Day 1: Gendered nouns and describing your home
Overview
Self-Study Topic | Duration: 25–30 minutes
Level: Absolute Beginner
OBJECTIVE
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:
✔ Identify the gender (der, die, das) of common everyday nouns.
✔ Confidently state what an object is using “Das ist…”
CONTENT
1. Self-check
Check how much you remember from last week:
- Make a personal presentation like the one you practiced on Friday.
- Tell time.
- Talk about what you do on various days of the week.
Speak freely, without using notes.
Congratulations! You have now mastered basic German!
2. Gendered nouns
Step 1: What are Genders?
- In German, every noun has a gender: masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das).
- Die is also used for plural nouns.
- This is a category, not necessarily related to whether the object is male or female.
- Think of it as a “noun group.”
- Der, die, and das are definite articles.
- You need to learn the article with the noun from the very beginning!
Tip: The word “the” in English is just one word. In German, it’s three: der, die, or das.
Step 2: Common Nouns & Their Genders
Let’s start with everyday items you might find in a room:
- Study this list.
- Listen to the audio clip below to hear the correct pronunciation.
- Stop the audio clip and repeat until you have mastered the pronunciation
| German | Gender | English | Pronunciation Tip |
| der Stuhl | masculine | the chair | “Shtool” |
| der Tisch | masculine | the table | “Tish” |
| der Computer | masculine | the computer | Just like English! |
| der Teppich | masculine | the carpet | “TEP-ish” |
| der Sessel | masculine | the armchair | “ZES-sel” |
| der Schrank | masculine | the cupboard / wardrobe | “Shrahnk” |
| der Bildschirm | masculine | the screen / monitor | “BILT-sheerm” |
| die Lampe | feminine | the lamp | “LAHM-peh” |
| die Tür | feminine | the door | Like “tour” but shorter |
| die Pflanze | feminine | the plant | “PFLAHN-tseh” |
| die Wand | feminine | the wall | “Vahnd” |
| die Uhr | feminine | the clock | “Oor” |
| das Bett | neuter | the bed | “Bet” |
| das Buch | neuter | the book | “Bookh” (ch like in Scottish ‘loch’) |
| das Fenster | neuter | the window | “FEN-ster” |
| das Regal | neuter | the shelf / bookcase | “re-GAHL” |
| das Kissen | neuter | the pillow / cushion | “KIS-sen” |
| das Papier | neuter | the paper | “pah-PEER” |
| das Radio | neuter | the radio | “RAH-dio” |
| das Handy | neuter | the mobile phone | “HEN-dee” |
| das Bild | neuter | the picture / painting | “Bilt” |
Step 3: Practice
Exercise 1: Practice new vocabulary on Quizlet. You may need to create an account for full access.
Exercise 2: Drop the nouns into the correct boxes.
Exercise 3: Drag and drop words to label the items.
Listen to our educational song and sing Along
3. Describing your room
Step 1: Key Question and answer
- Was ist das ? (What is it? / What is this?)
- Das ist das Bett. (It is the bed. / This is the bed.)
Step 2: Listen and reapeat
Listen to the audio file, stop the recording if necessary, and repeat.
Step 3: Practice
Exercise 1
Play the game below.
- Click on the nodes.
- Write answers to the question “Was ist das?”
- Answer in this way: “Das ist das Bett.”
- Remember to use capital letters and end the sentences with the full stop.
- Check your answers and go to the next node.
- Start with the entrance (the door).
Exercise 2
A. Write a text in which you describe the room in the above game.
Example: Das ist die Tür. Das ist das Bett.
B. Read the text aloud and record yourself. You can use the recorder below for this. Check your pronunciation by listening to the audio files in this topic.
4. Homework & Preview FOR TOMORROW
Homework
- Writing: Take a picture of your room or some rooms in your home. Describe them in the same way as in Part 3, Exercise 2 above.
- Listening: Watch our room-description song again and sing along.
- Speaking: Record yourself describing the pictures you have taken.
PREVIEW
Tomorrow, we’ll learn how to talk about more than one of something—plural forms.
Great start to Week 2!
word of encouragement
Learning genders is a foundation skill.
Every correct ‘der’, ‘die’, or ‘das’ is a win!