The gender of German nouns is often related to the word ending

Grammatical gender is one of the difficult aspects of learning the German language which has not only two but even three different genders.

In German, for instance, “der Löffel” (spoon) is masculine, “die Gabel” (fork) is feminine and “das Messer” (knife) is neuter.

At first sight, German grammatical gender seems completely random.

However, there are some heuristic rules, or patterns which can help predict the grammatical gender of German nouns based on their endings.

Basically, by looking at the ending of a German word, it is possible to determine if the word is more likely to be masculine, feminine or neuter.

German noun endings mostly associated with the feminine grammatical gender

Endings with helpful patterns:

• -ie
• -ei
• -in
• -heit
• -schaft
• -ung
• -keit
• -ik
• -tät
• -tur
• -tion

As a general rule, German words which are borrowed from Ancient Greek and end in “-ie” nearly always have the feminine gender.

Consider, for instance, the compounds involving the Greek “logos” (science)

• “die Biologie” (biology)
• “die Psychologie” (psychology)
• “die Ideologie” (ideology)

The same holds for “die Astronomie” (astronomy: from Ancient Greek “nomos”) or “die Utopie” (utopy: from “topos” = ‘place’) among others.

Exceptions include “das Knie” (knee) which does not derive from Ancient Greek course.

German nouns which end in “-ei” are feminine when they specify an occupation

• “die Malerei” (profession of painting) is “Maler” (painter) plus the ending “-ei”
• “die Bäckerei” (profession of bakery) is “Bäcker” (baker) plus “-ei”
• “die Schlägerei” (‘profession’ of beating up) combines “Schläger” (thug) with “-ei”

Obviously, not each of these three occupations is equally serious; but its potential for mockery is part of what makes the beauty of this use of “-ei”. (Besides the fact that it always produces feminine nouns.)

German nouns ending with “-in” are feminine, if they refer to a person-noun which can take both genders: feminine and masculine. (For the masculine counterparts see below.)

For example:

• in “die Polizistin” (policewoman) the “-in” contrasts the masculine “der Polizist” (policeman)
• in “die Forscherin” (researcher) the “-in” contrasts “der Forscher” (researcher)

German nouns which are formed from an adjective and the suffix “-heit” generally have the feminine gender. Here are some examples:

• “die Sicherheit” (security) is a combination of the adjective “sicher” (secure) plus the suffix “-heit”
• “die Wahrheit” (truth) is a combination of the adjective “wahr” (true) plus the suffix “-heit”
• “die Klugheit” (wisdom) is a combination of the adjective “klug” (smart) plus the suffix “-heit”

Compare also “die Mehrheit” (majority) or “die Reinheit” (purity).

Notice that these nouns represent abstract concepts rather than concrete objects.

An exception is “das Holzscheit” (log of wood), for example. But its etymology is different: it is not formed as the suffix “-heit” added to a German word. Instead, it is a compound noun formed by combining das Holz (wood) together with the noun “das Scheit” (log). Also, it denotes no abstract but a very concrete object.

The German suffix “-schaft” resembles the English suffixes “-ship” and “-hood”. For example, “die Eltern” (parents) with the suffix “‎-schaft” produces “die ‎Elternschaft” (parenthood)

German nouns which are produced using the suffix “-schaft” typically have the feminine gender. Here are some examples:

• “die Gemeinschaft” (community) is derived from the adjective “gemein” which in old German meant “common” plus the suffix “-schaft”.
• “die Wirtschaft” (economy)
• “die Botschaft” (message) is derived from the German noun “Bote” (messenger) plus the suffix “-schaft”.

Notice that “der Federschaft” is masculine. However, produced using the suffix “-schaft”, instead it is a compound of the nouns “die Feder” and “der Schaft” .

The German suffix “-ung” forms nouns from verbs. German nouns formed through this pattern generally have the feminine grammatical gender.

• “die Wohnung” (apartment) from the German verb “wohnen” (to live - in the sense of ‘to reside’) plus the suffix “-ung” to turn this verb into a noun.
• “die Lösung” (solution) from the German verb “lösen” (to solve)
• “die Aufklärung” (clarification) from the German verb “aufklären” (to explain)
• “die Verbindung” (connection) from the German verb “verbinden” (to join, to connect)
• “die Forschung” (research) from the German verb “forschen” (to research)

This pattern does not apply to German nouns ending in “-ung” when they are not formed as a verb plus the suffix “-ung”. For example:

• “der Ursprung” (origin): this German word is not formed from a German verb combined with the “-ung” suffix. Its etymology is “ur-” plus ‎”(der) Sprung” (jump, leap).
• “der Umschwung” (reversal, turnaround) is also not formed by adding the suffix “-ung” to a German verb. Its etymology is “um-” plus‎ “(der) Schwung” (momentum)

The German suffix “-keit” is an alternative form of the German suffix “-heit”. It, too, turns adjectives into nouns referring to abstract concepts.

