Editing Article (grammar) (section)

==Crosslinguistic variation==

[[File:EuropeArticleLanguages.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Articles in languages in and around Europe {{legend|darkblue|indefinite and definite articles}} {{legend|blue|only definite articles}} {{legend|darkmagenta|indefinite and suffixed definite articles}} {{legend|magenta|only suffixed definite articles}} {{legend|lightgray|no articles}}]]

Articles are found in many [[Indo-European languages]], [[Semitic languages]], [[Polynesian languages]], and even [[language isolate]]s such as [[Basque language|Basque]]; however, they are formally absent from many of the world's major languages including [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]], many [[Turkic languages]] (including [[Tatar language|Tatar]], [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]], [[Tuvan language|Tuvan]] and [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]]), many [[Uralic languages]] (incl. [[Finnic languages|Finnic]]{{efn|name=fn1}} and [[Sámi languages|Saami languages]]), [[Hindustani language|Hindi-Urdu]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], the [[Dravidian languages]] (incl. [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], and [[Kannada language|Kannada]]), the [[Baltic languages]], the majority of [[Slavic languages]], the [[Bantu languages]] (incl. [[Swahili language|Swahili]]). In some languages that do have articles, such as some [[North Caucasian languages]], the use of articles is optional; however, in others like English and German it is mandatory in all cases.

Linguists believe the common ancestor of the [[Indo-European languages]], [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]], did not have articles. Most of the languages in this family do not have definite or indefinite articles: there is no article in [[Latin]] or [[Sanskrit]], nor in some modern Indo-European languages, such as the families of [[Slavic languages]] (except for [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], which are rather distinctive among the Slavic languages in their grammar, and some Northern Russian dialects<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kusmenko |first1=J K |title=The typology of the language contact on the Balkans and in Scandinavia. A case of the suffixed definite article.|url=https://julevbaago.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/7-the_thypology_of_the_language_contact_on_the_balkans_and_in_scandinavia.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004042537/https://julevbaago.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/7-the_thypology_of_the_language_contact_on_the_balkans_and_in_scandinavia.pdf |archive-date=2021-10-04 |url-status=live}} See s.5 Summary. Retrieved 2 February 2012.</ref>), [[Baltic languages]] and many [[Indo-Aryan languages]]. Although [[Ancient Greek|Classical]] [[Greek language|Greek]] had a definite article (which has survived into [[Modern Greek]] and which bears strong functional resemblance to the German definite article, which it is related to), the earlier [[Homeric Greek]] used this article largely as a pronoun or demonstrative, whereas the earliest known form of Greek known as [[Mycenaean Greek]] did not have any articles. Articles developed independently in several language families.

Not all languages have both definite and indefinite articles, and some languages have different types of definite and indefinite articles to distinguish finer shades of meaning: for example, [[French language|French]] and [[Italian language|Italian]] have a partitive article used for indefinite [[mass noun]]s, whereas [[Colognian dialect|Colognian]] has two distinct sets of definite articles indicating focus and uniqueness, and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] uses definite articles in a demonstrative sense, with a tripartite distinction (proximal, medial, distal) based on distance from the speaker or interlocutor. The words ''this'' and ''that'' (and their plurals, ''these'' and ''those'') can be understood in English as, ultimately, forms of the definite article ''the'' (whose declension in Old English included ''thaes'', an ancestral form of this/that and these/those).

In many languages, the form of the article may vary according to the [[grammatical gender|gender]], [[grammatical number|number]], or [[grammatical case|case]] of its noun. In some languages the article may be the only indication of the case. Many languages do not use articles at all, and may use other ways of indicating old versus new information, such as [[topic–comment]] constructions.

