'll meet it.
Cover the article column and test yourself before moving to the next group.

If you want rules that help you guess an article you don't know yet, read der, die, das rules. For the logic behind the plurals, see German plural rules. This post is the practical list to go with them.

People

German	Plural	English
der Mann	die Männer	man; husband
die Frau	die Frauen	woman; wife; Mrs/Ms
das Kind	die Kinder	child
die Mutter	die Mütter	mother
der Vater	die Väter	father
der Freund	die Freunde	friend; boyfriend
der Mensch	die Menschen	person, human being
das Mädchen	die Mädchen	girl
der Junge	die Jungen	boy
die Leute	(plural only)	people

Das ist mein Mann, Thomas. This is my husband, Thomas.
Die Leute hier sind nett. The people here are nice.

Das Mädchen is neuter even though a girl is female, because the small-thing ending -chen always makes a noun das. And die Leute only exists in the plural, so it always takes a plural verb: die Leute sind. For the whole family, see family members in German.

Home and Your Flat

German	Plural	English
die Wohnung	die Wohnungen	flat, apartment
das Haus	die Häuser	house; building
das Zimmer	die Zimmer	room
die Küche	die Küchen	kitchen
das Bad	die Bäder	bathroom
der Schlüssel	die Schlüssel	key
die Miete	die Mieten	rent
der Tisch	die Tische	table
das Bett	die Betten	bed
der Schrank	die Schränke	cupboard; wardrobe

Wie viele Zimmer hat die Wohnung? How many rooms does the flat have?
Die Miete ist achthundert Euro warm. The rent is 800 euros including heating and service charges.

Notice that das Zimmer and der Schlüssel don't change in the plural: nouns ending in -er and -el often stay the same, and only the article tells you it's plural. More words for the flat are in our house and rooms vocabulary.

Food and Drink

German	Plural	English
das Brot	die Brote	bread, loaf
das Brötchen	die Brötchen	bread roll
der Kaffee	die Kaffees	coffee
das Wasser	(usually no plural)	water
die Milch	(usually no plural)	milk
das Ei	die Eier	egg
der Apfel	die Äpfel	apple
die Kartoffel	die Kartoffeln	potato
das Fleisch	(usually no plural)	meat
das Glas	die Gläser	glass; jar

Vier Brötchen, bitte. Four rolls, please.
Ich brauche sechs Eier. I need six eggs.

Words like Wasser, Milch and Fleisch are things you don't count, so you'll rarely need a plural. To order them, count the container instead: zwei Flaschen Wasser (two bottles of water), ein Glas Milch (a glass of milk).

Shopping and Money

German	Plural	English
der Supermarkt	die Supermärkte	supermarket
das Geschäft	die Geschäfte	shop, store; business
die Kasse	die Kassen	checkout, till
der Preis	die Preise	price
das Geld	(usually no plural)	money
die Karte	die Karten	card; also ticket, map, menu
die Rechnung	die Rechnungen	bill, check
die Flasche	die Flaschen	bottle
die Tüte	die Tüten	(shopping) bag
das Angebot	die Angebote	offer, deal

Wo ist die Kasse? Where's the checkout?
Der Käse ist im Angebot. The cheese is on sale.

Die Karte is one of the most useful words in this list: it means a bank card, but also a ticket, a map and a menu. In shops you'll hear Karte oder bar? (card or cash?). For the full shop routine, see German supermarket vocabulary.

Getting Around

German	Plural	English
der Bahnhof	die Bahnhöfe	(train) station
die Haltestelle	die Haltestellen	stop (bus, tram)
der Zug	die Züge	train
der Bus	die Busse	bus
die Straße	die Straßen	street, road
das Auto	die Autos	car
das Fahrrad	die Fahrräder	bicycle
die Fahrkarte	die Fahrkarten	ticket (bus, train)
der Flughafen	die Flughäfen	airport
die Reise	die Reisen	trip, journey

Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? How do I get to the station?
Welcher Bus fährt zum Bahnhof? Which bus goes to the station?

Here the article pays off straight away: der Bahnhof becomes zum Bahnhof, but die Haltestelle becomes zur Haltestelle. More in our public transport vocabulary.

Time

German	Plural	English
der Tag	die Tage	day
die Woche	die Wochen	week
der Monat	die Monate	month
das Jahr	die Jahre	year
die Stunde	die Stunden	hour; lesson
die Minute	die Minuten	minute
die Uhr	die Uhren	clock, watch; o'clock
der Abend	die Abende	evening
die Nacht	die Nächte	night
das Wochenende	die Wochenenden	weekend

Ich arbeite vier Tage pro Woche. I work four days a week.
Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht? What did you do at the weekend?

Days of the week, months and parts of the day are masculine (der Montag, der Mai, der Abend), except die Nacht. Units like die Woche, die Stunde and das Jahr have to be learned one by one. Das Wochenende takes its article from the last part, das Ende. See also days of the week and months.

Work and Learning

German	Plural	English
die Arbeit	die Arbeiten	work; job
der Beruf	die Berufe	job, profession
die Firma	die Firmen	company, firm
der Kollege	die Kollegen	colleague
der Kurs	die Kurse	course, class
der Lehrer	die Lehrer	teacher
die Schule	die Schulen	school
das Wort	die Wörter	word
die Frage	die Fragen	question
die Prüfung	die Prüfungen	exam

Was sind Sie von Beruf? What do you do for a living?
Ich kenne das Wort nicht. I don't know that word.

Nouns made with the ending -ung are always feminine and add -en in the plural: die Prüfung, die Prüfungen, just like die Wohnung and die Rechnung above. For female job titles, add -in (dropping a final -e): die Lehrerin, die Kollegin.