As a general rule, most German nouns formed with the suffix “-keit” have the feminine gender. Here are some examples:

• “die Möglichkeit” (possibility) comes from the German adjective “möglich” (possible) plus the suffix “-keit”.
• “die Freundlichkeit” (friendliness) comes from the German adjective “freundlich” (friendly) plus the suffix “-keit”.
• “die Gemütlichkeit” (cosiness) comes from the German adjective “gemütlich” (cosy) plus the suffix “-keit”
• “die Wirklichkeit” (reality) comes from the German adjective “wirklich” (real) plus the suffix “-keit”
• “die Ewigkeit” (eternity) comes from the German adjective “ewig” (eternal) plus the suffix “-keit”

Most German nouns ending in “-ik” have the feminine grammatical gender. Here are some examples:

• “die Kritik” (criticism)
• “die Physik” (physics)
• “die Republik” (republic), borrowed from French “république” from Latin “rēs pūblicā”
• “die Musik” from the Latin word “mūsica”
• “die Politik” borrowed from the French word “politique” which is itself a borrowing from the Latin word “politicus”

Some of the exceptions to this pattern include:

• “der Atlantik” (atlantic) borrowed from the Latin ātlanticus.
• “der Pazifik” (pacific) from the Latin word pācificus

A possible explanation is that “der Ozean” (the ocean) is masculine.

German nouns ending in “-tät” are generally borrowed either from Latin or from French. In both cases, the original word is generally a Latin noun ending in “-tās”.

Latin nouns ending in “-tās” typically have the feminine gender and so do German nouns ending in “-tät”.

Here are some examples:

• “die Qualität” comes from the Latin word “quālitās” which is feminine
• “die Realität” comes from the Latin word “reālitās” which is feminine

Although German is not a Latin-based language, there are still a number of Latin-derived German vocabulary words.

Most German nouns ending in “-tur” are feminine. Often, they are borrowings from Latin words ending in “-tūra” which typically are also feminine.

Here are some examples:

• “die Literatur” (literature) is borrowed from the Latin word “litterātūra” which also has the feminine gender.
• “die Kultur” (culture) is borrowed from the Latin word “cultūra” which is of the feminine gender as well
• “die Nature (nature) is derived from the Latin word “nātūra” which is also feminine

One notable exception to this pattern is “das Abitur” (end of high school exam). The explanation is that “Abitur” is a shortening of “Abiturium”, and hence the neuter gender.

• “die Evolution” (evolution) is feminine like the Latin word “ēvolūtiō” from which it is borrowed
• “die Information” (information) is feminine, just like the Latin word “īnfōrmātiō” from which it is derived

Some other examples of German nouns ending in “-tion” are: “die Reaktion” and “die Produktion”.

German noun endings which are often associated with the masculine grammatical gender

Endings with helpful patterns:

• -er, -ner, -ant
• -ich, -eich
• -ling
• -ismus
• -or

Common nouns, which can take on both genders, are marked masculine by the endings “-er”, “-ner” or “ant.” (The feminine ending “-in” functions as its counterpart—see above.)

The first group (“-er”) includes:

• “der Wärter” (guard) is masculine in contrast with the feminine “die Wärterin” (guard)
• “der Friseur” (barber) in contrast with “die Friseurin” (hairdresser)
• “der Besitzer” (owner) in contrast with “die Besitzerin” (owner)

To the second group (“-ner”) belong:

• “der Gauner” (swindler) is masculine in contrast with the feminine “die Gaunerin” (swindler)
• “der Gegner” (adversary) in contrast with “die Gegnerin” (adversary)

And to the third group (“-ant”):

• “der Musikant” (musician) is masculine in contrast with the feminine “die Musikantin” (musician)
• “der Praktikant” (trainee) in contrast with “die Praktikantin” (trainee)

Examples for “-eich” include:

• “der Teich” (pond)
• “der Bereich” (domain)
• “der Vergleich” (comparison)

But “das Reich” (empire) constitutes a notable exception.

Masculine nouns ending on “-ich” comprise “der Teppich” (carpet) or “der Strich” (stroke).

