Geschlecht der Substantive

Theorie

Thomas Hfler 2005 2009
1

learning target

Aim of this section is to learn which noun has got which gender.
noun gender
der Mann
die rau
das !ind
male
female
neuter


rules

There are " different genders in #erman$
m%nnlich &male'
wei(lich &female'
s%chlich &neuter'

)ach gender is indicated (* an article$
der for male nouns
die for female nouns
das for neuter nouns

Which noun has which gender?
The rule is$
There is no rule or only rules with many exceptions.
+ want to gi,e some e-am.les to show that there is no logic (ehind the gender in #erman. /et0s ha,e a loo1 at
the three words$ man2 woman and girl.
der Mann &man'34 o(,iousl* male
die rau &woman'34 o(,iousl* female
das M%dchen &girl'34 o(,iousl* female2 (ut the grammatical gender in #erman is neuter5
That means the grammatical gender in #erman has often nothing to do with the (iological gender. A second
e-am.le is the word ocean in #erman. 6e0,e got three different words to descri(e it$
der 78ean 34 male
die 9ee 34 female
das Meer34 neuter
That0s wh* we alwa*s learn the article together with the noun. 9ee the article as .art of the noun and not as an
e-tra word.
:e,ertheless2 +0d li1e to gi,e *ou some rules which might hel. to remem(er which is the correct gender.

Geschlecht der Substantive
Theorie

Thomas Hfler 2005 2009
2
DER male nouns
1. all da*s2 months and seasons are male
der !ontag &Monda*'
der !ai &Ma*'
der Winter &winter'
2. occu.ations and nationalities when *ou referring to a male .erson are male
der "r#t &male doctor'
der Student &male student'
der Deutsche &male #erman'
". names of cars and trains are male
der $%E &fastest train in #erman*'
der !ercedes &famous #erman car'
der &W &famous #erman car'
;. male .eo.le are usuall* grammaticall* male
der !ann &man'
der 'unge &(o*'
der (ruder &(rother'
5. most mountains and la1es are male
der (odensee &famous #erman la1e'
der !ount Everest &famous mountain in <hina'
der )ilimandscharo &famous mountain in Africa'
=. most nouns ending with 3ich2 3ig2 3ling are male
der *onig &hone*'
der Teppich &car.et'
der Sch+dling &.est'
>. most nouns ending with 3el23en2 3er are male
der Wagen &car'
der ,-..el &s.oon'
der (echer &mug'


Geschlecht der Substantive
Theorie

Thomas Hfler 2005 2009
"
D$E .emale nouns
1. all nouns ending with 3heit2 31eit2 3schaft2 3t%t2 3ung are female
die /reundscha.t &friendshi.'
die /reiheit &freedom'
die Wohnung &a.artment'
2. all nouns ending with 3i12 3ade2 3age2 3en82 3ette2 3ine2 3ion2 3ur are female
die !usi0 &music'
die Waage &scale'
die 1ation &nation'
". all cardinal num(ers are female
die Eins &one'
die 2wei &two'
die Drei &three'
;. female .eo.le are usuall* grammaticall* female
die /rau &woman'
die Dame &lad*'
die Tochter &daughter'
5. most flowers and trees are female
die Rose &rose'
die 3rchidee &ordhid'
die 4alme &.alm'
=. most nouns ending with 3ei2 3ie2 3i,e2 itis2 isse are female
die 4oli#ei &.olice'
die ,inie &line'
die $nitiative &initiati,e'
>. most nouns ending with 3e are female
die Ec0e &corner'
die Gren#e &(order'
die Dec0e &ceiling'




Geschlecht der Substantive
Theorie

Thomas Hfler 2005 2009
;
D"S neuter nouns
1. all nouns ending with 3lein2 3chen are neuter
das /r+ulein &miss'
das !+dchen &girl'
das )+t#chen &1itten'
2. all names of hotels2 caf?s and theaters are neuter
das *ilton &Hilton'
das Gewandhaus &famous #erman theater'
das "ltwer0 &.i88a restaurant in :ideggen'
". all colors are neuter
das (lau &(lue'
das Rot &red'
das Gelb &*ellow'
;. all gerunds &,er(s which (ecome nouns' are neuter
das ,esen &reading'
das Schreiben &writing'
das Sehen &seeing'
5. man* cities and countries are neuter
das Deutschland &#erman*'
das $talien &+tal*'
das )-ln &<ologne'
=. most nouns ending with 3tum2 3ment2 3um2 3ium2 3nis are neuter
das !useum &museum'
das Datum &date'
das &erh+ltnis &relationshi.'
>. most nouns starting with @#e@ and ending with @e@ are neuter
das Geb+ude &(uilding'
das Ge.5ge &structure'
das Gerede &gossi.'