German Grammar Lectures
Lecture 1:
The Gender of German Nouns
Designed by Paul Joyce
University of Portsmouth
E-Mail: Paul.Joyce@port.ac.uk
1.1 German noun declension
• There is no noun declension as such in
German. Exceptions:
• -(e)s endings on masculine and neuter nouns
in the genitive case
• -(e)n endings on nouns in the dative plural
• Endings on weak masculine nouns
1.2 German Articles
• Instead German cases are shown by means of
the articles i.e. words such as “a”or “the”
which are invariable in English.
• The German definite article is called “der” and
equates to English “the”.
• The German indefinite article is called “ein”
and equates to English “a”.
1.3 The Definite Article
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
Nom. der die das die
Acc. den die das die
Gen. des der des der
Dat. dem der dem den
1.4 The Indefinite Article
Masc. Fem. Neut. (Plural)
Nom. ein eine ein (keine)
Acc. einen eine ein (keine)
Gen. eines einer eines (keiner)
Dat. einem einer einem (keinen)
1.5 Know your genders!
• For this reason you must learn German nouns
together with their gender as shown by the
relevant definite article!
• As the previous tables indicate, German nouns
have one of three genders: masculine,
feminine or neuter.
• There are no gender differences in the plural
in German.
1.6 Quick Quiz (1)
• Because things are always referred to as “it” in
English, English students of German tend to
guess the gender of an unfamiliar word as
neuter - “das”.
• But are they right to do so?
• Which of the three genders actually occurs
most often in German?
1.7 Quiz Answer
• Approximately 45% of German nouns are
masculine.
• 35% of German nouns are feminine.
• Only 20% of German nouns are neuter!
1.8 Typisch deutsch!
• Whereas in English gender virtually always
corresponds logically to the sex of the noun,
this is not the case in German.
• Most German nouns denoting male people
and animals are in fact masculine, and
those denoting females are mostly feminine.
• BUT there are exceptions - das Mädchen,
das Fräulein, das Weib!
1.9 Typisch deutsch (2)!
• And unlike English nouns, names of inanimate
objects may be masculine, feminine or neuter
in German.
• This state of affairs prompted the 19th
Century American writer Mark Twain to make
the following comment about the German
language:
1.10 Mark Twain on German genders
• “In German, a young
lady has no sex,
while a turnip has.”
• “Think what over-
wrought reverence
that shows for the
turnip, and what
callous disrespect for
the girl.” (Mark
Twain, 1880)
1.11 Basic rules of German gender
• Whilst you should always learn the gender of
any new noun that you encounter, you should
also remember that:
• Certain nouns have a particular gender
because of their meaning.
• Other nouns have a particular gender because
of their form.
1.12 Quiz (2) – Gender by meaning
• The meaning of the following nouns tells you
their gender. Which is it? And why?
Arzt Süden Mittwoch Baby
Januar Ypsilon Ärztin Löwe
Pony Löwin Kaffee Herbst
Table 1: Which gender
1.13 Quiz (2) - Masculine
• der Arzt; der Löwe - male person / animal
• der Süden - point of the compass
• der Herbst - season of the year
• der Mittwoch - day of the week
• der Januar - month of the year
• der Kaffee - plant-based drink
1.14 Quiz (2) - Others
• die Ärztin - female person
• die Löwin - female animal
• das Baby - young person
• das Pony - young animal
• das Ypsilon - letter of the alphabet (and
musical notes)
1.15 Quiz (3) - Meaning
• Same again - only tougher!
Euro Balkan Boeing Köln
Atom Hagel Amazonas Wein
Elbe Europa Mercedes Tag
Gold Spanien Deutsch Vier
1.16 Quiz (3) - Masculine
• der Euro - currency (BUT: das Pfund!)
• der Balkan - mountain (range)
• der Hagel - weather phenomena
• der Abend - part of day (BUT: die Nacht)
• der Wein - alcoholic drink (BUT: das Bier!)
• der Mercedes - make of car
• der Amazonas - non-German river
1.17 Quiz (3) - Feminine
• die Elbe - German river (many exceptions:
der Rhein; der Main; der Inn; der Lech)
• die Vier - name of numeral
• die Boeing - aeroplane (BUT: der Airbus)
• (die Honda - name of motorbike)
• (die “Bismarck” - name of ship)
1.18 Quiz (3) - Neuter
• Köln, Spanien, Europa - city, country,
continent
• das Atom - physical unit (i.e. das Pfund)
• das Gold - metals, chemical elements (BUT:
die Bronze; der Stahl, Schwefel)
• Deutsch - languages (like most non-nouns
used as nouns - das Ach, das Du, Doping)
1.19 Exceptions: gender by meaning
• There are many exceptions to these rules. Just
think of countries!