===Tables===
{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"
|+ <span style="black-space: nowrap;">Variations of articles in definiteness and inflection among major languages</span>
!
! style="width: 20%" |  Definite
! style="width: 20%" |  Indefinite
! style="width: 20%" |  Gendered
! style="width: 20%" |  Numbered
! style="width: 20%" |  Case-inflected
|-
! [[Afrikaans]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Albanian language#Grammar|Albanian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Arabic grammar#Definite article|Arabic]]
| {{yes|Yes, as prefixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Armenian language#Stress|Armenian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Basque grammar#Articles, determiners and quantifiers|Basque]] 
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Belarusian grammar|Belarusian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Bengali grammar#Case|Bengali]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Bulgarian grammar#Nouns|Bulgarian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{partial|Only masculine singular}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Catalan grammar#Articles|Catalan]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Chinese grammar#Noun phrases|Chinese]] 
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Czech language#Grammar|Czech]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Danish grammar#Articles|Danish]]
| {{yes|Yes, before adjectives or as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Dutch grammar#Articles|Dutch]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{partial| No, except for the genitive case}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[English articles|English]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! ''[[Esperanto grammar#The article|Esperanto]]''
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Estonian grammar|Estonian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Finnish_grammar|Finnish]]{{efn|name=fn1}}
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[French articles and determiners#Articles|French]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{partial|Yes (if singular)}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Georgian language#Syntax|Georgian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[German articles|German]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Modern Greek grammar#Articles|Greek]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Guarani language#Grammar|Guarani]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Hawaiian language#Grammar|Hawaiian]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Modern Hebrew grammar#Syntax|Hebrew]]
| {{yes|Yes, as prefixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Hungarian grammar|Hungarian]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Icelandic grammar#Articles|Icelandic]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! ''[[Interlingua grammar#Articles|Interlingua]]''
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Irish declension#Articles|Irish]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Italian grammar#Articles|Italian]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Japanese grammar|Japanese]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Korean grammar|Korean]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Latvian declension#Adjectives|Latvian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Lithuanian grammar#Nouns|Lithuanian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Macedonian language#Syntax|Macedonian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Malay grammar|Malay]]/[[Indonesian grammar|Indonesian]]
| {{partial|Yes, as suffixes in the colloquial language}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| {{No}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Norwegian language#Morphology|Norwegian]]
| {{yes|Yes, before adjectives or as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Pashto grammar|Pashto]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Persian grammar#Articles|Persian]]
| {{partial|Might be used optionally}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Polish grammar|Polish]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Portuguese grammar#Articles|Portuguese]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Romanian grammar#Articles|Romanian]]
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! Russian
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! Sanskrit
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Scottish Gaelic grammar#Articles|Scottish Gaelic]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Serbo-Croatian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Slovak language#Articles|Slovak]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Slovene grammar|Slovene]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Somali grammar#Morphology|Somali]] 
| {{yes|Yes, as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Spanish determiners#Articles|Spanish]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Swahili grammar#Articles|Swahili]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Swedish grammar#Articles and definite forms|Swedish]]
| {{yes|Yes, before adjectives or as suffixes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Tamil grammar#Auxiliaries|Tamil]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Thai grammar|Thai]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! ''[[Toki Pona]]''
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Turkish grammar|Turkish]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{partial|Might be used optionally}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Ukrainian grammar|Ukrainian]]
| {{no}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Vietnamese grammar|Vietnamese]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{no}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Colloquial Welsh morphology#The article|Welsh]] <!-- Colloquial Welsh is more relevant than Literary Welsh. The former is the spoken language, the latter is a very conservative with features kept from Middle Welsh rather than Modern Welsh. Do not change. -->
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{no}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{partial|Causes [[Colloquial Welsh nouns#Feminine nouns|initial consonant mutation to singular feminine nouns]]}} <!--Gendered--> <!-- Do not change without discussion -->
| {{no}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{no}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|-
! [[Yiddish grammar#Article|Yiddish]]
| {{yes}} <!--Definite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Indefinite-->
| {{yes}} <!--Gendered-->
| {{partial|Yes (if definite)}} <!--Numbered-->
| {{yes}} <!--Case-inflected-->
|}

