12th April, 2010

German noun gender hints Part 1

posted 1 year ago

Every German noun has a gender: masculine (der; ein), feminine (die; eine) or neuter (das; ein). It’s good to learn nouns with their corresponding noun gender right away to avoid later mistakes.

There aren’t rules that you can rely on really. But there are some hints that may help you to guess the right gender when you’re unsure. But please remember: There are ALWAYS exeptions to the rule! ;)

Today: MASCULINE NOUNS - DER

1.) days of the week, months and the four seasons (e.g. der Montag = Monday; der April = April; der Winter = winter)

2.) most nouns with the suffix -ist; -ich; -ling (e.g. der RettICH = radish)

3.) most nouns with the suffix -ner (e.g. der GärtNER = gardener)

4.) most nouns with the suffix -ismus (e.g. der JournalISMUS= journalism)

5.) most jobs and nationalities unless there’s a feminine form! (e.g. der Schüler, die Schülerin = student male, student female; der Arzt, die Ärztin = doctor male, doctor female; der Mexikaner, die Mexikanerin = Mexican male, Mexican female)

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