Weibliche Substantive im Deutschen erkennen: Teil 1 – Detecting German feminine nouns: part 1 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jan 12, 2012 in Grammar, Language
Learning German nouns seems to be quite annoying for foreign learners of German because of the three grammatical genders that German nouns can have. In my previous four posts I thoroughly discussed masculine nouns, and in this post I would like to begin with feminine nouns
a) Nouns that denote female humans, female animals, and female occupations
Just like masculine nouns denote male humans, male animals, and male occupations, feminine nouns do, first of all, denote female humans, animals, and occupations or positions.
Ferminine/female nouns | Masculine/male nouns |
die Frau – woman
die Mutter – mother die Tante – aunt die Großmutter – grandmother die Tochter – daughter die Dame – lady die Freundin – female friend die Cousine – female cousine die Enkelin/Enkeltochter – granddaughter die Nichte – niece die Uroma – great-grandma die Häsin – female hare* die Henne – hen*** die Hirschkuh – hind* die Hündin – female dog* die Katze – (female) cat** die Kuh – cow die Löwin – female lion* die Sau – sow (female pig)*** die Stute – mare (female horse)*** die Angestellte dei Direktorin die Lehrerin die Putzfrau**** die Anwältin die Flugbegleiterin die Leiterin die Rechtsanwältin die Ärztin die Friseurin die Managerin die Rektorin die Bürgermeisterin die Politikerin die Schneiderin die Chefin die Krankenschwester die Polizistin die Verkäuferin |
der Mann – man
der Vater – father der Onkel – uncle der Großvater – grandfather der Sohn – son der Herr – gentleman der Freund – male friend der Cousin – male cousin der Enkel/Enkelsohn – grandson der Neffe – nephew der Uropi – great-grandpa der Hase – hare der Hahn – rooster*** der Hirsch – stag der Hund – (male) dog der Kater – male cat der Bulle – bull der Löwe – (male) lion der Eber – boar (male pig)*** der Wallach – gelding (male horse)*** der Angestellte der Direktor der Lehrer der Raumpfleger**** der Anwalt der Flugbegleiter der Leiter der Rechtsanwalt der Arzt der Friseur der Manager der Rektor der Bürgermeister der Politiker der Schneider der Chef der Krankenpfleger der Polizist der Verkäufer |
* Although there are particular grammatical forms in German to denote female animals we usually do not use them in common speech in German, that is, when you are not absolutely sure about the biological gender of an animal or do not intend to emphasize that, you can always use the official masculine/male form. In other words, it is actually not necessary to learn the female forms because the masculine forms usually refer to both biologically genders, male and female.
** The word “Katze” is the only exception to the rule above. The word “Kater” is a more specialized term to denote a male cat. When you are not sure of the biological gender of a cat or do not want to emphasize that you have to use the feminine grammatical form: “die Katze”.
*** Some animals have special terms to reveal the gender of it. Those nouns usually have linguistically no direct connection to the name of the species, for example, das Schwein = pig and das Pferd = horse. It is not necessary to learn these biologically more specific terms as long as you know the name of the species. The only exception is probably poultry. Chickens are common domestic animals in Germany and I think that this is the only animal where we Germans draw a more clear line between genders: das Huhn – chicken is for both biological genders; die Henne – hen for female chickens, and der Hahn – rooster for male chickens.
**** “Putzfrau” is a common word to denote a cleaning woman in German. When you need to make clear that the ‘Putzfrau’ is a male person you should use “Raumpfleger” or the term that can be used for both biological genders: “die Reinigungskraft”, which is grammatically a feminine noun but there aren’t any special forms that exclusively refer to male and/or female people. So to speak, the meaning of the word “Reinigungskraft” is genderless because it doesn’t give any hints about the biological gender of the person.
To be continued…
Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.
About the Author: Sandra Rösner
Hello everybody! I studied English and American Studies, Communication Science, and Political Science at the University of Greifswald. Since I have been learning English as a second language myself for almost 20 years now I know how difficult it is to learn a language other than your native one. Thus, I am always willing to keep my explanations about German grammar comprehensible and short. Further, I am inclined to encourage you to speak German in every situation. Regards, Sandra
Comments:
Lee Bergevin:
Sandra,
Nur ein Bit an Information. Eine männliche Pferd ist ein Hengst. Ein Wallach ist ein kastrierter Hengst.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Lee
EP:
I’m sure you’ll be addressing it later, but remember to give a few tips about certain noun endings that help you recognize the gender. Cheers.
Zach:
It’s especially important to remember to use the female form of cat because “einen Kater haben” means to have a hangover
Also I think das Mädchen (girl) should be pointed out as a common exception to this rule