Health and the Body

German	Plural	English
der Arzt	die Ärzte	doctor
der Termin	die Termine	appointment
die Praxis	die Praxen	doctor's surgery, practice
der Kopf	die Köpfe	head
die Hand	die Hände	hand
der Fuß	die Füße	foot
das Auge	die Augen	eye
der Bauch	die Bäuche	stomach, belly
das Fieber	(usually no plural)	fever, temperature
die Hilfe	(usually no plural)	help

Ich möchte einen Termin machen. I'd like to make an appointment.
Mein Kopf tut weh. My head hurts.

Most nouns ending in -e are feminine, but das Auge isn't, and neither are der Junge, der Kollege or das Wochenende from the lists above. The rest are in our guides to body parts in German and German at the doctor.

Free Time

German	Plural	English
die Freizeit	(usually no plural)	free time, spare time
das Hobby	die Hobbys	hobby
der Sport	(usually no plural)	sport, exercise
das Kino	die Kinos	cinema
der Film	die Filme	film, movie
der Geburtstag	die Geburtstage	birthday
die Party	die Partys	party
das Geschenk	die Geschenke	present, gift
der Urlaub	die Urlaube	holiday, vacation; time off work
das Wetter	(usually no plural)	weather

Was machst du in deiner Freizeit? What do you do in your free time?
Wann hast du Geburtstag? When is your birthday?

Words borrowed from English usually take -s in the plural: die Hobbys, die Partys, die Handys. Note the German spelling: -ys, not -ies.

Offices, Phone and Post

German	Plural	English
das Formular	die Formulare	form
der Pass	die Pässe	passport
der Ausweis	die Ausweise	ID card
die Adresse	die Adressen	address
die Unterschrift	die Unterschriften	signature
das Konto	die Konten	bank account
die Bank	die Banken	bank
das Handy	die Handys	mobile (phone)
der Brief	die Briefe	letter
die Post	(usually no plural)	post office; post, mail

Haben Sie Ihren Pass dabei? Do you have your passport with you?
Ich möchte ein Konto eröffnen. I'd like to open an account.

You'll need most of these in your first weeks in Germany. Our guide to German for the Anmeldung puts them to work at the Bürgeramt.

What These 100 Nouns Teach You About Articles and Plurals

Count the articles in this list and you get 35 der, 36 die and 29 das. So there's no "default" article you can fall back on. But the plurals do follow a handful of patterns:

Plural pattern	Nouns in this list	Examples
-n or -en	31	die Woche, die Wochen; die Rechnung, die Rechnungen
-e (sometimes with an umlaut)	31	der Tag, die Tage; der Zug, die Züge
no ending (sometimes with an umlaut)	9	das Zimmer, die Zimmer; der Vater, die Väter
-er (umlaut where possible)	8	das Kind, die Kinder; das Haus, die Häuser
-s	6	das Auto, die Autos; das Handy, die Handys
other	4	der Bus, die Busse; das Konto, die Konten
no plural or plural only	11	das Geld; die Leute

Three shortcuts you can use today:

Most feminine nouns add -n or -en: die Straße, die Straßen; die Arbeit, die Arbeiten.
Masculine and neuter nouns ending in -er, -el and -chen usually don't change: der Lehrer, die Lehrer; das Brötchen, die Brötchen.
The plural article is always die in the nominative, whatever the singular: der Tag, die Tage; das Jahr, die Jahre.

Common Mistakes

Adding an English -s to everything. It's die Tische, not die Tischs. The -s plural is mostly for borrowed words like Auto and Hobby.
Using the singular article in the plural. Der Tisch becomes die Tische, not der Tische.
Treating die Leute as singular. Die Leute sind nett, not ist.
Calling a girl "die Mädchen". In the singular it's das Mädchen; die Mädchen means girls.
Forgetting the umlaut. Der Apfel becomes die Äpfel, and der Zug becomes die Züge. Say the plural out loud so you hear the difference.

Practice: Article and Plural

Give the article and the plural for each noun, then check your answers below.

Wohnung
Bahnhof
Kind
Schlüssel
Woche
Handy
Glas
Kollege

Answers: 1. die Wohnung, die Wohnungen. 2. der Bahnhof, die Bahnhöfe. 3. das Kind, die Kinder. 4. der Schlüssel, die Schlüssel. 5. die Woche, die Wochen. 6. das Handy, die Handys. 7. das Glas, die Gläser. 8. der Kollege, die Kollegen.

Want more? Try the A1 German quiz, or click any noun's word page, for example Bahnhof or Wohnung, to see it in more sentences.

All 394 A1 Nouns, With Audio

These 100 nouns are about a quarter of the nouns you meet at A1 (see how many words you need for A1). The A1 Word Kit has all 394 nouns from the Goethe A1 list and our everyday extras, each with its article, plural, two example sentences with English and audio, inside 787 words sorted into 26 real-life chapters. Its flashcards bring back each noun with its article until it sticks.

You can try it with the free 100-word sample, which includes the audio. And if you're wondering what else is on the official list, our guide to the Goethe A1 word list explains it.

FAQ

How do I know if a German noun is der, die or das?

Some endings tell you: nouns made with -ung, -heit and -keit are always die, and the small-thing endings -chen and -lein always make a noun das. For most other nouns there's no safe rule, so learn the article together with the word.

What is the plural of der, die and das?

In the nominative it's always die: der Tag, die Tage; die Woche, die Wochen; das Jahr, die Jahre.

Which German nouns have no plural?

Mostly things you don't count, like das Geld (money), die Milch (milk), das Wetter (weather) and die Freizeit (free time). A few words work the other way and only exist in the plural, like die Leute (people) and die Eltern (parents).

Why are German nouns capitalised?

It's simply a spelling rule: every German noun starts with a capital letter, wherever it is in the sentence. It's actually helpful, because you can spot the nouns at a glance.