Artikel
der
die
das
German Articles Reference
Masculine Nouns (der)
- Days, months, and seasons
- Points of the compass
- Alcoholic drinks (except das Bier)
- Most mountains and lakes
- Car brands
- Nouns ending in: -er, -ich, -ling, -or, -ismus
Feminine Nouns (die)
- Most countries and continents (exceptions: der Libanon, der Irak)
- Cardinal numbers
- Most rivers in Europe
- Most trees and flowers
- Most fruits
- Nouns ending in: -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät, -ie, -ik, -ur, -ei
Neuter Nouns (das)
- Most metals
- Most colors (when used as nouns)
- Most hotels, cafés, cinemas, theaters
- Young animals and people (das Kind, das Küken)
- Infinitives used as nouns
- Nouns ending in: -chen, -lein, -um, -ment, -ma, -ium
Grammatical Gender in German
German nouns have one of three grammatical genders:
- Masculine (der)
- Feminine (die)
- Neuter (das)
The gender must be memorized with each noun, but there are patterns that can help:
Semantic Gender Rules
- Male persons and animals use der (der Mann, der Löwe)
- Female persons and animals use die (die Frau, die Katze)
- Young persons and animals often use das (das Kind, das Lamm)
Morphological Gender Rules
Word endings can help predict gender:
Typically masculine (-er): der Computer, der Arbeiter
Typically feminine (-ung): die Zeitung, die Prüfung
Typically neuter (-chen): das Mädchen, das Häuschen
Notable Exceptions
Some common nouns don't follow the typical patterns:
Unexpected Masculine (der)
- der Junge (boy) - despite ending in -e (usually feminine)
- der Käse (cheese)
- der Löffel (spoon)
- der Monat (month)
Unexpected Feminine (die)
- die Maus (mouse)
- die Hand (hand)
- die Stadt (city)
- die Milch (milk)
Unexpected Neuter (das)
- das Mädchen (girl) - though follows -chen rule
- das Auto (car)
- das Fenster (window)
- das Wasser (water)
Words with Multiple Genders
Some words change meaning with gender:
- der See (lake) vs. die See (sea)
- der Band (volume of a book) vs. das Band (ribbon)
- das Tor (gate, goal) vs. der Tor (fool)
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