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Study Resource: German noun gender – some additional examples and exceptions

By: Ulrike Carlson

Associated Articles

These activities are part of our German Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Masculine nouns
Pattern	Examples	Exceptions	Notes on exceptions
Biologically male	der Mann the man der Sohn the son der Hund the son	die Wache the guard	ends in -e, therefore feminine
Male kin	der Neffe the nephew der Opa the grandpa der Onkel the uncle	das Enkelchen the little grandson/-daughter das Väterchen the dear daddy das Mütterchen the dear mum	all end in -chen, therefore neuter
Men's job titles	der Koch the cook der Schaffner the ticket inspector der Kaufmann the merchant	—	no exceptions
Ending -ant	der Emigrant the emigrant der Lieferant the delivery man der Praktikant the intern	das Restaurant the restaurant das Croissant the croissant das Deo(dorant) the antiperspirant	French origin and -ant is usually pronounced with a nasal [ã]
Ending -är	der Bär the bear der Millionär the millionaire der Sekretär the secretary	das Militär the military das Tertiär the Tertiary (period) das Quartär the Quarternary (period)	no other exceptions known, only the word Militär and all geological eras
Ending -ast	der Gymnasiast the high school student der Gast the guest der Mast the pole	die Last the burden die Hast the haste	no other exceptions known
Ending -en	der Kuchen the cake der Boden the floor der Schaden the damage	das Unternehmen the enterprise/undertaking das Laufen the running das Kissen the pillow	Unternehmen and Laufen are verbs used as nouns and therefore always neuter
Ending -ent	der Student the male student der Präsident the president der Patient the patient	das Kompliment the compliment das Instrument the instrument das Engagement the commitment	all words with -ment are neuter, be they pronounced ment or [mã]
Ending -eur/-ör	der Frisör/Friseur the barber der Regisseur the stage director der Ingenieur the engineer	das Malheur the mishap die Couleur the shade (of color)	die Couleur is feminine because it is also feminine in French
Ending -el	der Schlüssel the key der Löffel the spoon der Vogel the bird	die Schüssel the bowl die Schachtel the box das Kabel the cable	this rule has several exceptions
Ending -er	der Lehrer the male teacher der Schüler the male pupil der Witwer the widower	die Butter the butter das Fenster the window das Wasser the water	this rule has several exceptions
Ending -ich	der Pfirsich the peach der Teppich the carpet/rug der Kranich the crane (bird)	das Reich the realm	the i is part of the diphthong ei
Ending -ig	der König the king der Essig the vinegar der Honig the honey	das Reisig the brushwood die Hallig undiked island numbers with -zig	no other exceptions known
Ending -ismus	der Tourismus the tourism der Buddhismus the Buddhism der Optimismus the optimism	—	no exceptions
Ending -ist	der Polizist the policeman der Egoist the egoist der Tourist the tourist	die Frist the deadline die List the trick, the ruse	no other exceptions known
Ending -ling	der Zwilling the twin der Pfifferling the chanterelle (mushroom) der Schmetterling the butterfly	das Recycling the recycling das Bowling the bowling die Reling the railing	English loanwords with -ling are neuter
Ending -or	der Professor the professor der Doktor the doctor der Motor the engine	das Labor the laboratory das Chlor the chlorine das Tor the gate	Labor is an abbreviation of das Laboratorium, therefore neuter; Chlor is a chemical element, therefore neuter
Ending -us	der Globus the globe der Bus the bus der Zirkus the circus	das Apfelmus the apple puree die Maus the mouse das Plus the plus	The u in Mus is long but in some areas it is der Apfelmus; the u in Maus is part of the diphthong au; Plus is an abbreviation of das Pluszeichen(the plus sign)
Days	der Montag Monday der Mittwoch Wednesday der Sonntag the circus	—	no exceptions
Months	der Sommer the summer der Herbst the autumn der Winter the winter	—	no exceptions
Cardinal points (and compounds with cardinal points)	der Norden the north der Südwesten the southwest der Nahe Osten the Middle East	—	no exceptions
Weather phenomena	der Regen the rain der Sturm the storm der Hagel the hail	das Eis the ice die Hitze the heat das Gewitter the thunderstorm	this rule has a few more exceptions
Car brands	der Mercedes the Mercedes der Sturm the storm der Hagel the hail	—	no exceptions
Currency	der Euro the euro der Dollar the dollar der Peso the peso	die Mark the (German) mark die Krone the (Danish) crown das Pfund the (British) pound	this rule has a few more exceptions
Foreign rivers unless they end in -a or -e There is no rule for domestic rivers.	der Nil the Nile der Amazonas the Amazon der Mississippi the Mississippi	—	no exceptions
Mountains and mountain ranges	der Mt. Everest the Mt. Everest der Himalaja the Himalayas der K2 the K2	die Zugspitze the Zugspitze die Rhön the Rhön mountains die Eifel the Eifel Massif	the old name used to be der Zugspitz, but it changed to die Zugspitze in the 19th century
Nouns that are derived from verbs without adding an ending	der Rauch the smoke der Hass the hatred der Lauf the run	—	no exceptions known

