Last time is was said that all those nouns are feminine, which refer to female humans (die Mutter-mother; die Tante-aunt), female animals (die Stute-mare; die Sau-sow), and female occupations (die Ärztin-phyisician; die Friseurin-haidresser). Let’s have a look now, which nouns are also commonly feminine in German.
a) Some names of animal species
| die Auster – oysterdie Larve – larva
die Muschel – shell
die Schnecke – snail |
die Fliege – flydie Made – maggot
die Raupe – caterpillar
die Ziege – goat |
b) Names of trees, fruits, and flowers
A lot of tree names, fruit names, and flower names are feminine in German
| die Buche – beechdie Eiche – oak tree
die Eibe – yew
die Fichte – spruce
die Kastanie – chestnut
die Kiefer* – pine tree
die Lärche – larch
die Linde – lime tree
die Palme – palm tree
die Tanne – fir
die Ulme – elm
die Ananas – pineapple |
die Birne – peardie Kirsche – cherry
die Erdbeere – strawberry
die Banane – banana
die Kiwi – kiwi fruit
die Orange – orange
die Rose – rose
die Aster – aster
die Dahlie – dahlia
die Orchidee – orchid
die Nelke – carnation
die Narzisse – narcissus |
* This is a so called homonym. That is, this word denoted two completely different things. When you use “Kiefer” with the article “die” you talk about a pine tree, but when you use “Kiefer” with the article “der” you talk about a jawbone.
Exceptions are: der Ahorn – maple / der Apfel – apple / der Pfirsich – peach / der Mohn – poppy / der Flieder – lilac / das Vergissmeinnicht – forget-me-not / das Maiglöckchen – lily of the valley / das Veilchen – violet / das Stiefmütterchen – pansy
Remember that words, which end with –el and –ich, like in “Apfel” and “Pfirsich”, are masculine in German.
c) Most bi-syllabic nouns that end with –e
Most words that have two syllables and end with an –e are usually feminine in German.
| die Bitte – requestdie Lage – location, position, situation
die Mappe – portfolio, briefcase
die Schule – school
die Tonne – barrel
die Blume – flower
die Lampe – lamp
die Masche – ploy, stitch
die Sense – scythe
die Treppe – stairs
die Nase – nose
die Sprache – language
die Tüte – bag |
die Leine – leash, corddie Rache – revenge
die Straße – street
die Stufe – step
die Gasse – alley
die Liebe – love
die Rede – speech
die Tasche – bag
die Wanne – tub
die Grenze – border
die Liege – lounger
die Säge – saw
die Tasse – cup |
Exceptions are: der Junge – boy (because it refers to a male person); der Löwe – lion (because most animal species have a masculine form); das Auge – eye; das Ende – end.
Suggestion: I think it could be very supportive when you internalize the rules above in connection with learning all nouns that are new to you, regardless whether you will use them because you would remember the rules easier when you have some examples at hand.
To be continued…
