Der, Die, Das Rules: How to Guess German Noun Gender

No single rule tells you whether a German noun is der, die or das, but there are plenty of clues. A noun's ending (-ung, -chen, -ismus), its meaning (days, metals, male people) and, in compounds, its last part often give the gender away. Some rules are close to 100% reliable; others are tendencies with exceptions you need to know.

This post is about guessing the gender of nouns you haven't learned yet. For the basics (the three articles, ein and eine, and the plural article die), start with our der, die, das guide to German articles and gender.

The Quick Checklist: How to Guess a Noun's Gender

When you meet a new noun, ask these questions in order:

Is it a compound? Only the last part counts: der Haustürschlüssel gets its der from der Schlüssel.
Is it male or female? Men and male animals are usually der, women and female animals die, unless the word ends in -chen or -lein (das Mädchen).
Does it have a telling ending? -ung means die, -ismus means der, -chen means das.
Does it belong to a meaning group? Days and months are der; metals and colors are das.
Nothing fits? Then you have to memorize it, using the strategies below.

In the tables, Always means no common exceptions, Almost always means one or two, Usually means a short list, and Tendency means a good guess, nothing more.

Feminine Nouns (die): The Most Reliable Endings

Feminine has the strongest endings of all. They're suffixes, pieces added to build a noun (wohnen → die Wohnung, frei → die Freiheit). Short words that just happen to end the same way don't count.

Ending	Examples	Reliability	Watch out for
-ung	die Wohnung, die Zeitung, die Rechnung	Always	Not suffixes: der Sprung, der Schwung
-heit, -keit, -schaft, -tät	die Freiheit, die Möglichkeit, die Freundschaft, die Universität	Always	—
-ion	die Information, die Nation, die Religion	Almost always	das Stadion, der Spion
-ik	die Musik, die Politik, die Technik	Almost always	das Plastik (plastic), der Streik
-ei	die Bäckerei, die Polizei, die Partei	Almost always	Not suffixes: das Ei, der Brei; also der Papagei
-enz, -anz	die Konferenz, die Distanz, die Toleranz	Almost always	Not suffixes: der Tanz, der Glanz
-ie	die Familie, die Energie, die Biologie	Almost always	das Knie, das Genie
-ur	die Natur, die Kultur, die Temperatur	Usually	das Abitur, der Flur; people in -eur are masculine (der Friseur)
-in (female)	die Lehrerin, die Freundin, die Löwin	Always	Not a female ending: das Benzin, der Termin
-e	die Lampe, die Straße, die Schule	Usually	der Name, der Käse, das Auge (see below)

The -e Rule and Its Exceptions

Most nouns ending in an unstressed -e are feminine (die Lampe, die Woche), but this very useful rule has three groups of exceptions:

Male people and animals, where meaning beats the ending: der Junge, der Kollege, der Kunde, der Löwe.
A few other masculine words: der Name, der Käse, der Gedanke.
Some neuter words: das Auge, das Ende, plus Ge- words like das Gebäude and das Gemüse.

The rule doesn't cover a long -ee, which is mixed: der Tee, der Schnee, but die Idee.

Die Bäckerei an der Ecke hat die besten Brötchen. — The bakery on the corner has the best rolls.
Der Junge heißt Max. — The boy's name is Max.

Masculine Nouns (der): Meaning Groups and Endings

Masculine has fewer airtight endings, but several big meaning groups that work even on words you've never seen.

Clue	Examples	Reliability	Watch out for
Days, months, seasons, times of day	der Montag, der Januar, der Sommer, der Abend	Almost always	die Nacht; das Frühjahr (spring), from das Jahr
Compass points	der Norden, der Süden, der Osten, der Westen	Always	—
Weather	der Regen, der Schnee, der Wind, der Nebel	Usually	das Wetter, das Gewitter, die Wolke
-ling	der Schmetterling, der Liebling, der Frühling	Always	Not the suffix: English words like das Bowling
-ismus	der Tourismus, der Optimismus	Always	—
-or	der Motor, der Professor, der Autor	Almost always	das Tor, das Labor
-ig, -ich	der König, der Honig, der Teppich	Almost always	das Reich
-ant, -ent (people)	der Praktikant, der Student, der Präsident	Always	Things are mixed: das Talent
-er (doer of a verb)	der Lehrer, der Bäcker, der Drucker	Always	Other -er nouns: die Mutter, das Fenster
Car brands	der BMW, der Audi, der Mercedes	Always	Motorbikes are usually feminine: die BMW (the bike)
Alcoholic drinks	der Wein, der Sekt, der Schnaps, der Whisky	Usually	das Bier (and das Pils)

The -er rule only covers the person or machine that does an action: lehren (to teach) → der Lehrer, drucken (to print) → der Drucker. For car brands, think of der Wagen (car).

All the day, month and season names are in our guide to days of the week and months in German, and drinks with their articles are in our German food and drink vocabulary.

Der Regen hört gleich auf. — The rain is about to stop.
Ich nehme einen Wein und mein Freund nimmt ein Bier. — I'll have a wine and my friend will have a beer. (einen = masculine, ein = neuter)

Neuter Nouns (das): Two Safe Rules and Many Tendencies

Neuter has two rules you can trust blindly, -chen/-lein and verbs used as nouns, plus a set of solid tendencies.

