Today we’ll be talking about the gender of nouns in German.
As you know, in most cases it’s very hard to determine the gender of a noun if you see it for the first time. Sometimes it’s possible to guess the gender by the visual form of the noun, like for example the ending. There are some endings that are always masculine, always feminine or always neuter. However, this is a subject of its own. In this article we’ll see how to determine the gender of a noun by its meaning. This is by no means an absolutely reliable way of telling the gender, however I think it often helps. So, let’s get started.
Masculine Gender
First let’s have a look at all the categories where most nouns are masculine gender.
male humans
The first one is pretty obvious: nouns denoting male humans are masculine gender:
| der Mann | man |
| der Arzt | (male) doctor |
| der Lehrer | (male) teacher |
| der Junge | boy |
male animals
Also male animals are masculine gender:
| der Hund | dog |
| der Hahn | rooster, cock |
| der Eber | boar |
| der Bulle | bull |
nouns of time
The names of the days of the week, months and seasons of the year are also mostly masculine gender:
days of the week
| der Montag | Monday |
| der Donnerstag | Thursday |
| der Sonntag | Sunday |
| der Mittwoch | Wednesday |
months of the year
| der Juni | July |
| der September | September |
| der Mai | May |
| der Januar | January |
seasons of the year
| der Frühling | spring |
| der Sommer | summer |
| der Herbst | fall, autumn |
| der Winter | winter |
| exceptions | |
| das Frühjahr | spring |
cardinal points
Another category of nouns with all nouns being masculine gender is cardinal points:
| der Norden | north |
| der Süden | south |
| der Westen | west |
| der Osten | east |
weather phenomena
Most weather phenomena are masculine gender too. However, there are some exceptions. Have a look:
| der Regen | rain |
| der Schnee | snow |
| der Nebel | fog |
| der Sturm | storm |
| exceptions | |
| das Gewitter | (thunder)storm |
| die Graupel | sleet |
winds
The names of winds are masculine gender, at least most of them:
| der Föhn | foehn |
| der Zyklon | cyclone |
| der Passat | trade wind |
| der Monsun | monsoon |
| exceptions | |
| die Brise | breeze |
rocks and minerals
With the names of rocks and minerals there are quite a few which are not masculine gender, but still many of them are masculine gender:
| der Granit | granite |
| der Ton | clay |
| der Quarz | quartz |
| der Diamant | diamond |
| exceptions | |
| die Kohle | coal |
| die Kreide | chalk |
drinks
The names of many drinks are masculine gender, in particular alcoholic drinks and drinks based on plants:
alcoholic drinks
| der Wodka | vodka |
| der Wein | wine |
| der Schnaps | schnapps |
| der Gin | gin |
| exceptions | |
| das Bier | beer |
drinks based on plants
| der Saft | juice |
| der Tee | tea |
| der Kaffee | coffee |
| der Kakao | cocoa |
currencies
The names of currencies may be of any gender, however masculine gender is the predominant one in this group:
| der Euro | euro |
| der Dollar | dollar |
| der Cent | cent |
| der Franken | franc |
| exceptions | |
| die Mark | mark |
| das Pfund | pound |
makes of cars
The names of makes of cars are masculine gender:
| der Rolls-Royce | Rolls-Royce |
| der Volkswagen | Volkswagen |
| der BMW | BMW |
| der Audi | Audi |
non-German rivers
The names of rivers are usually masculine or feminine gender. Most non-German rivers are masculine gender except the ones ending in –a or –e, which are usually feminine gender:
| der Nil | the Nile |
| der Mississippi | the Mississippi |
| der Amazonas | the Amazon |
| der Ganges | the Ganges |
| exceptions | |
| rivers ending in –a/-e | |
| die Themse | the Thames |
| die Seine | the Seine |
| die Wolga | the Volga |
mountains and mountain ranges
The names of mountains are often masculine gender, although there are exceptions. Also many mountain ranges are masculine gender:
mountains
| der Mount Everest | Mount Everest |
| der Vesuv | Vesuvius |
| der Montblanc | Mont Blanc |
| der Kilimandscharo | Mount Kilimanjaro |
| exceptions | |
| die Zugspitze | Zugspitze |
| das Matterhorn | Matterhorn |
mountain ranges
| der Himalaja | the Himalayas |
| der Atlas | Atlas Mountains |
| der Balkan | Balkan Mountains |
| der Ural | Ural Mountains |
| exceptions | |
| die Sierra Nevada | Sierra Nevada |
Feminine Gender
Now let’s have a look at the most important categories with most nouns being feminine gender.
