Determining Gender Flashcards
Nouns that end in -keit
Feminin
Diminutive nouns that ending -chen
Neuter
Many nouns that form their plural by umlaut + e
Maskulin
Der Brief (die Briefe) der Satz (die Sätze)
(letter, sentence)
Nouns that end in -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ist, -ling, and -us
Maskulin
ie. der Teppich, der Käfig, der Kommunismus, der Kapitalist, der Lehrling, der Rythmus
(carpet, cage, communism, capitalist, apprentice, rhythm)
Days of the week
Maskulin
Nouns that refer to males
Maskulin
ie. der Vater, der Junge
(Father, boy)
Nouns that end in -nz
Feminin
Nouns that end in -ig
Maskulin
Days of the week, months, and seasons.
Maskulin
ie. Der Montag, der Januar, der Herbst
(Monday, January, autumn)
Nouns that end in -ismus
Maskulin
Nouns that end in -heit
Feminin
Nouns ending in -in that identify females in professions
Feminin
ie. die Lehrerin, die Ärztin
(teacher, physician)
Nouns that end in -tel
Neuter
Nouns ending in -en
Maskulin
Many nouns that form their plural by -(e)n
Feminin
die Tante (die Tanten), die Zeitschrift (die Zeitschriften)
(aunt, magazine)
Nouns that end in -ung
Feminin
Many nouns ending in -a
Feminin
ie. die Kamera, die Pizza
(camera, pizza)
Names of many rivers
Feminin
ie. die Elbe, die Mosel
(the Elbe, the Moselle)
Nouns that end in -ik
Feminin
Nouns that end in -ist
Maskulin
Nouns that end in -tel, -tum, and -um
Neuter
ie. das Viertel, das Königtum, das Gymnasium
(quarter, monarchy, prep school)
Foreign words with the accent on the last syllable
Maskulin
ie. Der Soldat, der Elefant
(Soldier, elephant)
Nouns that refer to metals
Neuter
ie. das Gold, das Silber
(gold, silver)
Nouns that end in -tum
Neuter
Diminutive nouns that end in -chen or -lein
Neuter
ie. das Mädchen, das Röslein
(girl, little rose)
Nouns that end in -ei, -heit, -keit, -ie, -ik, -nz, -schaft, -ion, -tät, -ung, and -ur
Feminin
die Schweinerei, die Einsamkeit, die Fotografie, die Topix, die Konferenz, die Landschaft, die Position, die Universität, die Prüfung, die Natur
(mess, unity, loneliness, photography, topic, conference, landscape, position, university, test, nature)
Nouns that end in -us
Maskulin
Nouns that end in -ling
Maskulin
Nouns that end in -ur
Feminin
Many nouns with the prefix Ge-
Neuter
ie. das Gemälde, das Gelächter
(painting, laughter)
Many nouns ending in -e
Feminin
ie. die Lampe, die Ernte
(lamp, harvest)
Nouns ending in -er
Maskulin
Nouns that end in -ie
Feminin
Nouns that refer to females
Feminin
ie. die Mutter, die Frau
(mother, woman, or wife)
Nouns that end in -er, -en, -el
Maskulin
ie. der Lehrer, der Wagen, der Mantel
(Teacher, car, coat)
Names of numerals
Feminin
ie. die Eins, die Hundert
(one, hundred)
Nouns formed from an infinitive verb minus the -en ending
Maskulin
ie. der Besuch (verb: besuchen), der Lohn (Verb: lohnen)
(Visit, wages)
Nouns that end in -ich
Maskulin
Nouns that end in -schaft
Feminin
Diminutive nouns that end in -lein
Neuter
Nouns formed from an infinitive verb
Neuter
ie. das Einkommen, das Singen
(income, singing)
Most nouns that end in -nis
Neuter
ie. das Bekenntnis, das Gedächtnis
(confession, memory)
Nouns that end in -ei
Feminin
Nouns that end in -um
Neuter
Nouns that end in -tät
Feminin
Seasons
Maskulin
 months
Maskulin
Nouns ending in -el
Maskulin
Nouns that end in -ion
Feminin
Many types of animals that are bigger, scarier, uglier, or more powerful… or appear as villains in fairytales.
