den

The Masculine Article Den

Level 1

Den is the for masculine nouns: den Hond (the dog), de Mann (the man). The same form is used for the subject and for the direct object.

How It Works

1. Which nouns take den
Den goes with masculine singular nouns. Because the article shows the gender, learn each noun together with it: den Hond (the dog), den Dësch (the table), de Mann (the man), de Stull (the chair).

2. Subject and object look the same
The nominative and the accusative have the same article, so den does not tell you who does what. Word order and meaning do:

  • De Mann gesäit den Hond. (The man sees the dog.)
  • Den Hond gesäit de Mann. (The dog sees the man.)

Only the dative has a different form, dem: Ech ginn dem Mann d'Buch. See dem/der/den (dative) and the case system overview.

3. Den or de?
The official spelling writes the n-rule, so you must choose the right form:

  • den before a vowel: den Apel, den Owend, den Auto
  • den before d, h, n, t and z: den Dag, den Hond, den Noper, den Téi, den Zuch
  • de before all other consonants: de Bus, de Kaffi, de Mann, de Papp, de Vëlo

At the start of a sentence the article is capitalized: Den Hond schléift. De Bus kënnt.

4. Where den is not used
Feminine nouns, neuter nouns and all plurals take d': d'Fra, d'Kand, d'Männer. Men's first names are masculine, so they take den too: De Paul kënnt (see de Paul/d'Anna). Before an adjective den stays the same: de grousse Mann.

Examples (6)

  1. Den Hond schléift.

    The dog is sleeping.

    The n stays because Hond starts with h.

  2. De Mann gesäit den Hond.

    The man sees the dog.

    Word by Word: The man sees the dog.

    The subject (de Mann) and the object (den Hond) use the same article; only the n-rule changes its spelling.

  3. Wou ass den Zuch?

    Where is the train?

    The n stays before z.

  4. Ech huelen de Bus.

    I take the bus.

    De before b. The object has the same article as a subject would.

  5. De Kaffi ass waarm.

    The coffee is warm.

    Kaffi is masculine, and the n drops before k.

  6. Den Apel ass rout.

    The apple is red.

    The n stays before a vowel.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the n before a consonant that drops it.

    Ech huelen den Bus.
    Ech huelen de Bus.

    The n-rule is part of the spelling. Before b the article is written de.

  • Dropping the n before a vowel or before d, h, n, t or z.

    De Hond schléift.
    Den Hond schléift.

    H is one of the letters that keep the n, so the article stays den.

  • Using den with a neuter or feminine noun.

    De Kand spillt.
    D'Kand spillt.

    Kand is neuter, and den is only for masculine nouns. Neuter nouns take d'.

How It Connects

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denLevel 1The Masculine Article Den

Learn This First

Before The Masculine Article Den, learn The N-Rule (Eifeler Regel) and Three Cases.

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