The suffix “-ling” is rather ancient and the words it definitively marks as masculine most of the times may not be those most frequently employed,

For instance,

• “der Fremdling” (stranger)
• “der Häuptling” (chieftain)
• “der Lehrling” (apprentice)

In German all -isms are masculine and end in “-ismus”.

Examples include:

• “der Realismus” (realism)
• “der Exotismus” (exotism)
• “der Anglizismus” (anglicism)

Nouns with the ending “-or” are very often derived from Latin and bear the masculine gender.

For example,

• “der Terror” (terror) derives from Latin “terror”
• “der Doktor” (doctor) from “doctus” (learned)
• “der Professor” (professor) from “prŏfessus” (~ one acknowledged)

Notable exceptions include the neuter noun “das Tor” (gate) which, however, is not derived from Latin.

But “das Labor” (laboratory) is, but it is still neuter and not masculine

German word endings frequently associated with the neuter grammatical gender

Endings with helpful patterns:

• -chen, -lein
• -nis
• -tum, -um
• -en
• -ma, -o
• -ment

The German suffix “-chen” is used to create a diminutive form.

For example: “der Brot” (bread) plus the diminutive suffix‎ “-chen” produces “das Brötchen” (bun, or bread roll)

The German suffix “-lein” is also used to create a diminutive form of a noun.

For example: “der Engel” (angel) plus “-lein” results in “das Engelein” (little angel)

Notice: which noun goes with which diminutive seems not to be strictly determined. In the case of “Engel” (angel), for example, both variants—“das Engelchen” and “das Engelein”—are fine.

The German suffix “-nis” is frequently used to produce nouns from verbs. And the nouns formed this way often have the neuter grammatical gender.

For example:

• “das Ereignis” (event) derives from the verb “ereignen” (to happen) modified by “-nis”
• “das Gedächtnis” (memory) from “gedenken” (to commemorate) plus “-nis”
• “das Verzeichnis” (list) from “verzeichnen” (to note) plus “-nis”

There are many exceptions, however, which include “die Erkenntnis” (insight) or “die Erlaubnis” (permission), derived from the verbs “erkennen” (recognise) and “erlauben” (permit). They are feminine.

“-um” is the suffix for the neuter gender in Latin language. Latin words adopted in the German language, which thereby are also neuter, include:

• “das Faktum” from “factum” (fact)
• “das Datum” from “datum” (date)
• “das Universum” from “ūniversum” (universe)

In most cases these nouns represent abstract entities. Contrast the following exceptions: “der Raum” (room) or “der Traum” (dream); neither has Latin roots and “Raum” is very concrete.

The German suffix “-tum” can be used to turn adjectives into abstract nouns which are neuter.

• “das Heiligtum” (sanctuary) is derived from the adjective “heilig” (holy) plus the suffix “-tum”
• “das Eigentum” (property) is derived from “eigen” (own) and “-tum”

Notice the exception: “der Reichtum” (wealth)

“-tum” may also transform nouns into something more abstract:

• “Fürstentum” (the noble estate) derives from the plural “Fürsten” (nobles) plus “-tum”
• “Christentum” (Christianity) from “Christen” (Christians) and “-tum”

Another example is “das Schrifttum” (literature).

If a verb is transformed into a noun (activity), then it is always neuter. Any verb in the infinitive, which ends on “-en”, can be nominalised by applying the determinate article “das”.

For example

• “das Gehen” (the activity of going) is the capitalised infinitive “gehen” (to go) together with “das” applied.
• “das Schlafen” (the activity of sleeping) is “schlafen” (to sleep) with “das”
• “das Schweigen” (the activity of saying nothing) is “schweigen” (to be silent) with “das”

German nouns ending on “-o” or “-ma” are often neuter, and many of these derive from Ancient Greek words.

Concerning “-o” see:

• “das Kino” (cinema) has to do with Greek “kinein” (to move)
• “das Auto” with “autos” (reflexive pronoun).
• “das Radio”
• “das Echo”

Notice “das Büro” (office), which derives from the French ‘bureau’.

For “-ma” consider

• “das Panorama” from Greek “pan” (all) and “horama” (view)
• “das Charisma” from Greek “charizesthai” (to favour)

However, note the important exception of “die Firma” (enterprise).

In German, the ending “-ment” is mostly reserved for words borrowed from Latin and is often associated with the neuter gender.

• “das Instrument” (music instrument) derives from Latin “īnstrūmentum” (instrument, tool)
• “das Temperament” (character) from “tempĕrāmentum” (~ moderation)
• “das Experiment” (experiment) from “expĕrīmentum” (experiment)

Conclusion

For more on German vocabulary, have a look at this list of the 1000 most common German words.