Feminine nouns
Pattern	Examples	Exceptions	Notes on exceptions
Biologically female	die Frau the woman die Tochter the daughter die Hündin the female dog	das Mädchen the girl das Weib the woman, the female das Weibchen the female animal	all words ending in -chen are neuter
Female kin	die Nichte the niece die Oma the grandma die Tante the aunt	—	no exceptions
Women's job titles	die Ingenieurin the female engineer die Hebamme the midwife die Kauffrau the female merchant	—	no exceptions
Ending -ade	die Schokolade the chocolate die Marmelade the jam / marmalade die Schublade the drawer	der Nomade the nomad das Gestade the (river) bank	nomade is biologically male; all sets with Ge- are neuter
Ending -anz (multisyllabic)	die Arroganz the arrogance die Kulanz the amiability die Toleranz the tolerance	der Popanz the bugbear der Firlefanz the gimmickry	no other exceptions known
Ending -e	die Birne the pear die Waage the scale die Hose the trousers	der Neffe the nephew der Junge the boy der Käse the stranger	Neffe and Junge are biologically male
Ending -ei (multisyllabic)	die Bäckerei the bakery die Partei the political party die Türkei Turkey	der Salbei the sage (plant) das Einerlei the monotony das Allerlei the potpourri	no other exceptions known
Ending -enz (multisyllabic)	die Kompetenz the competence die Lizenz the license die Frequenz the frequency	—	no exceptions
Ending -heit	die Gesundheit the health die Krankheit the illness die Wahrheit the truth	—	no exceptions
Ending -ie	die Familie the health die Demokratie the democracy die Chemie the chemistry	das Genie the genius der Zombie the zombie der Sellerie the celery	this rule has several exceptions (usually loanwords from English)
Ending -ik	die Chronik the chronicle die Fabrik the factory die Republik the chemistry	das Plastik the plastic der Atlantik the Atlantic Ocean das Mosaik the mosaic	this rule has a few more exceptions
Ending -in	die Französin the Frenchwoman die Diebin the female thief die Kundin the female customer	der Termin the appointment der Kamin the fireplace der Rubin the ruby	this rule only applies when -in is pronounced "in", but not when it is pronounced "een"
Ending -ion	die Funktion the function die Religion the religion die Nation the nation	der Spion the spy das Stadion the stadium der Skorpion the ruby	this rule has a few more exceptions
Ending -ität	die Realität the reality die Qualität the quality die Uni(versität) the uni(versity)	—	no exceptions
Ending -keit	die Fähigkeit the ability die Gerechtigkeit the justice die Ehrlichkeit the honesty	—	no exceptions
Ending -schaft	die Mannschaft the team die Botschaft the embassy die Wirtschaft the economy	—	no exceptions
Ending -sis	die Basis the base die Dosis the dose (of) die Skepsis the skepticism	—	no exceptions
Ending -ung	die Heizung the heating die Rechnung the invoice die Zeitung the newspaper	der Sprung the jump der Umschwung the turnaround	no other exceptions known
Ending -ur	die Agentur the agency die Figur the figure die Kur the cure	der Schwur the oath das Abitur the high school graduation die Schnur the cord	this rule has a few more exceptions
Numbers	die Agentur the agency die Figur the figure die Kur the cure	das Hundert the hundred of das Tausend the thousand of	no other exceptions known
Motorcycle brands	die Yamaha the Yamaha die Kawasaki the Kawasaki die Honda the Honda	—	no exceptions
Ship names	die Titanic the Titanic die Gorch Fock the Gorch Fock die AIDA the AIDA cruiseship	—	no exceptions
Fruits	die Banane the banana die Avocado the avocado die Walnuss the walnut	der Apfel the apple der Pfirsich the peach der Holunder the elder	no other exceptions known
Flowers	die Rose the rose die Distel the thistle die Aster the aster	der Enzian the gentian das Edelweiß the edelweiss der Flieder the lilac	no other exceptions known
Rivers ending in -a or -e	die Spree the Spree die Wolga the Volga die Themse the Thames	—	no exceptions
Nouns derived from verbs by adding -e	die Suche the search die Reise the journey die Taufe the baptism	der Glaube the belief	no other exceptions known