 The eagle, the alligator, the bear, the beaver, the blue whale, the buffalo, the dolphin, the dinosaur, the elephant, the egg, the fish, the fox, the gorilla, the rooster, the lobster, the dog, the lion, the mall, the orangutan, the ball, the tiger, the bird, the whale, the wolf
Maskulin
der Adler, der Alligator, der Bär, der Biber, der Blauwal, der
Büffel, der Delphin, der Dinosaurier, der Elefant, der Eel, der
Fisch, der Fuchs, der Gorilla, der Hahn, der Hummer, der Hund,
der Löwe, der Maulwurf, der Orang-Utan, der Stier, der Tiger,
der Vogel, der Wal, der Wolf
If the animals are smaller and less
powerful, they can usually be identified as being _________ if they
end on -er
The hamster, the beetle
Maskulin
der Hamster, der Käfer
Days of the week
The day, the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, the Friday, the Saturday, the Sunday
Maskulin
Der Tag, der Montag, der Dienstag, der Mittwoch, der Donnerstag, der Freitag, der Samstag, der Sonntag
Months
The month, the January, the February, etc.(all listed)
Maskulin
Der Monat, der Januar, der Februar, der März, der April, der Mai, der Juni, der Juli, der August, der September, der November, der Oktober, der Dezember
Seasons of the year
the spring, the summer, the fall, the winter
Maskulin
der Frühling, der Sommer, der Herbst, der Winter
Points on the compass
The north, the south, the east, the west, the northeast, the pole, the north pole, the South Pole, the compass
Maskulin
der Norden, der Süden, der Osten, der
Westen, der Nordosten, der Pol, der Nordpol, der Südpol, der Kompass
Precipitation and wind
The drop, the rain, the fog, the Snow, hail, storm, lightning, thunder, wind, tornado, hurricane, hair dryer, Passat, etc.
Maskulin
der Tropfen, der Regen, der Nebel, der
Schnee, der Hagel, der Sturm, der Blitz, der Donner, der Wind, der Tornado, der Hurrikan, der Föhn, der Passat, etc.
Exceptions: die Böe, die Brise, die Bise - because they end on -e
Heavenly bodies
The asteroid, Jupiter, the sky, the Comet, the Mars, the Mercury, the Moon, Neptune, The Planet, the Quasar, the Pluto, the Pulsar, the Satellite, the Satum,
The star
Maskulin
Heavenly bodies: der Asteroid, der Jupiter, der Himmel, der
Komet, der Mars, der Merkur, der Mond, der Neptun, der
Planet, der Quasar, der Pluto, der Pulsar, der Satellit, der Satum,
der Stern; Venus is both the Roman goddess of love and the
name of a planet, hence feminine, and die Sonne and die Erde
both have the powerful -e ending, typically associated with
feminine nouns.
Types of soil, minerals and rock
The ground, the stone, the Rock, granite, diamond, marble, quartz, sand, The Emerald
Maskulin
der Boden, der Stein, der Fels, der Granit, der Diamant, der Marmor, der Quarz, der Sand, der Smaragd (emerald). Exception: die Kreide (chalk, ending on
the feminine -e)
Dirt & waste
The waste, the dirt, the manure, the garbage of the, junk, the crap, the garbage, the dirty, the scrap, Dust, dirt, urine, etc.
Maskulin
der Abfall, der Dreck, der Dung, der Kehricht der, Plunder (junk), der Mist, der Müll, der Schmuddel, der Schrott,
der Staub, der Schmutz, der Urin, etc.
Names of many rivers outside of central Europe
The Amazon, the Mississippi, the Nile
(exceptionally also der Rhein, der Main).
Maskulin
der Amazonas, der Mississippi, der Nil (exceptionally also der
Rhein, der Main).
Inland bodies of water
The stream, the river (from
which we also get several related masculine nouns: The drain, Outflow, influence), canal, lake, pond, dam, pool/pool
Maskulin
der Bach (stream), der Fluss (from which we also get several related masculine nouns: der Abfluss, der Ausfluss, der Einfluss), der Kanal (channel), der See (lake), der Teich (pond), der Damm (dam), der Pool/der Swimmingpool
Names of mountains
The mountain, the summit, the hill, the
Mount Everest, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro - even in the case of the Himalaya
Maskulin
Der Berg, der Gipfel, der Hügel, der
Mount Everest, der Mont Blanc, der Kilimanjaro - even in the
case of der Himalajalder Himalaya, which ends on an -a, which
tends to be a feminine ending, 21
Elongated shapes
Arm/sleeve/branch/limb, branch, tree trunk, wire, golf club, neck, mast/pilon, pole/steak, pillar/column, post, leg/thigh/geometric side, staff/rod, stick, stock/stem, pen/pencil, stick/cane, tower
Maskulin
Der Arm, der Ast, Der Baumstamm, der Draht, der Golfschläger, der Hals/der Nacken, der Mast, der Fall, der Pfeiler, der Pfosten, der Schenkel, der Stab, der stecken, der Stil, der Stift, der Stock, der Turm
Cloth
Felt, cloth/rag, material/cloth/fabric, taffeta/woven silk/similar fabric
Maskulin
Der Filz, der Lappen, der Stoff, der Taft