1) The nominative article: der (masculine), die (feminine) or das (neuter).
der Vater | die Mutter | das Pferd | der Tisch | die Feder |
In German, there are sometimes very different words for male and female, just as in English.
der Mann | man | der Vater | father | der Bulle | bull |
die Frau | woman | die Mutter | mother | die Kuh | cow |
The animals themselves can be any gender.
der Hund | dog |
die Schlange | snake |
das Vieh | cattle |
Some nouns have two genders and the meaning of the word changes
der See | lake |
die See | sea |
der Leiter | leader, manager |
die Leiter | ladder |
der Band | volume, book |
das Band | ribbon, band, tape; bond |
Many masculine nouns can be made feminine by adding -in in the sing and -innen in the plural.
der Lehrer | (male) teacher |
die Lehrerin | (female) teacher |
Lehrer und Lehrerinnen | (male and female) teachers |
der Leser | (male) reader |
die Leserin | (female) reader |
unsere Leser und Leserinnen | our readers |
2) Masculine nouns
Nouns referring to male people and animals are masculine.
der Mann | man |
der Löwe | (male) lion |
Seasons, months, days of the week, weather and points of the compass are masculine.
der Sommer | summer |
der August | August |
der Freitag | Friday |
der Wind | wind |
der Norden | north |
Most nouns referring to things that perform an action are also masculine.
der Wecker | alarm clock |
der Computer | computer |
German nouns from other languages and ending in -ant, -ast, -ismus, and -or are masculine:
der Passant | passer-by |
der Ballast | ballast |
der Kapitalismus | capitalism |
der Tresor | safe |
Nouns with the following endings are masculine.
Masculine Ending | Example | Meaning |
-ich | der Teppich | carpet |
-ig | der Essig | vinegar |
-ling | der Frühling | spring |
3) Feminine nouns
Most nouns ending in -e are feminine.
die Falte | crease, wrinkle |
die Brücke | bridge |
Note that male people or animals ending in -e are masculine, and, nouns beginning with Ge- and ending in -e are normally neuter.
der Löwe | lion |
das Getreide | crop |
Nouns with the following endings are feminine.
Feminine Ending | Example | Meaning |
-heit | die Schönheit | beauty |
-keit | die Sehenswürdigkeit | sight |
-schaft | die Gewerkschaft | trade union |
-ung | die Zeitung | newspaper |
-ei | die Bäckerei | bakery |
German nouns from other languages and ending in -anz, -enz, -ie, -ik, -ion, -tät, -ur are feminine, with some exceptions.
die Distanz | distance | BUT: der Kranz | wreath |
die Konkurrenz | rivalry | ||
die Theorie | theory | BUT: das Knie | knee |
die Panik | panic | BUT: der Pazifik | Pacific |
die Union | union | BUT: der Spion | spy |
die Elektrizität | electricity | ||
die Temperatur | temperature | BUT: das Abitur | A levels |
Numbers used in counting, for example one, three, fifty are feminine.
Er hat eine Drei gekriegt. | He got a three. |
Some German adjectives are used as feminine nouns.
eine Deutsche | a German woman |
die Abgeordnete | the female MP |
4) Neuter nouns
Most nouns beginning with Ge- are neuter.
das Gericht | dish, court |
das Gesicht | face |
das Geschöpf | creature |
Nouns ending in -lein or -chen are also neuter.
Endings to form the diminutive | Example | Meaning |
-lein | das Tischlein | little table |
-chen | das Häuschen | little house |
Note that if these words have one of the vowels a, o or u, an umlaut should be added above the vowel. The final -e should also be dropped before these endings
der Bach → Bäch → das Bächlein | (small) stream |
die Katze → Kätz → das Kätzchen | kitten |
Fractions are also neuter.
ein Drittel davon | a third of it |
Nouns which refer to young humans and animals are neuter.
das Baby | baby |
das Kind | child |
das Kalb | calf |
das Lamm | lamb |
Infinitives (the “to” form of verbs) used as nouns are neuter.
das Schwimmen | swimming |
das Spielen | playing |
das Radfahren | cycling |
Nouns with the following endings are neuter.
Neuter Ending | Example | Meaning |
-nis | das Ereignis | event |
-tum | das Eigentum | property |
German nouns from other languages and ending in -at, -ett, -fon, -ma, -ment, -um are neuter.
das Reservat | reservation | ||
das Tablett | tray | ||
das Telefon | phone | ||
das Thema | subject, topic | ||
das Medikament | drug | ||
das Ultimatum | ultimatum | BUT: der Reichtum | wealth |
das Studium studies |
Compound nouns: a noun made up of two or more words.
these words nearly always take their gender from the LAST noun of the compound word.
die Armbanduhr (Armband + die Uhr) | wristwatch |
der Tomatensalat (Tomaten + der Salat) | tomato salad |
der Fußballspieler (Fußball + der Spieler) | footballer |