• masculine - der Irak, der Iran, der Libanon,
der Sudan, der Jemen, der Kongo
• feminine - die Schweiz; die Türkei, die
Tschechische Republik, die Antarktis
• plural - die USA; die Niederlande
1.20 Quiz (4) – Gender by endings
• Find the gender again - now using endings!
Dynamit Panik Marxismus Datei
Einheit Viertel Konsonant Album
Blitz Qualität Bisschen Villa
Illusion Schema Botschaft Motor
1.21 Quiz (4) – Masculine nouns
• -ant - der Konsonant; der Diamant
• -ich - der Teppich; der Wüterich
• -ismus - der Marxismus, der Realismus
• -(m)us - der Rhythmus; der Kasus
• -or - der Motor (BUT: das Labor)
• -pf, -ps - der Kopf; der Schlips
• -tz - der Blitz; der Sitz
1.22 Quiz (4) – Feminine endings
• -a - die Villa; die Aura (BUT NOT -ma)
• -ei - die Datei; die Bücherei
• -heit - die Einheit; die Gesundheit
• -ik - die Panik (BUT: der Atlantik, Pazifik)
• -schaft - die Botschaft, die Gesellschaft
• -sion - die Illusion; die Explosion
• -tät - die Qualität; die Universität
1.23 Quiz (4) – Neuter endings
• -chen - das Bisschen, das Mädchen
• -ell (stressed) - das Duell; das Rondell
• -ett (stressed) - das Kabinett; das Ballett
• -it - das Dynamit (BUT: der Profit, Granit)
• -ma - das Schema (BUT: die Firma)
• -tel - das Viertel, das Drittel
• -um - das Album (BUT: der Konsum)
1.24 Quiz (5) - Endings
• Find the gender again - now using endings!
Freundin Benzin Liebling Portion
Eigentum Natur Heiterkeit Ventil
Element Honig Biologie Meinung
Eleganz Basis Büchlein Kontrast
1.25 Quiz (5) – Masculine nouns
• -ast - der Kontrast
• -ig - der Honig; der Pfennig
• -ling - der Liebling
• Note also that most nouns formed from a
strong verb without a suffix are masculine:
der Fall, der Biss, der Gang, der Schluss
• (BUT: das Band, Schloss, Verbot…)
1.26 Quiz (5) – Feminine nouns
• -anz, -enz - die Eleganz, die Existenz
• -ie - die Biologie; die Hysterie
• -in - die Freundin (= female being)
• -keit - die Heiterkeit
• -tion - die Revolution; die Station
• -ur - die Natur (BUT: das Abitur, Futur)
• -ung - die Meinung
• -sis - die Basis
1.27 Quiz (5) – Neuter nouns
• -il - das Ventil
• -in - das Benzin, Protein (= chemical terms)
• -lein - das Büchlein; das Fräulein
• -ment - das Element (BUT: der Zement)
• -tel - das Viertel, das Drittel
• -tum - das Eigentum (BUT: der Irrtum, der
Reichtum)
1.28 Tendencies: “-nis” endings
• We can only speak of tendencies with the
following types of endings:
• -nis - 70% neuter endings: das Ereignis, das
Erlebnis, das Bedürfnis, das Ärgernis, das
Geständnis, das Geheimnis, das Zeugnis
• -nis - 30% feminine endings: die Erlaubnis,
die Erkenntnis, die Kenntnis, die Finsternis, die
Besorgnis, die Wildnis
1.29 Tendencies: “-er” endings
• Nouns in -er denoting male persons are
masculine: der Leiter (leader); der Bäcker
• Many other -er nouns are also masculine -
especially instruments or tools: der Computer,
der Wecker, der Stecker
• BUT many common -er nouns are feminine:
die Butter, die Mauer, die Ader, die Feder, die
Nummer, die Mutter, die Schwester
1.30 Tendencies: “-er” endings (2)
• And some 15% of -er nouns are neuter: das
Fenster; das Fieber; das Wasser; das Alter
• Careful! Some -er nouns have two meanings
depending on their gender:
• der Leiter (= leader); die Leiter (= ladder)
• der Laster (= lorry); das Laster (= vice)
• die Steuer (tax); das Steuer (steering wheel)
1.31 Tendencies: “-el” endings
• The majority of -el nouns are masculine: der
Onkel; der Enkel; der Flügel
• About 25% of them however are feminine:
die Wurzel; die Regel; die Insel; die Schüssel;
die Kartoffel; die Gabel; die Nadel
• The rest of them are neuter: das Segel; das
Mittel; das Bündel; das Mädel
1.32 Tendencies: “-en” endings
• About 60% of -en nouns are masculine: der
Schatten; der Regen; der Magen
• None of them are feminine!
• Verbal infinitives ending in -en are neuter -
das Kommen, das Essen, das Streben)
• Other -en nouns are also neuter: das Leben;
das Zeichen; das Becken
1.33 Tendencies: “-e” endings
• About 90% of -e nouns are feminine: die
Kirche; die Dame; die Straße etc.
