Neuter Noun Endings Flashcards
Suffix: -LEIN
DAS Fräulein
Hotels, cafes, restaurants, and movie theaters
DAS Marriott
DAS “Hard-Rock”
DAS Hilton
DAS “Grand Rex”
Suffix: -ICHT
DAS Dickicht (thicket)
Suffix: -IT
DAS Dynamit
Metal and chemicals elements
DIE Bronze DER Phospor (phosphorus) DER Schwefel (sulfur) DER Stahl (steel)
Also metals or chemical elements that are compounds such as DER Sauerstoff (oxygen)
Metals and chemical elements
DAS Gold DAS Kobalt (cobalt) DAS Blei (lead) DAS Eisen (iron) DAS Kupfer (copper)
Suffix: -TUM
DAS Christentum (christianity)
Suffix: -IL
DAS Ventil (valve)
Young Persons and baby animals
DAS Baby DAS Kind DAS Ferkel (piglet) DAS Fohlen (foal) DAS Lamm (lamb)
Suffix: -MA
DAS Schema
Gerunds, colors, languages, English -ing forms and other parts of speech used as nouns
DAS Singen (singing) DAS Blau DAS Spanisch DAS Meeting DAS Nein
Suffix: -CHEN
DAS Mädchen
~70% of 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)
Suffix: -AL -AN -AR -ÄR -AT -ENT -ETT -IER -IV -O -ON (Foreign loan words on 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).
Otherwise, these suffixes are generally neuter: DAS Lineal (ruler), DAS Organ, DAS Formular, DAS Militär (military), DAS Sekretariat (secretary), DAS Talent, das Etikett (label, tag), DAS Papier (paper), DAS Adjecktiv (adjective), DAS Büro (office), DAS Mikrophon
Suffix: -MENT
DAS Experiment
Most nouns that start with the prefix GE-
DAS Gesetz (law)
DAS Gespräch (conversation)
DAS Gebäude (building)
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)
Suffix: -CHEN -LEIN -ICHT -IL -IT -MA -MENT -TEL -TUM -UM Exceptions
DER Profit DER Granit DIE Firma (company) DER Zement (cement) DER Reichtum (wealth) Der Irrtum (error)
Alphabet letters and music notes
DAS “A”
DAS “B”
DAS “Fis” (F-sharp)
DAS “Des” (D-flat)
Continents, cities, provinces, and most countries
DAS Afrika DAS London DAS Frankreich (France) DAS Bayern (Bavaria)
Suffix: -TEL
DAS Viertel (quarter)
Continents, cities, provinces, and most countries exceptions
DIE Arktis (Arctic) DIE Antarktis (Antarctica) DIE Schweiz
Other provinces or countries, including those that end in -a, -e, -ei, and -ie (e.g. DIE Türkei) that are gendered feminine with the exception of Afrika and China, which are still neuter; some countries are masculine: DER Iran, DER Jemen, DER Kongo, DER Libanon, DER Sudan
Scientific Units
DAS Atom
DAS Elektron
DAS Volt
DAS Watt
Exception: Liter and Meter having varying gender.
Suffix: -UM
DAS Museum DAS Individuum (individual)