A2 · Nouns: gender, plural, compounds
Guessing the gender from the ending
-ung, -heit, -keit, -chen, -er
About forty endings decide the gender outright, which covers a large share of the vocabulary.
German gender looks arbitrary and is not entirely. A substantial part of the vocabulary announces its gender in its ending, and about a dozen endings are worth learning as a block because they are exceptionless or nearly so.
Feminine: -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät, -ik, -ur, -enz. Every noun ending in -ung is feminine without exception — die Zeitung, die Wohnung, die Rechnung — and that one ending alone covers thousands of words.
Neuter: -chen, -lein, -ment, -um, -tum, and every infinitive used as a noun (das Essen, das Lesen). Masculine: -er for a person doing something (der Lehrer, der Computer), -ling, -ismus, -ant, -ist, -or. Beyond the endings, the days, months, seasons and points of the compass are masculine, and that is a whole field of vocabulary settled at once.
Die Form
| die | -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät, -ik |
| das | -chen, -lein, -ment, -um, -tum, Infinitive |
| der | -er, -ling, -ismus, -ant, -ist, -or |
| der | Tage, Monate, Jahreszeiten, Himmelsrichtungen |
| die | Zahlen und die meisten Bäume und Blumen |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
Every noun ending in -ung, -heit, -keit or -schaft is feminine.
die Wohnung, die Freiheitthe flat, freedom
Every diminutive and every nominalised infinitive is neuter.
das Mädchen, das Schwimmenthe girl, swimming
Days, months, seasons and compass points are masculine.
der Montag, der Sommer, der NordenMonday, summer, the north
An -er noun naming a person or a device is masculine.
der Fahrer, der Druckerthe driver, the printer
Genauer hingesehen
The three most useful groups, in order
If only three things are learned here, make them -ung, -chen and the days of the week. -ung is feminine, has no exceptions and covers an enormous slice of abstract vocabulary. -chen is neuter, has no exceptions, and settles the notorious Mädchen. The days, months and seasons are masculine as a block and come up daily.
After that, -heit and -keit are worth adding, because German builds abstract nouns from adjectives with them almost mechanically: frei → die Freiheit, möglich → die Möglichkeit. Recognising the pattern gives you the gender and the meaning at once.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
a noun ends in -er but is not a person or device
the ending decides nothing.
das Fenster, die Butterthe window, the butter
Das Fenster, das Wasser, die Mutter all end in -er and are not masculine.
-
a compound noun is formed
the last part decides the gender.
die Haustür, der Haustürschlüsselthe front door, the front-door key
The final noun is the head of the compound, and the rest describes it.
Woran man es erkennt
- -ung
- -heit
- -keit
- -schaft
- -ion
- -chen
- -ment
- -er
- -ismus
Beispielsätze
Die Rechnung liegt auf dem Tisch.The bill is on the table.
Das Dokument ist fertig.The document is ready.
Der Drucker funktioniert nicht.The printer is not working.
Die Möglichkeit besteht.The possibility exists.
Das Rauchen ist hier verboten.Smoking is prohibited here.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
die Erfahrung, die Erklärung, die Übungexperience, explanation, exercise
die Gesundheit, die Sicherheithealth, safety
das Instrument, das Datumthe instrument, the date
der Kapitalismus, der Frühlingcapitalism, spring
die Information, die Universitätinformation, university
das Laufen tut gut.Running does you good.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
Learn the article with the word, always
The endings cover a lot and not everything, so the reliable habit is still to store the article as part of the word — <z>die Tür</z>, not <z>Tür</z>. A vocabulary list without articles has to be learned twice. The endings are what let you guess when you meet a word you have never stored.
-
One word, two genders, two meanings
A few nouns change meaning with their article: <z>der See</z> is a lake and <z>die See</z> is the sea; <z>der Band</z> is a volume and <z>das Band</z> a ribbon; <z>die Steuer</z> is a tax and <z>das Steuer</z> a steering wheel. The article is carrying the whole meaning.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Both mistakes come from letting the meaning decide instead of the ending. A girl is female, so der or die feels right; but -chen is neuter and the ending wins. A newspaper is a thing, so das feels right; but -ung is feminine and the ending wins again. Where an ending is on the list, it decides, and the meaning has no vote.
The ending decides before the meaning does.
Jetzt selbst
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