German Noun Endings
There are certain German noun endings that are connected exclusively to either masculine, feminine, or neuter gender, for example:聽
- masculine ending: -ling, -ast, -ich
- feminine endings: -ung, heit, -anz
- neuter endings: -chen, il, -ing
This means that it would be鈥�
- der Schmetterling (butterfly) , der Palast (palace) , and der Teppich (carpet).
- die Wohnung (apartment), die Krankheit (illness), and die Eleganz (elegance)
- das M盲dchen (girl), das Fossil (fossil), and das Meeting (meeting).
German Noun Gender is typically NOT Intuitive!
Notice that the gender of the noun has nothing to do with some quality of the noun itself 鈥搃s a carpet a masculine object?! is there something feminine about illness?! why would a girl be neuter?!
The gender of these noun examples is determined simply 鈥揺xclusively!鈥� by how these nouns are spelled, i.e. what 鈥榚ndings鈥� (e.g. -ling, -heit, -chen) they have.
But this is just scratching the surface! There are many more endings (with varying degrees of 鈥榠ronclad鈥�-ness) that you can learn more about here.
German Noun Groups
There are certain German noun groups that are largely associated with either masculine, feminine, or neuter gender, for example:
- masculine groups: animals, plants, geography
- feminine endings: fruits, numerals used as nouns
- neuter endings: metals, scientific units, gerunds
This means that it would be鈥�
- der Tukan (toucan), der Efeu (ivy), der Berg (mountain)
- die Ananas (pineapple), die Zwei (the 鈥榯wo鈥�)
- das Zinn (tin), das Atom (atom), das Fahren (driving)
How to Work with German Noun Groups
Wait a second 鈥� One can quickly think of plenty of animals and plants that AREN鈥橳 masculine ( der ) or fruits that AREN鈥橳 feminine ( die ). If there are so many exceptions, are groups even worth learning?
The key to reaping benefits from learning German Noun Groups is that you have to know where they belong in my Noun Gender Hierarchy.
Some 鈥榚ndings鈥� (see above) are stronger than others. And some 鈥榞roups鈥� are stronger than certain endings (and then weaker than others).
Knowing how the various endings & groups stack up against each other 鈥搃.e. which are stronger / weaker relative to other endings / groups鈥� allows us to accurately predict the gender of the maximum number of German nouns.
Are there still true exceptions that exist outside of every available principle and pattern that fuels my trademarked Noun Gender Hierarchy? YES. But much much fewer than absolutely any other way you can learn German noun gender.