Neuter nouns
Pattern	Examples	Exceptions	Notes on exceptions
Young people or animals	das Kind the child das Kitz the fawn (deer) das Ferkel the piglet	der Junge the boy der Frischling the young boar der Welpe the pup	Junge is biologically male, therefore masculine; all words ending in -ling are masculine
Ending -chen (diminutives)	das Mädchen the girl das Häuschen the little house das Frauchen the female owner of a dog	—	no exceptions
Ending -ett	das Tablett the tray das Etikett the label das Brett the board	—	no exceptions
Ending -eau[-oh]	das Niveau the level das Plateau the plateau das Tableau the panel	—	no exceptions
Ending -il	das Ventil the valve das Krokodil the crocodile das Fossil the fossil	der April April der Stil the style der Pfeil the arrow	all months are masculine; Stil is a loanword from Latin stilus which is masculine; most words ending in -eil are masculine
Ending -lein (diminutives)	das Fräulein the miss das Zicklein the crocodile das Fossil the little bird	—	no exceptions
Ending -ma	das Klima the climate das Asthma the asthma das Thema the topic	die Firma the company die Oma the grandma	Oma is biologically female, therefore feminine
Ending -ment	das Instrument the instrument das Element the element das Parlament the parliament	der Moment the moment der Zement the cement der Konsument the consumer das Moment the momentum	all designations for people ending in -ent are masculine
Ending -nis	das Ergebnis the result das Geheimnis the secret das Zeugnis the report card	die Erkenntnis the realization die Erlaubnis the permission die Besorgnis the concern	this rule has a few more exceptions
Ending -tel	das Drittel the third of das Hotel the hotel das Mittel the means	der Beutel the bag der Mantel the coat der Gürtel the belt	this rule has a few more exceptions
Ending -tum	das Eigentum the property das Christentum the Christianity das Wachstum the growth	der Reichtum the fortune der Irrtum the fallacy	no other exceptions known
Ending -um	das Museum the museum das Ministerium the ministry das Zentrum the center	der Konsum the consumption der Slum the slum	this rule only applies when -um is pronounced with a short vowel, but it is long in Konsum; Slum is pronounced as in English
Colors	das Grün the green das Zinnoberrot the vermillion das Ultraviolett the ultraviolet	—	no exceptions
Language names	das Deutsch(e) the German language das Französisch(e) the French language das Thai the Thai language	—	no exceptions
Letters of the alphabet	das B the letter B das A und O the Alpha and Omega das hohe C the high C	—	no exceptions
Foreign words	das Auto the car das Aftershave the aftershave lotion das Topmodel the topmodel	die Mall the shopping mall die Jeans the jeans der Job the job	this rule has more exceptions
Hotel names	das Hilton the Hilton das Bellagio the Bellagio das Burj Al Arab the Burj Al Arab	—	no exceptions
Sets with Ge-	das Gebirge the mountain range das Bellagio the Bellagio das Burj Al Arab the Burj Al Arab	—	no exceptions
Geographical names with adjectives	das schöne Berlin beautiful Berlin das kalte Norwegen cold Norway das ferne Asien far-away Asia	—	no exceptions
Chemical elements	das Eisen the iron das Helium the helium das Kupfer the copper	der Sauerstoff the oxygen der Wasserstoff the hydrogen der Phosphor the phosphor	this rule has a few more exceptions
Fractions	das Drittel the third das Hundertstel the hundredth das Milliardstel the billionth	die Hälfte the half	no other exceptions known
Verbal infinitives used as nouns	das Laufen the running das Schwimmen the swimming das Stolpern the stumbling	—	no exceptions

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Study Resource: German noun gender – some additional examples and exceptions

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