![]() ![]() Final tips for learning der, die and dasĪnother simple trick is to make sure you learn the appropriate articles in German alongside each noun when you expand your vocabulary. Once again, there will be certain exceptions to these rules, but if you use them as a basis to form patterns in your mind, you will find learning and remembering the gender of nouns far easier. Most words related to science, technology and mechanics.Colours when they are used as nouns, like das Rot (red).The following words are generally neutral and prefixed by “ das“: Names of ships, aircrafts or motorbikes, like die Titanic.The following words are almost always feminine and prefixed by “ die“: Makes of car or train, like der Mercedes.The following words are almost always masculine and prefixed by “ der“: ![]() In addition to those rules above, there are several other ways of determining the gender of nouns, so that you know which article to use. To clarify, this is not about assigning gender roles or casting aspersions on which jobs men and women should do, but instead refers to job roles like der Polizist (policeman), which is clearly describing a male, and die Polizistin (police woman), which describes a female.Ĭhoose your plan Other rules and tips for determining German gender Remember, it is the word that is assigned the gender, not the object.Ī similar principle applies when describing male and female jobs. Logically, it may seem these should be feminine, but as described above, words ending in -chen and -lein are almost always neuter. Some notable exceptions with female living things include das Mädchen (girl) and das Fräulein (Miss), which are both neuter words. ![]() For example, die Frau (woman), die Mutter (mother) and die Königin (queen) describe female people, while die Stute (mare) and die Henne (hen) refer to female animals. These are mostly feminine and are prefixed with “die”. The same can usually be said of nouns relating to female living things. For example, der Mann (man), der Vater (father) and der König (king) all describe male people, while der Hengst (stallion) and der Hahn (rooster) refer to male animals. In general, nouns which relate to male living things, including both humans and animals, are masculine and are therefore prefixed with “der”. Rules regarding people, animals and occupations This will then help you to make an educated guess on the gender of just about any noun you may encounter during your studies. Therefore, if you can take the time to memorise which version of “the” pairs up with each ending, you will start to look at words slightly differently. For instance, you would say das Mädchen, das Fräulein, das Supplement, das Rittertum, das Schema and das Museum. If a noun ends in -chen, -lein, -ment, -tum, -ma or -um, it is neuter and should be prefixed by das. For instance, you would say die Zeitung, die Komödie, die Bäckerei, die Tätigkeit, die Schönheit, die Mannschaft, die Universität, die Musik and die Situation. If a noun ends in -ung, -ie, -ei, -keit, heit, schaft, –tät, -ik or -tion, it is feminine and should be prefixed by the word die. For instance, you would say: der Generator, der Frühling, der Honig, der Rentner and der Kapitalismus. If a noun ends in -or, -ling, -ig, –ner or -smus, it is masculine and should be prefixed by the word der. Although there may be exceptions, it is generally possible to make an educated guess on the gender, based on how the word ends. For example, the German word for “sofa” is neuter ( das Sofa), while the word for “couch” is feminine ( die Couch), yet they describe the same thing.įortunately, there are some patterns to help you out.Ĭhoose your plan General indicators for determining gender in GermanĪlthough some German speakers will insist that you need to learn the gender of each noun individually, there are some key indicators that can provide a helping hand. ![]() It is also important to understand that it is the WORD that is given the gender, rather than the person, object or thing, and this can make the gender of each noun difficult to guess, based on logic. For masculine nouns, the word der is used, for feminine nouns, you use the die prefix, and the word das in German is used for neuter nouns. In the German language, every noun is assigned a gender – either masculine ( männlich), feminine ( weiblich), or neuter ( sächlich).īefore doing anything else, it is crucial to learn which version of “the” is used for each gender. The first essential step to learning the different articles is to make sure you understand the basic principles behind the words der, die and das. Here, we take a look at some tips and tricks to help you to learn and memorise these articles in German more easily. Suffice to say, this can all seem thoroughly overwhelming for many new students, but fear not. To make matters even more confusing, the word die is also used for plural words. How do you use articles (der, die, das) in German? ![]()
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