{| class="wikitable" 
|+ <span style="black-space: nowrap;">The articles used in some languages</span>
|-
! Language
! definite article
! partitive article
! indefinite article
|-
|[[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]]
|''a-''
| {{N/A}}
| ''-k''
|-
|[[Afrikaans]]
|''die''
| {{N/A}}
|''<nowiki/>'n''
|-
| [[Albanian language|Albanian]]
| ''-a'', ''-ja'', ''-i'', ''-ri'', ''-ni'', ''-u'', ''-t'', ''-in'', ''-un'', ''-n'', ''-rin'', ''-nin'', ''-në'', ''-ën'', ''-s'', ''-së'', ''-ës'', ''-të'', ''-it'', ''-ët'' (all suffixes)
| ''disa''
| ''një''
|-
| [[Arabic language|Arabic]]
| {{Transliteration|ar|[[al-]]}} or ''el'' {{lang|ar|ال|rtl=yes}} (prefix)
| {{N/A}}
| -n
|-
| [[Armenian language|Armenian]]
| ''-ը'' -ë (inbetween consonants), ''-ն'' -n (elsewhere)
| {{N/A}}
| ''մի'' mi
|-
| [[Assamese language|Assamese]]
| ''-tû'', ''-ta'', ''-ti'', ''-khôn'', ''-khini'', ''-zôn'', ''-zôni'', ''-dal'', ''-zûpa'' etc.
| {{N/A}}
| ''êta'', ''êkhôn'', ''êzôn'', ''êzôni'', ''êdal'', ''êzûpa'' etc.
|-
| [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
|  -টা, -টি, -গুলো, -রা, -খানা (-ṭa, -ṭi, -gulo, -ra, -khana)
| {{N/A}}
| একটি, একটা, কোন (ekôṭi, ekôṭa, konô)
|-
| [[Breton language|Breton]]
| ''an'', ''al'', ''ar''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''ul'', ''ur''
|-
| [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] 
| ''-та'', ''-то'', ''-ът'', ''-ят'', ''-те'' (all suffixes)
| няколко
| ''един''/''някакъв'', <br /> ''една''/''някаква'', <br /> ''едно''/''някакво'', <br/> ''едни''/''някакви''
|-
| [[Catalan language|Catalan]]
| ''el'', ''la'', ''l'<!-- -->'', ''els'', ''les''<br/>''ses'', ''lo'', ''los'', ''es'', ''sa''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''una''<br/> ''uns'', ''unes''
|-
| [[Cornish language|Cornish]]
| ''an''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
|[[Danish language|Danish]]
|Singular: ''-en, -n -et, -t'' (all suffixes)
Plural: ''-ene, -ne'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
|''en, et''
|-
| [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| {{lang|nl|de}}, ''het ('t)''; archaic since 1945/46 but still used in names and idioms: ''des'', ''der'', ''den''
| {{N/A}}
| ''een ('n)''
|-
| [[English articles|English]]
| ''the''
| {{N/A}}
| ''a'', ''an''
|-
| ''[[Esperanto]]''
| ''la''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ([[Colloquial Finnish|colloquial]]){{efn|name=fn1}}
| ''se''
| {{N/A}}
| ''yks(i)''
|-
| [[French articles|French]]
| ''le'', ''la'', ''l','' ''les''<br/> 
|  {{lang|fr|de}}, ''d','' ''du'', ''de la'', ''des'', <br/> ''de l'''<br/> 
| ''un'', ''une'', ''des'' <br/> 
|-
| [[German articles|German]]
| ''der'', ''die'', ''das''<br/> ''des'', ''dem'', ''den''
| {{N/A}}
| ''ein'', ''eine'', ''einer'', ''eines''<br/> ''einem'', ''einen''
|-
| [[Greek language|Greek]]
| {{lang|el|ο, η, το<br/>οι, οι, τα}}
| {{N/A}}
| {{lang|el|ένας, μια, ένα}}
|-
| [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]
| ''ka'', ''ke''<br/> ''nā''
| {{N/A}}
| ''he''
|-
| [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]
| {{Transliteration|he|ha-}} {{Script/Hebrew|ה}} (prefix)
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Hungarian Language|Hungarian]]
| ''a'', ''az''
| {{N/A}}
| ''egy''
|-
| [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]
| ''-(i)nn'', ''-(i)n'', ''-(i)ð'', ''-(i)na'', ''-num'', ''-(i)nni'', ''-nu'', ''-(i)ns'', ''-(i)nnar'', ''-nir'', ''-nar'', ''-(u)num'', ''-nna'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| ''[[Interlingua]]''
| ''le''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un''
|-
| [[Irish language|Irish]]
| ''an'', ''na'', ''a' (used colloquially)''
| {{N/A}}
|
|-
| [[Italian grammar#Articles|Italian]]
| ''il'', ''lo'', ''la'', ''l'''<br/> ''i'', ''gli'', ''le''
