NounsWorking out gender

Sometimes it's easy to work out the gender of a noun, as certain words are always a specific gender.

Masculine

• Male family members and job descriptions, eg der Vater, der Bruder, der Professor, der Lehrer
• Days of the week, months, and seasons, eg der Montag, der Februar, der Sommer
• Compass points, eg der Norden, der Westen
• Machines and things which end in -er, eg der Computer, der Toaster, der Kugelschreiber

Feminine

• Female family members and job descriptions: die Mutter, die Schwester, die Professorin, die Lehrerin

Neuter

• Human and animal babies: das Baby, das Lamm

Endings that show gender

Common masculine noun endings:

Common feminine noun endings:

Common neuter endings:

The ending -chen or -lein at the end of a noun denotes a diminutive form, eg das Brötchen (bread roll), das Mädchen (girl), das Büchlein (booklet). Diminutive forms are always neuter.

With the ending –chen, an umlaut is added to the vowels a, e, o or u if they appear within the original noun, eg:

• das Brot – (loaf of) bread > das Brötchen – bread roll
• die Maus – mouse > das Mäuschen – small or cute mouse

The ending -lein is also used as a diminutive, but is not as common as the ending -chen. Again, an umlaut must be added to the vowels a, e, o or u if they appear within the original word. This ending is Swiss German in origin, and is sometimes abbreviated in speech to -le or -li.

• der Tisch - the table > das Tischlein - the little table
• mein Schatz - my sweetheart, darling > mein Schätzelein - my little darling

There are three main rules to remember when using these diminutive endings:

• they always make a noun neuter, regardless of what gender the original word was
• they do not change in the plural form, eg das Mädchen (the girl), die Mädchen (the girls)
• they usually add an umlaut if the vowels a, e, o or u appear in the original noun

Did you know?

Fräulein is the old-fashioned term for an unmarried woman, or 'Miss' in English. It is no longer used in German-speaking countries as it literally means 'a little woman' and is considered politically incorrect.

All adult women are known as Frau, whether they are married or not.

The word Frau on its own means 'woman' but in front of a surname it can mean 'Miss', 'Ms' or 'Mrs'.