In German, all nouns have a particular grammatical gender. They can either be masculine (m\u00e4nnlich), feminine (weiblich), or neuter (s\u00e4chlich). The gender of a noun is indicated by its preceding article: \u201eder\u201c (for masculine nouns), \u201cdie\u201d (for feminine nouns), and \u201cdas\u201d (for neuter nouns). Please note that not the thing or person is supposed to have a particular gender, but the WORD. Sometimes, the article or gender of a noun can change the meaning of a word. For example, the German word \u201cSee\u201d used with the masculine article (der See) means \u201cthe lake\u201d in English. When the word \u201cSee\u201d is used with the feminine article (die See) it means \u201cthe sea\u201d in English. But such cases are rather rare.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, there is no logical explanation or rule why, for example, \u201cder Stuhl\u201d (chair) is masculine, \u201cdie Tasche\u201d (bag) is feminine, and \u201cdas Buch\u201d (book) is neuter. So, the only way to learn the genders of nouns is to treat their articles as a component of the word. For a better memory of the nouns\u2019 genders you can highlight them in particular colours: all masculine nouns are highlighted in blue, all feminine nouns in red, and all neuter nouns in green.<\/p>\n
If you do not have a dictionary at hand to check the gender of a noun, you can try to guess the gender because sometimes the noun itself can show which gender it has. Below I listed some gender hints for the grammatical genders of German nouns.<\/p>\n
Nouns which are always masculine:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 days of the week, months, and seasons<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 points of the compass (der Norden \u2013 north, der S\u00fcden \u2013 south, der Westen \u2013 west, der Osten \u2013 east)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 precipitation (der Regen \u2013 rain, der Schnee \u2013 snow, der Nebel \u2013 fog\/mist)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 names of cars (der Mercedes, der BMW, der VW) and trains (der ICE)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 words ending in \u2013ismus (der Journalismus – journalism, der Kapitalismus – capitalism)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 words ending in \u2013ner (der Rentner – pensioner; der Schaffner – conductor)<\/p>\n Nouns which are always feminine:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nouns that are ending in \u2013heit (die Sch\u00f6nheit – the beauty) , -keit (die T\u00e4tigkeit – the activity), -t\u00e4t (die Universit\u00e4t – university), -ung (die \u00dcberraschung – surprise), -schaft (die Freundschaft – friendship)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nouns ending in \u2013ie (Industrie – industry; Kom\u00f6die – comedy)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nouns of aircraft (die Boeing 747), ships (die Titanic), motorbikes (die Harley Davidson)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nouns ending in \u2013ik (die Musik – music, die Panik – panic)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 cardinal numbers (die Eins – one, die Zwei – two, die Drei – three, etc.)<\/p>\n Nouns which are always neuter:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nouns ending in \u2013chen (das M\u00e4dchen – girl) and \u2013lein (das Fr\u00e4ulein = unmarried woman)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 infinitives used as nouns (gerunds): das Essen \u2013 the eating\/food; das Schreiben \u2013 writing)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 names of hotels, caf\u00e9s and theatres<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 names of colours which are used as nouns: das Blau, Das Rot, das Gr\u00fcn<\/p>\n In German, all nouns have a particular grammatical gender. They can either be masculine (m\u00e4nnlich), feminine (weiblich), or neuter (s\u00e4chlich). The gender of a noun is indicated by its preceding article: \u201eder\u201c (for masculine nouns), \u201cdie\u201d (for feminine nouns), and \u201cdas\u201d (for neuter nouns). Please note that not the thing or person is supposed to…<\/p>\n