GENDER OF GERMAN NOUNS
Masculine Forms
The following are masculine noun suffixes and other forms associated with masculine noun
gender (click for examples and exceptions):
-ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ling, -or, -us
nouns formed from strong verbs
~60% of nouns ending in -en, -el, -er
Feminine Forms:
Here are feminine noun suffixes and other forms associated with feminine noun gender (click
for examples and common exceptions):
-a, -anz, -enz, -ei, -ie, -heit, -keit, -ik, -sion, -tion, -sis, -tät, -ung, -ur, schaft
-in OR -frau denoting the female counterpart to a male person
90% of nouns ending in -e
most nouns (coming from verbs) ending in -t
Neuter Forms:
Finally, here is the (longest of the 3!) list of suffixes and other forms connected with neuter
noun gender (click for examples and common exceptions):
-chen, -lein, -icht, -il, -it, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, -um
most nouns that start with the prefix Ge-
~70% of nouns ending with -nis and -sal
-al, -an, -ar, -är, -at, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv-, -o, -on (foreign loan words for objects)
TIP: if you memorize just the masculine and feminine forms, you can know by default that
whatever else you come across is either definitely a neuter noun or some sort of wacky outlier.
Noun Compounds
Usually, the final word in a compound noun determines the gender, as in:
der Fahrplan (timetable)
die Bushaltestelle (bus stop)
Note that the gender of acronyms is similarly determined by the base word:
die CDU (die Christlich-Demokratische Union)
However, there are notable exceptions!
Many compounds of der Mut (courage) are feminine: die Anmut (gracefulness), die Armut
(poverty), die Demut (humility), die Großmut (generosity), die Langmut (patience), die Sanftmut
(gentleness), die Schwermut/Wehmut (melancholy)
Some compounds of der Teil are neuter (most usually in reference to mechanical parts): das
Abteil (compartment), das Gegenteil (opposite), das Ersatzteil (replacement part), das Einzelteil
(separate part), das Oberteil (upper part), das Urteil (verdict); however, der Vorteil (advantage)
and Nachteil (disadvantage).
And there are still others, such as the common das Wort (word), but die Antwort (answer) and
die Woche (week), but der Mittwoch (Wednesday)
