der, die, das — German Noun Gender Explained
After this lesson you can work out the gender of most German nouns from their ending.
Übungen
Eight exercises on what you just watched. Get 80% and the lesson is marked done and added to your A1 progress.
1 / 8 · Type the missing word
2 / 8 · Type the missing word
3 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
The table is new.
4 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
The lamp is broken.
5 / 8 · Choose
Which article do ALL plural nouns take?
6 / 8 · Choose
Nouns ending in -ung are…
7 / 8 · Choose
Nouns ending in -chen are…
8 / 8 · Choose
What is the best way to learn a new German noun?
In short
Every German noun is masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das), and the gender is not predictable from meaning. Learn each noun together with its article — say “die Lampe”, never just “Lampe” — because word endings, not logic, are your best guide.
How it works
German nouns come in three genders, marked by the article: der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter). In the plural, all three become die, which is the one piece of good news.
Gender is mostly arbitrary. Das Mädchen (“the girl”) is neuter, der Löffel (“the spoon”) is masculine and die Gabel (“the fork”) is feminine. Do not look for meaning in it — look at the ending instead. Roughly 80% of German nouns can be assigned by their ending alone, and the tables below cover the endings that pay off first.
The practical technique: never store a noun without its article. Your brain should file “die Lampe”, not “Lampe”. It costs nothing extra at the moment of learning and saves you from having to relearn thousands of words later, once articles start changing in the cases (lessons 26 and 27).
| Gender | Article | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | der | der Tisch | the table |
| feminine | die | die Lampe | the lamp |
| neuter | das | das Fenster | the window |
| plural (all) | die | die Tische | the tables |
| Ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| -ung | die Wohnung | flat |
| -heit | die Freiheit | freedom |
| -keit | die Möglichkeit | possibility |
| -schaft | die Freundschaft | friendship |
| -tion | die Nation | nation |
| -ei | die Bäckerei | bakery |
| Ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| -er (person/tool) | der Lehrer | teacher |
| -ling | der Frühling | spring |
| -ismus | der Tourismus | tourism |
| -or | der Motor | engine |
| Ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| -chen | das Mädchen | girl |
| -lein | das Fräulein | young lady |
| -ment | das Dokument | document |
| -um | das Zentrum | centre |
| Ge- | das Gebäude | building |
Examples
- Der Tisch ist neu.The table is new.
- Die Lampe ist kaputt.The lamp is broken.
- Das Fenster ist offen.The window is open.
- Die Wohnung ist klein.The flat is small.
- Der Lehrer ist nett.The teacher is kind.
- Das Mädchen ist zehn Jahre alt.The girl is ten years old.
- Die Bäckerei ist geschlossen.The bakery is closed.
- Das Dokument ist wichtig.The document is important.
- Der Frühling ist schön.Spring is beautiful.
- Die Tische sind alt.The tables are old.
Mistakes to avoid
✗ die Mädchen (singular)
✓ das Mädchen
Anything ending in -chen is neuter, regardless of meaning. The -chen suffix is a diminutive and it overrides everything else.
✗ Learning “Lampe = lamp”
✓ Learning “die Lampe = lamp”
A noun without its article is only half-learned. You will have to go back and relearn every one of them once the cases arrive.
✗ das Wohnung
✓ die Wohnung
Every -ung noun is feminine. No exceptions worth worrying about at A1.
✗ Guessing gender from the English meaning
✓ Reading the ending
There is no logic linking meaning to gender. der Löffel, die Gabel and das Messer — spoon, fork, knife — are one of each.
Wortschatz
The words from this lesson.
| der Tisch | table | |
| die Lampe | lamp | |
| das Fenster | window | |
| die Wohnung | flat, apartment | |
| der Lehrer | teacher (male) | |
| das Mädchen | girl | |
| die Bäckerei | bakery | |
| das Dokument | document | |
| der Löffel | spoon | |
| das Messer | knife |
Kulturnotiz
German dictionaries and school materials list nouns as der/die/das rather than with an m./f./n. abbreviation, and German children learn them that way too. If you are buying a textbook or a vocabulary app, check that it shows the article on the card — a surprising number of English-market ones do not, and they quietly cost you a year of relearning.
Common questions
+Is there a rule for German noun gender?
Not from meaning, but there is from form. Word endings predict gender for roughly 80% of nouns — -ung, -heit, -keit and -schaft are feminine; -chen and -lein are neuter; -ling and -ismus are masculine. Learn the endings, not the logic.
+Why is das Mädchen neuter when it means “girl”?
Because -chen is a diminutive suffix and every -chen noun is neuter. Grammatical gender attaches to the word form, not to the person it describes.
+Do I really have to memorise the article for every noun?
Yes, and it is much cheaper to do it from the start. Once you reach the accusative and dative, the article changes shape — and you cannot change what you never learned.
+What happens to der, die and das in the plural?
They all become die. Der Tisch becomes die Tische, das Fenster becomes die Fenster. Plural is the one place where gender stops mattering.