• There are a number of exceptions:
1) Two masculines - der Käse, der Charme
2) Weak masculine nouns
3) Neuter nouns beginning with “Ge-”
4) Other neuters: das Auge, das Ende, das
Interesse, das Image
1.34 Tendencies: “-al” endings
• Nouns ending in a stressed -al tend to be
neuter: das Ritual; das Lineal; das Journal,
das Tribunal, das Arsenal etc.
• There are a number of exceptions:
• Masculine - der Kanal, der General, der
Skandal
• Feminine - die Moral
1.35 Tendencies: “-(i)cht” endings
• Nouns ending in -cht tend to be feminine:
die Nacht; die Macht; die Sicht, die Pflicht
• Exceptions: das Recht; das Licht
• BUT polysyllabic nouns ending in -icht tend
to be neuter - das Dickicht, Röhricht
• Exceptions - der Bericht; die Nachricht
1.36 Tendencies: “Ge-” nouns
• 90% of nouns starting with “Ge-” are neuter:
das Gebäude; das Gesetz; das Gerät; das
Gesicht, das Gespräch etc.
• Exceptions include 11 masculine nouns:
• They are: der Gebrauch, der Gedanke, der
Gefallen, der Gehalt, der Gehorsam, der
Genuss, der Geruch, der Gesang, der
Geschmack, der Gestank, der Gewinn
1.37 Tendencies: Ge- nouns (2)
• Weak masculine nouns: der Genosse / die
Genossin; der Geselle / die Gesellin
• 11 feminine Ge- nouns: die Gebärde, die
Gebühr, die Geburt, die Geduld, die Gefahr,
die Gemeinde, die Geschichte, die Geschwulst,
die Gestalt, die Gewähr, die Gewalt
• der Gefallen (favour); das Gefallen (pleasure)
• der Gehalt (content); das Gehalt (salary)
1.38 Tendencies: Imported nouns
• The tendency to say that imported nouns are
automatically neuter should be resisted!
• This is true for some endings - i.e. -o / -eau:
das Auto, das Büro, das Kino, das Konto
• Other imported noun endings are neuter if
they refer to things (-är: das Militär, Salär;
-ent: das Talent) but masculine when they
refer to people: der Aktionär; der Student
1.39 Gender of imported nouns (2)
• Other imported endings are feminine:
• -ade: die Marmelade, die Ballade
• -age: die Garage, die Etage, die Courage
• -elle: die Frikadelle, die Bagatelle
• -ette: die Etikette, die Toilette
• -itis: die Bronchitis, die Arthritis
• -ose: die Neurose, die Tuberkulose
• -üre: die Broschüre
1.40 Recent imported nouns
• Large scale borrowing of words from English is
a characteristic feature of modern German.
• Many English words adopt the gender of the
nearest German equivalent:
• der Airport (= der Flughafen)
• das Bike (= das Fahrrad)
• der Shop (= der Laden)
1.41 Recent imported nouns (2)
• BUT it is the ending of some English words
that determines the gender in German:
• die City, die Party, die Publicity (because -ie
is a feminine ending)
• der Computer, der Dimmer, der Container (as
-er for instruments is masculine)
• Monosyllabic nouns from verbs are often
masculine: der Hit, der Look, der Talk
1.42 Gender of compound nouns
• Compound nouns usually have the gender of
their final component:
• der Plan hence der Fahrplan
• das Bad hence das Hallenbad
• Exceptions: das Wort BUT die Antwort
• der Mut BUT die Armut, die Schwermut
• die Scheu BUT der Abscheu
1.43 Gender of abbreviations
• The gender of abbreviations is determined by
the basic word:
• die CDU: die Christlich-Demokratische Union
• der HSV: der Hamburger Sportverein
• Shortened words have the gender of the full
form: die Uni (die Universität); der Krimi (der
Kriminalroman); der Akku (der Akkumulator)
• BUT das Foto despite die Fotografie
1.44 Quiz: Conclusion
• See how important it is to know gender rules
and exceptions! Using the articles below state
how many items there are and their case:
Question 1: die Lehrer; der Lehrerin
Question 2: der Mauer; der Maurer
Question 3: die Katze; die Schätze
Question 4: die Mädchen; den Männchen
1.45 Quiz: Answers
• die Lehrer (masc. plural - nom. / acc.); der
Lehrerin (fem. singular - genitive / dative)
• der Mauer (fem. singular - genitive / dative;
der Maurer (masc. plural. - genitive)
• die Katze (fem. singular - nom. / acc.); die
Schätze (masc. plural - nom. / acc.)
• die Mädchen (neuter plural - nom. / acc.);
den Männchen (neuter plural - dative)
