German Noun Gender
Spot the endings and word groups that reveal a noun's gender, and pick der, die or das correctly most of the time.
Every German noun is masculine, feminine or neuter, and the article shows which. Gender is often random: the spoon is der Löffel, the fork die Gabel, the knife das Messer.
You can't predict every noun, but endings and meaning groups give you a strong hint for most of them.
Learn each noun with its article
Treat the article as part of the word: learn der Tisch, not just Tisch. Gender controls every later ending, so a wrong guess spreads through the sentence.
Der Löffel, die Gabel und das Messer liegen auf dem Tisch.
The spoon, the fork and the knife are on the table.
Die Wohnung ist hell und ruhig.
The flat is bright and quiet.
Endings that predict the gender
Look at the end of the noun first. Most of these endings are right almost every time.
Usually masculine (der)
- -lingder Frühling
- -ismusder Tourismus
- -order Motor
- -igder Honig
- -istder Tourist
- -erder Lehrerpeople and tools
Usually feminine (die)
- -ungdie Zeitung
- -heitdie Freiheit
- -keitdie Möglichkeit
- -schaftdie Freundschaft
- -iondie Situation
- -tätdie Universität
- -eidie Bäckerei
- -edie Lampeabout nine in ten
Usually neuter (das)
- -chendas Brötchen
- -leindas Büchlein
- -mentdas Dokument
- -umdas Museum
- -madas Thema
- -odas Kino
- verb as noundas Essen
- Ge-das Gebäudeoften, not always
Die Zeitung liegt auf dem Sofa.
The newspaper is on the sofa.
Das Brötchen ist noch warm.
The bread roll is still warm.
Meaning groups that help
- Masculine: days, months, seasons, weather – der Montag, der Regen.
- Masculine: male people, car brands, most alcohol (but das Bier).
- Feminine: female people, most trees and flowers – die Rose.
- Neuter: babies, metals, colours as nouns – das Gold, das Rot.
Der Winter war sehr kalt.
The winter was very cold.
Das Baby schläft endlich.
The baby is finally asleep.
Exceptions to watch
The ending beats natural gender: das Mädchen is neuter because of -chen. A few everyday nouns break the ending rules.
Common exceptions
- -chendas Mädchena girl, but neuter
- -eder Käse
- -eder Name
- -edas Ende
- -edas Auge
- -oder Euro
- -madie Firma
Der Käse kommt aus der Schweiz.
The cheese comes from Switzerland.
Das Mädchen heißt Mia.
The girl is called Mia.
Common mistakes
✗
Die Mädchen ist sieben.✓ Das Mädchen ist sieben.
Nouns ending in -chen are always neuter, even for girls.
✗
Der Zeitung ist neu.✓ Die Zeitung ist neu.
Nouns ending in -ung are always feminine.
✗
Die Käse ist lecker.✓ Der Käse ist lecker.
Käse is a masculine exception to the -e rule.
✗
Die Auto ist rot.✓ Das Auto ist rot.
Short nouns ending in -o are usually neuter.
Questions learners ask
Is there a rule for German noun gender?
There is no single rule, but endings like -ung, -chen and -ling are very reliable. Together with meaning groups they cover most nouns.
Are all German nouns ending in -e feminine?
Most are, roughly nine in ten. Exceptions include male people and animals (der Junge, der Löwe) and words like das Ende and der Käse.
What gender does a compound noun have?
The last noun decides the gender. Das Haus + die Tür gives die Haustür.