Gender in German: Noun guide to masculine, feminine & neuter

When I meet a stray dog and I don’t know their gender, I’m more likely to refer to him as a “good boy”, but when I meet a stray cat, I tend to think of them as “her”. Now I may be rudely misgendering animals occasionally, but there’s a reason for this.

In German, “der Hund” (the dog) is male, while “die Katze” (the cat) is female. So unless I know an animal’s actual gender, these generalizations are wired into my brain. For me, tables and spoons are male, while mugs and forks are female.

In German, every noun has a gender - masculine, feminine, or neuter - and this affects the articles and adjectives that go along with it.

This may come naturally to native speakers, but it can be quite challenging if you’re a new German language learner.

Table of contents

• Basics of gender in German: Der, die and das
• Identifying masculine, feminine and neuter nouns in German
  • General rules for identifying masculine nouns
  • General rules for identifying feminine nouns
  • General rules for identifying neuter nouns
  • Common exceptions to the rules
• Gender agreement between nouns and adjectives in German
• Gender irregularities in German
  • Nouns that change meaning with gender
• Practical tips for learning and using gender
• Common mistakes to avoid when using nouns in German
• Gender and inclusive language in German
• Der, die, does it matter?

Basics of gender in German: Der, die and das

In German, every noun is assigned one of three genders:

• masculine (der)
• feminine (die)
• neuter (das)

You would think females are female, males are male, and everything that’s not alive - like clothing, furniture, and dishes - are neuter, but it’s not that easy.

These genders don’t always make sense. So each time you learn a new noun in German, it’s important to learn its gender along with it.

Identifying masculine, feminine and neuter nouns in German

General rules for identifying masculine nouns

There are a few general rules that can help you identify masculine nouns in German, though there are many exceptions. Here are some key patterns to look out for:

• Nouns referring to male people
• Nouns ending in -er, -en, -el
• Days, months, and seasons
• Nouns formed from verbs without suffixes
• Nouns referring to points of the compass

Let’s dive deeper into each one of those categories!

Nouns referring to male peopleIf you’re referring to a person, and you know their gender is male, the noun you use to refer to them is usually automatically male.

Nouns ending in -er, -en, -el

Certain suffixes (word endings) indicate certain genders as well. If you encounter nouns ending in “-er”, “-en”, or “-el”, they’re often male, but definitely not always. So be cautious!

Other nouns ending in -er (male professionals)

If you’re specifically referring to professions of males, a lot of them end with the suffix “-er”, making it automatically male.

Days, months, and seasons

One category of words that’s reliably always male is that of days, months, and seasons. All of these are male in German:

Nouns formed from verbs without suffixes

Certain nouns that are formed directly from verbs, without additional suffixes, are also categorized as masculine. For example, a German verb is “kaufen” (to purchase). So when you turn that verb into a noun like “Der Kauf” (the purchase), that noun will be male.

Nouns referring to points of the compass

In German, nouns that refer to points of the compass are also all masculine.

General rules for identifying feminine nouns

Similarly, other categories or types of nouns are always female:

• Nouns referring to female people
• Nouns ending in “-in” (female professionals)
• Nouns ending in “-heit”, “-keit”, “-ung”, “-schaft”, “-ion”
• Nouns ending in “-e” (many but not all)

Nouns referring to female people

When referring to a person, and you know their gender is female, the noun you use to describe them is usually feminine.

Nouns ending in -in (female professionals)

If you’re specifically referring to professions of females, the profession ends with the suffix “-in”, making it automatically female.

Nouns ending in -heit, -keit, -ung, -schaft, -ion

Many feminine nouns in German are formed with the suffixes “-heit”, “-keit”, “-ung”, “-schaft”, and “-ion”, which consistently indicate that they are female.

Nouns ending in -e (many but not all)

The next category is definitely just a rough guideline. More often than not, German words ending in “-e”, are feminine, but be sure to double check because there are quite a few exceptions to this.

