Nuts & Bolts of German (Explanations): Guidelines for the gender of nouns (A1 Lower)

In German, all nouns have a grammatical gender that is indicated by the definite article:

 

der = masculine                    die = feminine                       das = neuter

 

There is no gender distinction in the plural.

 

Although there seems to be no apparent rationale for this classification [Tür (door) for example is  feminine, whereas Tisch (table) is masculine], the ending of the noun or its meaning often help to predict its gender. Therefore it is a very good idea to familiarize yourself with these guidelines.

 

 

The following nouns are usually masculine:

  • all male persons, their professions and nationalities, e.g. der Mann, der Journalist, der Student, der Doktor, der Ire

  • the names of seasons, e.g. der Sommer, der Winter, der Herbst

  • the names of months, e.g. der Januar, der Februar, der März

  • the names of days, e.g. der Montag, der Dienstag, der Mittwoch

  • all makes of cars, e.g. der VW, der Mini, der Audi, der Tesla

  • many nouns ending in -er, e.g. der Einwohner, der Computer, der Lehrer, der Hammer

    • exceptions: die Nummer, die Mutter, die Schwester, das Wasser, das Fenster, das Theater, die Butter etc.

  • practically all alcoholic drinks, e.g. der Wein, der Rum, der Gin, der Sekt

    • exception: das Bier & the various types of beer, e.g. das Pils, das Weizen, das Export

 

 

 

The following nouns are usually feminine:

  • nearly all female persons, e.g. die Frau, die Mutter, die Studentin

    • exception: das Mädchen

  • most nouns ending in -e, e.g. die Flasche, die Tasche, die Bluse

    • exceptions:

      • der Name, der Käse, das Auge, das Ende etc.

      • all male persons or animals: der Junge, der Ire, der Löwe etc.

      • all nouns with the prefix Ge-: das Gemüse, das Gemälde etc.

  • the great majority of nouns ending in -a, e.g. die Kamera, die Mensa, die Pizza, die Agenda

  • nouns ending in -ie, e.g. die Biologie, die Chemie

  • nouns ending in -ik, e.g. die Musik, die Informatik, die Mathematik

  • nouns ending in -in, e.g. die Lehrerin, die Journalistin, die Studentin

  • all nouns ending in -ei, e.g. die Bäckerei, die Polizei, die Fleischerei, die Konditorei

  • all nouns ending in -tät, e.g. die Universität, die Qualität, die Solidarität

 

 

 

The following nouns are usually neuter:

  • most nouns ending in -o, e.g. das Kino, das Auto, das Foto

    • exceptions: der Euro, die Mango etc.

  • all nouns ending in -chen, e.g. das Mädchen, das Brötchen

 

 

 

By the way, it might be helpful to know that according to the Duden (Germany's famous dictionary of the German language), about 46% of German nouns are feminine, 34% are masculine and 20% are neuter.

 

 

Note: A compound noun always takes the gender of the last noun, e.g.

 

das Telefon + die Nummer -> die Telefonnummer

der Wein + das Glas -> das Weinglas

die Tür + der Schlüssel -> der Türschlüssel