Why are there different words in the German language meaning the?

There are four different articles in the German language: _der, die, das_ and _des_ (_den_ exists, but you don't need to worry about it here). These are used to determine the gender of a noun. So, just like in English, you would say "the man", "the woman" and "the child" in German you have to use the correct article when referring to a noun: _der Mann, die Frau, das Kind_.

You can tell the gender of a German word by looking at its ending. Words that end in -e, -ie, -keit or -ung are usually feminine (_die_). Words that end in -en, -er or -el are usually masculine (_der_). And words that end in -lein or -chen are usually neuter (_das_). However, there are some exceptions to these rules, so it's always best to check the dictionary if you're not sure.