There are several different words which all translate to the English word "the". There are rules when to use each word, but if your goal is just to know basic Yiddish, it's not so important to actually know these rules.
אַ נײַ װאָרט - A new word
The word
דער, די, דאָס, דעם
the
Example
זאָגט דער רמבּ"ן אַזױ.
The Ramban says the following:
Example
די ראשונים מאַכֿן אַ חילוק.
The Rishoinim differentiate.
Example
דאָס עסן אין ישיבֿה איז ניט גוט.
The food in Yeshivah isn’t good.
Example
ער האַלט פֿון דעם הסבּר.
He approves of the explanation.
These words are also used to mean "this". When it means this, more emphasis is given to the word.
אַ נײַ װאָרט - A new word
The word
דער, די, דאָס, דעם
this
Example
די סוגיא איז געשמאַק.
This subject is enjoyable.
Another common word, which has already been used in some of the examples, is איז. It is usually pronounced exactly like the English word is, but sometimes the ז at the end is left unpronounced. It means the exact same thing as the English word is.
אַ נײַ װאָרט - A new word
The word
איז
is
Example
ער איז גערעכֿט.
He is correct.
Here are a few more common words:
אַ נײַ װאָרט - A new word
The word
יאָ
yes
Example
עס איז יאָ שװער.
It is indeed difficult.
אַ נײַ װאָרט - A new word
The word
נײן
no
Example
נײן! װאָס איז שװער?
No? What’s problematic?
אַ נײַ װאָרט - A new word
The word
ניט (usually pronounced נישט)
not
Example
עס איז ניט שװער בּכֿלל.
It is not difficult at all.
The word ניט is very often used together with קײן, which is somewhat hard to translate. It usually replaces the word אַ or אַן before a noun.
