You are probably done for by my previous three posts because discussing the genders of German nouns is indeed no bed of roses. But the good news is that we are almost through that topic, at least with respect to masculine nouns. Anyway, in this post I exclusively focus on the endings of words, which tend to be masculine in German.
a) Some nouns that end with the following endings
Some nouns that end with the following endings are masculine in German.
| -el: |
der Schlüssel – keyder Mantel – coat
der Sessel – armchair
der Löffel – spoon
der Dackel – dachshund
der Apfel – apple
der Stapel – pile; stack |
| -en: |
der Wagen – car; cart; wagonder Regen – rain
der Magen – stomach
der Segen – blessing
der Boden – floor
der Haken – hook
der Garten – garden
der Graben – ditch |
| -er: |
der Bohrer – drillder Rechner – computer; calculator
der Besitzer – owner
der Redner – orator, speaker
der Fahrer – driver
der (Flaschen-)Öffner – (bottle) opener |
| -ich: |
der Teppich – carpetder Kranich – crane
der Estrich – screed, floor fill
der Bottich – tub |
| -ig: |
der Honig – honeyder König – king
der Pfennig = former German currency
der Essig – vinegar |
| -ing: |
der Hering – herringder Fasching – carnival, Mardi Gras |
| -s: |
der Schnaps – schnappsder Schlips – necktie
der Knicks – curtsey
der Klaps – clap
der Klops – meatball |
| -ling: |
der Lehrling – traineeder Säugling – infant
der Schmetterling – butterfly
der Zwilling – twin
der Findling – foundling
der Neuling – freshman, newcomer, recruit
der Sperling – sparrow |
Exceptions are: die Formel – formular; die Schüssel – bowl; die Regel – rule; die Gabel – fork; das Camping – camping; das Meeting – meeting; das Training – training; das Fenster – window, etc.
b) Nouns with the following endings
The nouns in that category are loan words from other languages, predominately from Greek, Latin, and French.
Nouns that refer to people:
| -and: |
der Konfirmand – confirmeeder Doktorand – doctoral candidate
der Proband – test person |
| -ant: |
der Laborant – laboratory techniciander Mandant – client
der Garant – guarantor
der Demonstrant – demonstrator
der Informant – informant
der Musikant – minstrel; musician |
| -är: |
der Pensionär – pensioner; retireeder Visonär – visionary
der Reaktionär – reactionist; reactionary
der Volontär = a trainee who usually has a university degree
der Legionär – legionnaire |
| -at: |
der Kandidat – candidateder Demokrat – democrat
der Soldat – soldier
der Legat – legate
(exception: das Mandat – mandate) |
| -ent: |
der Student – studentder Absolvent – graduate; degree holder
der Abiturient – high-school graduate
der Assistant – assistant
der Agent – agent |
| -et: |
der Prophet – prophetder Asket – ascetic
der Athlet – athlete |
| -eur: |
der Friseur – hair dresserder Ingenieur – engineer
der Dompteur – animal tamer
der Regisseur – director
der Amateur – amateur |
| -ist: |
der Pianist – pianistder Statist – extra; mute; spear carrier
der Aktivist – activist
der Publizist – publicist
der Journalist – jounalist
der Artist – artist
der Jurist – jurist; lawyer; law student
der Prokurist – attorney |
| -loge: |
der Philologe – philologistder Psychologe – psychologist
der Geologe – geologist
der Theologe – theologist
der Biologe – biologist |
| -or: |
der Lektor – reader (of a publishing company)der Doktor – doctor; physician
der Professor – professor
der Revisor – auditor
der Direktor – principal; manager; director |
Further nouns:
| -ismus: |
der Altruismus – altruismder Egoismus – selfishness
der Mechanismus – mechanism
der Optimismus – optimism
der Kapitalismus – capitalism |
| -log: |
der Monolog – monologder Prolog – prologder Dialog – dialogder Katalog – catalog |
| -or: |
der Motor – motorder Humor – humor
der Traktor – tractor
der Rotor – rotor |
| -us: |
der Kursus – course (also “Kurs”)der Rhythmus – rhythm
der Enthusiasmus – enthusiasm |
Last but not least: Most people ask for a logical explanation why some German nouns are masculine, others feminine, and still others neuter. The bad news is: there isn’t any logic behind it. So, do yourself a favor and do not seek for any answers but simply spend your time with learning German nouns and their appropriate grammatical genders. I can imagine that it is difficult to accept that a ‘bottle’ is feminine in German, a ‘table’ masculine, and a ‘glass’ neuter but I promise you: the more you progress the more you will get a feeling for the language and you will be able to say intuitively whether a composition of words is grammatically correct and/or makes sense.
So, chin up! 😉
