Demonstrative Pronouns: dieser, diese, dieses
Demonstrative Pronouns: dieser, diese, dieses
"This/that" pointing words decline exactly like der/die/das from the last lesson — once you know the definite article table, you already know this one too.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
dieser is a 'der-word' — it declines like der/die/das
dieser Mann (this man, masc.) / diese Frau (this woman, fem.) / dieses Kind (this child, neut.)
this man / this woman / this child
English "this" and "that" never change form for gender — only for number (this vs. these). German dieser ("this/that") belongs to a class called "der-words" precisely because it takes the same gender and case endings as the definite article: swap der for dies-er, die for dies-e, das for dies-es, and the rest of the pattern — including how these endings shift across the four cases — carries over untouched. Learn dieser as "der, plus the syllable dies-" rather than as a brand-new word to memorize from scratch.
jener: the more formal, less common 'that'
jener Tag (that day)
that day
English distinguishes "this" from "that" constantly in everyday speech. German technically has jener for "that" (as opposed to dieser, "this"), but in practice spoken German mostly just uses dieser for both, relying on context, or adds da/dort ("there") after the noun for extra clarity (dieser Mann da, "that man there"). Reserve jener for formal or literary writing.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| dieser Mann | DEE-zer mahn | this man |
| diese Frau | DEE-zeh frow | this woman |
| dieses Kind | DEE-zes kint | this child |
| diese Männer | DEE-zeh MEN-er | these men (plural) |
| jener Tag | YAY-ner tahk | that day (more formal/literary) |