| ''del'', ''dello'', ''della'', ''dell'''<br /> ''dei'', ''degli'', ''degl','' ''delle''
| ''un'', ''uno'', ''una'', ''un'''
|-
| [[Khasi language|Khasi]]
| ''u'', ''ka'', ''i''<br/> ''ki''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Central Kurdish|Kurdish]]
| ''-eke''<br/> ''-ekan''
| ''hendê'', ''birrê''
| ''-êk''<br/> ''-anêk''
|-
| [[Latin]] <!-- Useful to include a language with no articles -->
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]
| ''den'', ''déi (d')'', ''dat (d')''<br/> ''dem'', ''der''
| ''däers/es'', ''däer/er''
| ''en'', ''eng'' <br/> ''engem'', ''enger''
|-
| [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] 
| ''-от'' ''-ов'' ''-он'' ''-та'' ''-ва'' ''-на'' ''-то'' ''-во'' ''-но'' <br/> ''-те'' ''-ве'' ''-не'' ''-та'' ''-ва'' ''-на'' (all suffixes) 
| ''неколку'' 
| ''еден'' ''една'' ''едно'' <br/> ''едни''
|-
| [[Manx Gaelic|Manx]]
| ''y'', ''yn'', '''n'', ''ny''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Malay language|Malay]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]
| ''-nya'' (colloquial), before names: ''si'' (usually informal), ''sang'' (more formal)
| {{N/A}}
| ''se-'' (+ classifiers)
|-
| [[Māori language|Māori]]
| ''te'' (singular), ''ngā'' (plural)
| {{N/A}}
| ''he'' (also for "some")
|-
| [[Maltese language|Maltese]]
| ''(i)l-'', ''(i)ċ-'', ''(i)d-'', ''(i)n-'', ''(i)r-'', ''(i)s-'', ''(i)t-'', ''(i)x-'', ''(i)z-'', ''(i)ż-'' (all prefixes)
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|''euta'', ''euti'', ''ek'', ''anek'', ''kunai''
''एउटा'', ''एउटी'', ''एक'', ''अनेक'', ''कुनै''
|-
| [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] ([[Bokmål]])
| Singular: ''-en'', ''-et'', ''-a (all suffixes)''
Plural: ''-ene, -a'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| ''en'', ''et'', ''ei''
|-
| Norwegian ([[Nynorsk]])
| Singular: ''-en'', ''-et'', ''-a (all suffixes)''
Plural: ''-ane, -ene, -a'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| ''ein'', ''eit'', ''ei''
|-
|[[Papiamento]]
|''e''
| {{N/A}}
|''un''
|-
| [[Pashto language|Pashto]]
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
| ''yaow'', ''yaowə'', ''yaowa'', ''yaowey''<br/> ''يو'', ''يوهٔ'', ''يوه'', ''يوې''
|-
| [[Persian language|Persian]]
| ''in, ān'' (prepositive)<br/> ''-e'' (suffixed)
| {{N/A}}
| ''ye(k)'' (prepositive)<br/> ''-i'' (suffixed)
|-
| [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| ''o'', ''a''<br/> ''os'', ''as''
| {{N/A}}
| ''um'', ''uma''<br/> ''uns'', ''umas''
|-
| ''[[Quenya]]''
| ''i'', ''in'', '''n''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
| ''-(u)l'', ''-le'', ''-(u)a''<br/>''-(u)lui'', ''-i'', ''-lor'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''o''<br/>''unui'', ''unei''<br/>''niște'', ''unor'' 
|-
| [[Scots language|Scots]]<!-- Please note that Scots is not a dialect of English, but a closely related Germanic language and not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic -->
| ''the''
| {{N/A}}
| ''a''
|-
| [[Scottish Gaelic]]
| ''an'', ''am'', ''a''', ''na'', ''nam'', ''nan''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| ''[[Sindarin]]''
| ''i'', ''in'', ''-in'', ''-n'', ''en''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[Spanish determiners#Articles|Spanish]]
| ''el'', ''la'', ''lo'',<br/> ''los'', ''las''
| {{N/A}}
| ''un'', ''una''<br/> ''unos'', ''unas''
|-
|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]
|Singular: ''-en, -n, -et, -t'' (all suffixes)
Plural: ''-na, -a, -en'' (all suffixes)
| {{N/A}}
|''en, ett''
|-
| [[Welsh language|Welsh]]
| ''y'', ''yr'', ''-'r''
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
|[[Yiddish]]
| דער ''(der)'', די ''(di)'', דאָס ''(dos)'', דעם ''(dem)''
| {{N/A}}
| אַ ''(a)'', אַן ''(an)''
|}