female humans
Again, the most obvious one, female humans. These nouns are usually feminine gender, but, as you can see below, there are a few exceptions. The exceptions presented below are often a result of the neuter ending of the noun. Nouns ending in –chen or –lein (these two are used to make diminutive forms of nouns) are always neuter gender. Have a look:
| die Frau | woman |
| die Mutter | mother |
| die Tante | aunt |
| die Lehrerin | (female) teacher |
| exceptions | |
| das Weib | woman, female |
| das Fräulein | lady |
| das Mädchen | girl |
female animals
Also female animals are feminine gender:
| die Henne | hen |
| die Kuh | cow |
| die Sau | sow |
| die Hündin | bitch |
numerals
Numbers used as nouns are feminine gender:
| die Eins | (the number) one |
| die Vier | (the number) four |
| die Acht | (the number) eight |
| die Tausend | (the number) one thousand |
airplanes and ships
The names of airplanes and ships are usually feminine gender:
| die Boeing | the Boeing |
| die Bismarck | the Bismarck |
| die Cessna | the Cessna |
| die Titanic | the Titanic |
| exceptions | |
| der Airbus | the Airbus |
German rivers
As mentioned before, the names of rivers may be masculine or feminine gender. Most non-German rivers are the former, most German rivers are the latter, although there are exceptions:
| die Donau | the Danube |
| die Elbe | the Elbe |
| die Fulda | the Fulda |
| die Oder | the Oder |
| exceptions | |
| der Rhein | the Rhine |
| der Main | the Main |
| der Neckar | the Neckar |
Neuter Gender
Finally let’s have a look at neuter nouns. These often belong to one of the following categories:
young humans and animals
The names of young humans and animals are often neuter gender:
| das Kind | child |
| das Baby | baby |
| das Ferkel | piglet |
| das Fohlen | foal |
chemical elements
Also the names of chemical elements are often neuter gender, although there are many which aren’t as well:
| das Gold | gold |
| das Zinn | tin |
| das Eisen | iron |
| das Blei | lead |
| exceptions | |
| der Schwefel | sulfur |
| der Sauerstoff | oxygen |
| der Phosphor | phosphorus |
units
The names of units used in physics and other sciences are often neuter gender. Some of them may be used with either the masculine or the neuter article, though:
| das Pfund | pound |
| das Volt | volt |
| das Ampere | ampere |
| das Watt | watt |
| exceptions | |
| der / das Meter | meter |
| der / das Liter | liter |
letters of alphabet
Sometimes you may want to use the name of a letter as a noun. Then it’s neuter gender too:
| das A | (the letter) A |
| das Ypsilon | (the letter) Y |
| das C | (the letter) C |
| das Z | (the letter) Z |
musical notes
The names of musical notes are also neuter gender:
| das C | C |
| das Cis | C sharp |
| das Ges | G flat |
| das F | F |
continents, countries, towns
Many geographical names, like continents, countries and town are often neuter gender:
| das heiße Afrika | hot Africa |
| das kalte Schweden | cold Sweden |
| das alte Deutschland | old Germany |
| das moderne Berlin | modern Berlin |
| exceptions | |
| die Antarktis | Antarctica |
| die Schweiz | Switzerland |
| der Sudan | Sudan |
So, this is it. One thing to remember when trying to determine the gender of a noun is that although it helps to know which category a noun belongs to, there is usually still uncertainty about it. There are quite a few exceptions, so if you want to be 100% sure, just loop it up in a dictionary.
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