What is a noun? A noun names a person, object, abstract quality, or concept: a woman, a boat, friendship, democracy. Unlike English's "biological" gender (where things are "it"), German uses grammatical gender—every noun is either masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Note: In plural, all genders use die: die Männer, die Frauen, die Kinder
| Ending | Examples |
|---|---|
| -er | der Computer (computer), der Wecker (alarm clock) |
| -ig | der Honig (honey), der Käfig (cage) |
| -ismus | der Idealismus (idealism), der Kapitalismus (capitalism) |
| -ling | der Frühling (spring), der Schilling (shilling) |
| -or | der Motor (engine), der Reaktor (reactor) |
| Ending | Examples |
|---|---|
| -ei | die Bäckerei (bakery), die Türkei (Turkey) |
| -enz | die Intelligenz, die Differenz |
| -heit | die Freiheit (freedom), die Dummheit (stupidity) |
| -ie | die Demokratie, die Phantasie |
| -ion | die Nation, die Kommunikation |
| -keit | die Schwierigkeit (difficulty), die Möglichkeit (opportunity) |
| -tät | die Universität, die Fakultät |
| -schaft | die Mannschaft (team), die Landschaft (landscape) |
| -ung | die Wohnung (flat), die Zeitung (newspaper) |
| -ur | die Kultur, die Natur |
Tip: ~90% of nouns ending in -e are feminine: die Adresse, die Flasche, die Krawatte
| Ending | Examples |
|---|---|
| -chen | das Mädchen (girl), das Märchen (fairy tale) |
| -lein | das Fräulein (Miss), das Männlein (little man) |
| -ma | das Klima, das Thema |
| -ment | das Dokument, das Instrument |
| -o | das Kino (cinema), das Büro (office) |
| -um | das Album, das Zentrum (centre) |
A word made of multiple nouns takes the gender of the last noun:
Important: All nouns in German start with a capital letter! This helps you spot them in sentences.
Plural (all genders): die (definite), — (no indefinite article in German)
Test your instincts! Can you guess the gender before seeing the answer?
Select the correct article for each group of nouns:
Select m (masculine), f (feminine), or nt (neuter) for each noun. Click the noun to see the dictionary-style hint!
Rewrite these sentences with correct German capitalization. Nouns must start with capital letters!
As you type, words that should be capitalized will be highlighted:
Translate these sentences into German. Pay attention to the correct articles!