Neuter endings Flashcards
-chen, -lein, -icht, -il, -it, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, -um
das Mädchen (girl), das Fräulein (young woman, miss), das Dickicht (thicket), das Ventil (valve), das Dynamit (dynamite), das Schema (schematic), das Experiment, das Viertel (quarter), das Christentum (christianity), das Museum, das Individuum (individual)
Common exceptions:
der Profit, der Granit, die Firma (company), der Zement (cement), der Reichtum (wealth), der Irrtum (error)
nouns that start with the prefix Ge-
das Gesetz (law), das Gespräch (conversation), das Gebäude (building)
Common exceptions:
der Gedanke (thought), der Geschmack (taste), and approx. 20 other masculine and feminine nouns that start with Ge- not counting any Ge- nouns referring to male or female persons (e.g. der Genosse / die Genossin — comrade)
nouns ending with -nis and -sal
das Bedürfnis (need), das Ereignis (event), das Schicksal (fate)
Note
The remaining 30% of -nis and -sal nouns are feminine and many originate from adjectives or indicate states of mind: die Bitternis (bitterness), die Finsternis (darkness), die Besorgnis (anxiety), die Betrübnis (sadness). Other: die Erkenntnis (perception), die Erlaubnis (permission), die Kenntnis (knowledge, cognition, skills), die Mühsal (hardship)
-al, -an, -ar, -är, -at, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv-, -o, -on (foreign loan words for objects)
IF the suffixes -al, -an, -ar, -är, -at, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv-, -o, -on are used to refer to male persons, they take the masculine: der Student, der Militär (military man), der Kanadier (male Canadian).