General rules for identifying neuter nouns

Of course not all nouns are masculine and feminine in German. Many nouns are neuter.Here’s where it can get a little confusing. As I’ve mentioned, not all inanimate objects are neuter, but it goes both ways. Some living things, even people with a known gender, are actually neuter. For example, the German word for “girl” is “das Mädchen”, which is neuter, and not feminine, as you’d expect!Let’s take a look at the different categories of neuter nouns that will help you determine neuter nouns in German:

• Diminutives: Nouns ending in “-chen”, and “-lein”
• Nouns formed from infinitives
• Nouns ending in “-ment”, “-um”, “-tum”
• Collective nouns with “Ge-” as a prefix

Nouns ending in -chen, -lein (diminutives)

Diminutive endings like “-chen” and “-lein” make a noun smaller or cuter.Some German diminutives are famous words like “Mädchen” or “Fräulein”. If you take the word “Katze” (cat), change the vowel “a” to the Umlaut “ä”, and add the ending “chen”, you just turned your cat into a kitten: Kätzchen!Some other diminutive are less common, but will be understood by German speakers nonetheless. The fun part is that you can turn any noun into something smaller or cuter, when you repeat that process:

Nouns formed from infinitives

You can turn most infinitives into a noun by adding the article “das” to it. This is similar in English: To laugh → The laugh.All of these infinitives turned to nouns are then automatically neuter:

Nouns ending in -ment, -um, -tum

Nouns with one of the following endings usually have a neuter gender in German:

• -ment
• -um
• -tum

Collective nouns with “Ge”- as a prefix

Some of my favorite German nouns start with the prefix “Ge-”, like “Gebäck”, or “Gemüse” - and they have one thing in common: They’re all neuter, but be careful. This is another category with quite a few exceptions.

Common exceptions to the rules

Unfortunately, as mentioned, some of these categories have exceptions. Here are some examples of nouns that defy the rules from above:

Gender agreement between nouns and adjectives in German

As you might remember from our fun and easy guide to German adjective endings & declensions, adjectives must agree with the gender, numerus, and case of the nouns they relate to. This means that the ending of an adjective changes based on the noun they are describing. Check out our guide for specific rules, but here are ten examples of what that can look like:

Gender irregularities in German

Nouns that change meaning with gender

In German, some nouns change their meaning based on their gender. For example, “der See” means “the lake”, but “die See” means the sea. Here are five examples of noun pairs that change meaning, based on their gender in German.

Practical tips for learning and using gender

Gender can be confusing, but with the right strategies, it becomes more manageable. Here are some practical tips to help you learn a noun’s gender in German:

• Pay attention to safe endings like “-ment”, “-um”, -”heit”, -”keit”, -”ung”, -”schaft”, -”ion”, ”in”, and “-chen”
• Everytime you learn a new German vocabulary, learn it with the article and say it out loud, like “Der Hund”, “Die Katze”, not just “Hund” and “Katze”
• When you learn a new vocab, picture the noun as its specific gender. For example, if you learn the word “der Stuhl” (chair), picture a chair with a mustache. It’s absolutely silly, but if you’re a visual learner, it will help you remember!

Common mistakes to avoid when using nouns in German

The most common mistake is to learn new words without learning their gender, and then trying to guess it later on.

In German, and many other languages, nouns and their articles are almost inseparable, so you have to just see them as part of the vocabulary you’re learning.

Another common mistake is to think that all languages that use gendered nouns, use the same gender, but that would be too easy. Did you know that in German, the moon is male, and the sun is female, when in French and Spanish, it’s the other way around?

Gender and inclusive language in German

The only time gender is truly important is when you’re referring to actual people, who care about and deserve being gendered correctly. That’s why it’s important to use the right pronoun for people, and to use inclusive language in the German language, just like you would in any other language.

In German, this can be even trickier than in English. For example, there are usually two different words for a profession, the female one, like “Ärztin” (a female doctor), and the male one “Arzt” (a male doctor). So when you talk about a group of doctors in German, it’s considered as politically correct to say “Ärzte und Ärztinnen” often shortened to “Ärzt*innen“ and not just “Ärzte”, even though this is easier, and therefore done by many.

Take the extra moment and foster a culture of inclusivity!

Der, die, does it matter?

As important as gender is for us as people, the truth is, no chair, car, or rug will be upset if you misgender them, and German speakers will still be able to understand you if this happens. So try your best to use the correct article, but if you ever get confused, don’t stress about it either.It’s admittedly a confusing topic, so hopefully you got some clarity today.

Check out our easily understandable and fun German language blog for a breakdown of other complex grammar topics like this one!