German Lesson 7

Recognizing the gender

Remember that while speaking Deutsch we need to be well acquainted with the genders of the Nouns. You will find that all the teachers, online blogs, websites   trying to teach German are concentrating on being able to help their learners recognize the gender. What I am going to do here is put up certain hints to be able recognize the gender of a German Noun.The rules apply many times but not always.

Whats common?

Like in English the male beings are masculine , female beings are feminine For example:

1. der Mann..the Mann <---> die Frau....the woman
2. der Vater...the father<---> die Mutter..the mother
3. der Onkle..the uncle <---> die Tante....the aunt
4. der Bruder..the brother <--> die Schwester..the sister
5. der Sohn..the son<---> die Tochter....the daughter...

As is normal with any language there are exceptions. A girl is ..Das Mädchen..the girl.. neuter gender

The Masculine Nouns

Nouns ending in -er,-en,el,ig,ich,lng ar mostly masculine

1. der Schlüssel<--->key
2. der Wagen<--->car
3. der Arbeiter<--->worker
4. der Honig<---->honey
5. der Teppich<--->carpet
6. der Lehrling<--->apprentice

exception: Messer..Knife is neuter..das Messer and many others like das Fenster.the window

The names of days, months, seasons are masculine

1. der Montag<-->Monday
2. der Juli<--->July
3. der Frühling<--->Spring

Names of directions are also masculine

1. der Norden<--->North
2. der Süden<--->South
3. der Westen<--->West
4. der Osten<--->East

Foreign endings-and, ant, ar, är, ast, ent ,eur, ier, ist, ismus,or,us are masculine

1. der Kommandant ...commander
2. der Friseur ...hairdresser, barber
3. der Kommissar... commissioner, inspector
4. der Offizier.... officer
5. der Millionär... millionaire
6. der Optimist ...optimist
7. der Enthusiast... enthusiast
8. der Idealismus... idealism
9. der Student ...student
10. der Tenor... tenor

The Feminine Nouns

Nouns ending in -age,-e,-ei,-heit,-keit,schaft,-ie,-ek,-eke,-ik,-in,-ion,-tat,-ung,-ur

1. die Freundschaft..friendship
2. die Schönheit....Beauty
3. die Wahrheit..truth
4. die Musik---Music
5. die Diskothek.---Disco
6. die Lehrerin..female teacher( its easy to recognize ones with "in" ending mostly emerging out of a masculine noun..like in this case ..Lehrer..the male teacher)
7. die Wohnung...apartment
8. die Courage....Courage

Nouns ending in -e are feminine there are some exceptions to this

• das Auge..eye
• das ende..end
• der Buchstabe...letter(alphabet)
• der Hase..Hare
• der Käse ...Chicken
• der Kunde....customer

*An abstract truth in general is a feminine noun !

Nouns flowers, fruits and trees are feminine.

1. die Orchidee
2. die Bannane..

exception:der Apfel..apple

The Neuter Gender

Nouns ending with -tum, -ment,-eum,ium,-um ,-ett, are neuter.

1. das Christentum ...Christianity
2. das Museum... museum
3. das Instrument... instrument
4. das Datum... date
5. das Gymnasium.. secondary school
6. das Duett... duet

Infinitives used as nouns are always neuter.

1. das Hören... hearing
2. das Sprechen.. speaking
3. das Sehen.. seeing
4. das Tanzen.. dancing

Names of countries, cities, places are neuter
Some Exceptions:

1. die Schweiz ..Switzerland
2. die Türkei ...Turkey
3. die Tschechische Republik... Czech Republic
4. *die Vereinigten Staaten...the US is treated as a plural

These rules are going to make you a confident German language learner for sure. Remember that "most" of the words suit the rule not all, exceptions have been mentioned as far as possible