{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=fn1|Grammatically speaking [[Finnish language|Finnish]] has no articles, but the words ''se'' (it) and ''yks(i)'' (one) are used in [[colloquial Finnish]] in the same fashion as ''the'' and ''a/an'' in English and are, for all intents and purposes, treated like articles when used in this manner.}}
}}

The following examples show articles which are always suffixed to the noun:

* [[Albanian language|Albanian]]: ''zog'', a bird; ''zog'''u''''', the bird
* [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]: שלם (shalam), peace; שלמ'''א''' (shalma), the peace
** Note: Aramaic is written from right to left, so an [[Aleph]] is added to the end of the word. ם becomes מ when it is not the final letter. 
* [[Assamese language|Assamese]]: "কিতাপ (kitap)", book; "কিতাপ'''খন''' (kitapkhôn)": "The book"
* [[Bengali language|Bengali]]: "বই (bôi)", book; "বই'''টি''' (bôi'''ti''')/বই'''টা''' (bôi'''ta''')/বই'''খানা''' (bôi'''khana''')" : "The Book"
* [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]: стол ''stol'', chair; стол'''ът''' ''stolǎt'', the chair ([[Subject (grammar)|subject]]); стола ''stol'''a''''', the chair ([[Object (grammar)|object]])
* [[Danish language|Danish]]: ''hus'', house; ''hus'''et''''', the house; if there is an adjective: '''''det''' gamle hus'', the old house
* [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]: ''hestur'', horse; ''hestur'''inn''''', the horse
* [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]: стол ''stol'', chair; стол'''от''' ''stolot'', the chair; стол'''ов''' ''stolov'', this chair; стол'''он''' ''stolon'', that chair
* [[Persian language|Persian]]: ''sib'', apple. (There is no definite articles in the Standard Persian. It has one indefinite article 'yek' that means 'one'. In [[Standard Persian]], if a noun is not indefinite, it is a definite noun. 'Sib e' man' means 'my apple'. Here, 'e' is like 'of' in English, so literally 'sib e man' means 'the apple of mine'. However, in [[Iranian Persian]], "-e" is used as a definite article, quite different from [[Standard Persian]]. ''pesar'', boy; ''pesar'''e''''', the boy; ''pesar'''e''' in'o be'm dād'', the boy gave me this.)
* [[Romanian language|Romanian]]: ''drum'', road; ''drum''u'''''l''''', the road (the article is just "l", "u" is a "connection [[vowel]]" {{langx|ro|vocală de legătură}})
* [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: ''hus'', house; ''hus'''et''''', the house; if there is an adjective: '''''det''' gamle (N)/gamla (S) hus'''et''''', the old house

