Ein or eine: indefinite articles

The idea

Use ein for a masculine or neuter noun in the nominative and eine for a feminine noun. These correspond roughly to “a” or “an”. There is no ordinary plural indefinite article.

Examples to say aloud

• Das ist ein Tisch.
  That is a table.
• Das ist eine Tasche.
  That is a bag.
• Das sind Bücher.
  Those are books.

A common mistake

The article follows the German noun’s gender, not whether its English translation begins with a vowel.

Try it yourself

Complete: Das ist ___ Tasche.

Make your attempt, then open the explanation.

Keep practising

Try KLAR’s first three A1 lessons without signing up. These quick guides are supplementary practice and do not represent a complete A1 course.