Noun Gender Rules (Click to download word document)

Masculine

All

-ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ist, -ling,
z.B. der Honig, der Pessimist, der Lehrling usw.

Most

-ent, -er, -ing, -or, -us
z.B. der Konkurrent, der Schneider

Also

  • Male people and animals
  • Days of the week, months, seasons
  • Directions (ie North, South, East, West)
  • Types of weather
  • Cars
  • Alcoholic drinks (not das Bier)
  • Rocks and minerals

Feminine

Most

-anz, -ei, -enz, -schaft, -sis, -ung, -ur, -heit, -keit, -tät

Almost Always: Foreign Words

-ie, -ik, -ion, -age, -ette

Also

  • -in (female person/profession etc.)
  • Most flowers, trees, river names
  • Numbers as nouns
  • Ships, planes, motorbikes
  • Measurements and sizes (e.g. die Höhe – the height)

Neuter

Most

-at, -chen*, -ett, -icht, -il, -ium, -lein*, -ma, -ment

*changes gender of m/f nouns e.g. die Katze -> das Kätzchen

Almost All

  • Ge- (denoting a collection of things or people zB das Gemüse
  • Young persons and animals
  • Names of continents, towns and most countries
  • Cafes, restaurants and hotels
  • Letters of the alphabet
  • Other parts of speech as nouns e.g.verbs as nouns zB das Rauchen