Examples of prefixed definite articles: 
* {{langx|he|ילד}}, transcribed as ''yeled'', a boy; {{lang|he|הילד}}, transcribed as {{Transliteration|he|'''ha'''yeled}}, the boy
* {{langx|mt|ktieb}}, a book; {{lang|mt|il-ktieb|rtl=yes}}, the book; {{langx|mt|għotja}}, a donation; {{lang|mt|l-għotja|rtl=yes}}, the donation; {{langx|mt|ċavetta}}, a key; {{lang|mt|iċ-ċavetta|rtl=yes}}, the key; {{langx|mt|dar}}, a house; {{lang|mt|id-dar|rtl=yes}}, the house; {{langx|mt|nemla}}, an ant; {{lang|mt|in-nemla|rtl=yes}}, the ant; {{langx|mt|ras}}, a head; {{lang|mt|ir-ras|rtl=yes}}, the head; {{langx|mt|sodda}}, a bed; {{lang|mt|is-sodda|rtl=yes}}, the bed; {{langx|mt|tuffieħa}}, an apple; {{lang|mt|it-tuffieħa|rtl=yes}}, the apple; {{langx|mt|xahar}}, a month; {{lang|mt|ix-xahar|rtl=yes}}, the month; {{langx|mt|zunnarija}}, a carrot; {{lang|mt|iz-zunnarija|rtl=yes}}, the carrot; {{langx|mt|żmien}}, a time; {{lang|mt|iż-żmien|rtl=yes}}, the time

A different way, limited to the definite article, is used by [[Latvian language|Latvian]] and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]. 
The noun does not change but the adjective can be defined or undefined. In Latvian: ''galds'', a table / the table; ''balt'''s''' galds'', a white table; ''balt'''ais''' galds'', the white table. In Lithuanian: ''stalas'', a table / the table; ''balt'''as''' stalas'', a white table; ''baltas'''is''' stalas'', the white table.

Languages in the above table written in ''italics'' are [[constructed languages]] and are not natural, that is to say that they have been purposefully invented by an individual (or group of individuals) with some purpose in mind.

=== Tokelauan ===
{{Undue weight section|date=December 2023|to=Tokelauan, we should not give a separate lengthy section to all languages, much less to Tokelauan out of all}}
When using a definite article in [[Tokelauan language]], unlike in some languages like English, if the speaker is speaking of an item, they need not have referred to it previously as long as the item is specific.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Simona|first1=Ropati|title=Tokelau Dictionary|date=1986|publisher=Office of Tokelau Affairs|location=New Zealand|page=Introduction}}</ref> This is also true when it comes to the reference of a specific person.<ref name=":0" /> So, although the definite article used to describe a noun in the Tokelauan language is ''te'', it can also translate to the indefinite article in languages that requires the item being spoken of to have been referenced prior.<ref name=":0" /> When translating to English, ''te'' could translate to the English definite article ''the'', or it could also translate to the English indefinite article ''a''.<ref name=":0" /> An example of how the definite article ''te'' can be used as an interchangeable definite or indefinite article in the Tokelauan language would be the sentence “''Kua hau te tino''”.<ref name=":0" /> In the English language, this could be translated as “'''A man has arrived'''” or “'''The man has arrived'''” where using ''te'' as the article in this sentence can represent any man or a particular man.<ref name=":0" /> The word ''he'', which is the indefinite article in Tokelauan, is used to describe ‘any such item’, and is encountered most often with negatives and interrogatives.<ref name=":0" /> An example of the use of ''he'' as an indefinite article is “''Vili ake oi k'aumai he toki'' ”, where ‘''he toki'' ’ mean ‘'''an axe'''’.<ref name=":0" /> The use of ''he'' and ''te'' in Tokelauan are reserved for when describing a singular noun. However, when describing a plural noun, different articles are used. For plural definite nouns, rather than ''te'', the article ''nā'' is used.<ref name=":0" /> ‘''Vili ake oi k'aumai nā nofoa''’ in Tokelauan would translate to “'''Do run and bring me the chairs'''” in English.<ref name=":0" /> There are some special cases in which instead of using ''nā'', plural definite nouns have no article before them. The absence of an article is represented by ''0''.<ref name=":0" /> One way that it is usually used is if a large amount or a specific class of things are being described.<ref name=":0" /> Occasionally, such as if one was describing an entire class of things in a nonspecific fashion, the singular definite noun ''te'' would is used.<ref name=":0" /> In English, ‘''Ko te povi e kai mutia''’ means “'''Cows eat grass'''”.<ref name=":0" /> Because this is a general statement about cows, ''te'' is used instead of ''nā''. The ''ko'' serves as a preposition to the “''te''” The article ''ni'' is used for describing a plural indefinite noun. ‘''E i ei ni tuhi?''’ translates to “'''Are there any books?'''”<ref name=":0" />