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
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