der
German, article/deːr/
der is spelled D-E-R (3 letters) and appears 28,840 times per million words in written German, the 2nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Der is a German masculine article meaning “nominative masculine singular definite article, the” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a nominative masculine singular of der.
What does der mean in English?
article
- 1
nominative masculine singular definite article, the
pronoun
- 1
masculinewho; that; which
Ich kenne einen Mann, der das kann.
pronoun
- 1
that
Der Mann war es!
- 2
him, he (in informal speech not necessarily emphasizing anything)
Der hat es getan!
- 3
the one, him
Der mit dem Mantel
article
- 1
masculinenominative masculine singular
- 2
femininegenitive/dative feminine singular
- 3
genitive plural
pronoun
- 1
femininedative feminine singular of der: (to) whom, which, that
pronoun
- 1
femininedative feminine singular of der: (to) that, (to) her
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
determiner: 1. definiter Artikel (bestimmtes Geschlechtswort)
pronoun: 1. Nominativ Singular maskulin des Relativpronomens der (die, das) 2. Dativ Singular feminin des Relativpronomens der (die, das)
pronoun: 1. Nominativ Singular maskulin des Demonstrativpronomens der/die/das 2. Dativ Singular feminin des Demonstrativpronomens der/die/das
prefix: 1. untrennbare Vorsilbe bei Verben anstelle von hochdeutschem er-, ver-, zer- 2. perfektiv, meist verneint: ein Ziel, ein Ergebnis durch die im Verbstamm genannte Tätigkeit erreichen 3. perfektiv: jemandem/etwas durch die im Verbstamm genannte Tätigkeit Schaden zufügen, auch töten 4. iterativ: die im Verbstamm genannte Tätigkeit andauernd, wiederholt ausführen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of der
- die definite feminine nominative
- das definite neuter nominative
- des definite genitive masculine
- dem dative definite masculine
- den dative definite plural
- older also: daß definite neuter nominative
- older also: deß definite genitive masculine
- deren definite genitive plural
- derer definite genitive plural
- also der definite genitive plural
- denen dative definite plural
- also den dative definite plural
- dessen genitive masculine singular
- d. abbreviation
- mundartlich: da- alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce der?
- /deːr/
- [deːɐ̯]
- [dɛɐ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to der
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is der in German?
der appears 28,840 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).