Clue	Examples	Reliability	Watch out for
-chen, -lein	das Mädchen, das Brötchen, das Fräulein	Always	Not diminutives: der Kuchen, der Knochen
Verbs used as nouns	das Essen, das Leben, das Schwimmen	Always	Other -en nouns: der Garten, der Wagen
Colors, languages	das Rot, das Blau, das Deutsch, das Englisch	Always	—
Metals	das Gold, das Silber, das Eisen	Usually	der Stahl, die Bronze (both alloys)
-ment	das Dokument, das Instrument, das Medikament	Almost always	der Moment, der Zement
-um	das Zentrum, das Museum, das Studium	Usually	der Konsum, der Irrtum, der Reichtum; native words like der Baum, der Raum
-ma	das Thema, das Klima, das Drama	Usually	die Firma; female people like die Oma
-nis	das Ergebnis, das Zeugnis, das Geheimnis	Usually	die Erlaubnis, die Kenntnis, die Wildnis
Ge- nouns	das Gebirge, das Gepäck, das Gespräch	Tendency	der Geschmack, der Gedanke, die Geschichte
Hotels, cafés, cinemas	das Hotel, das Café, das Kino, das Adlon	Usually	Names that are German nouns keep their gender: der Bayerische Hof

-chen and -lein make a small version of something, and that version is always neuter: die Katze → das Kätzchen. Der Kuchen isn't a small version of anything.
Verbs as nouns: capitalize any infinitive and you get a neuter noun, so every verb in our list of the 100 most common German verbs can also be a das noun.
Ge- nouns often name a group (das Gebirge, mountain range, from der Berg) or the result of an action (das Gespräch, conversation). A feminine suffix always beats Ge-: die Gesellschaft.

Dein Deutsch ist wirklich gut! — Your German is really good!
Das Adlon ist ein berühmtes Hotel in Berlin. — The Adlon is a famous hotel in Berlin.

Compound Nouns: The Last Part Decides

A compound noun takes the gender of its last part, because the last part says what the thing is. A Haustürschlüssel is a kind of key:

das Haus + die Tür + der Schlüssel → der Haustürschlüssel (front door key)
das Haus + die Aufgabe → die Hausaufgabe (homework)
schlafen + das Zimmer → das Schlafzimmer (bedroom)

Hast du den Haustürschlüssel gesehen? — Have you seen the front door key?

This rule is very dependable. Rare exceptions: der Mittwoch comes from die Woche, but days are masculine; die Antwort is feminine even though das Wort is neuter.

Natural Gender vs. Grammatical Gender

For people, grammatical gender usually matches the real one (der Vater, die Mutter, der Arzt, die Ärztin). But German gender is grammar, not biology:

das Mädchen (girl) is neuter because of -chen. It started out as a diminutive of die Magd (maid).
das Kind (child) and das Baby are neuter, whether boy or girl.
die Person is feminine and der Mensch (human being) masculine, whoever they refer to.

Das Mädchen heißt Lena. Es ist sieben Jahre alt. — The girl's name is Lena. She's seven years old.
Mein Bruder ist eine sehr nette Person. — My brother is a very nice person.

The article for Mädchen is always das, but for the pronoun many Germans use sie, especially a sentence or two later. Both are accepted. For family words with their articles, see our German family members vocabulary.

Same Word, Different Gender

With these nouns, a wrong article changes what you say:

Word	One article	The other article
See	der See — lake	die See — sea (die Nordsee)
Leiter	der Leiter — leader, manager	die Leiter — ladder
Steuer	das Steuer — steering wheel	die Steuer — tax
Band	der Band — volume (book); das Band — ribbon	die Band — band (music)
Schild	das Schild — sign	der Schild — shield

Im Sommer fahren wir an die See. — In summer, we go to the seaside.

The plurals often differ too: two ladders are zwei Leitern, but two leaders are zwei Leiter.

Memory Strategies for Nouns No Rule Covers

Learn Every Noun With Its Article and Plural

Never learn Tisch; learn der Tisch, die Tische. You need both forms anyway, and the plural carries clues: a noun that adds -er in the plural (das Kind, die Kinder) is never feminine, while most feminine nouns take -(e)n (die Lampen). Our German plural patterns page groups nouns by plural type.

Color-Code Everything

Give each gender a color (say blue for der, red for die, green for das) and use it on every flashcard and note. Soon you'll "see" the color when you think of the word.

Drill Patterns, Not Just Words

Our article patterns tool shows how reliable each ending is across thousands of real nouns and lets you drill one pattern at a time, exceptions included.

One-syllable nouns lean masculine (der Tisch, der Weg), but plenty aren't (das Haus, die Stadt). Use this only as a last resort.

Common Mistakes With Noun Gender

The gender mistakes we see most often (more in our list of common German mistakes English speakers make):

Wrong	Right	Why
die Name	der Name	A masculine -e exception, like der Käse and der Junge.
Lena ist eine nette Mädchen.	Lena ist ein nettes Mädchen.	-chen is always neuter, even for a girl, and the adjective ending follows.
das Haustürschlüssel	der Haustürschlüssel	The last part (der Schlüssel) decides, not the first.
die Buch (from die Bücher)	das Buch, die Bücher	Every plural takes die, so it tells you nothing about the singular.
der Bahn (from "mit der Bahn")	die Bahn	Articles change with the case: after mit, die becomes der. Learn the nominative.

Practice: Guess the Gender

Use the rules above to guess the gender of these nouns, even the ones you haven't learned yet.

Gesundheit (health)
Kätzchen (kitten)
Tourismus (tourism)
Rechnung (bill)
Medikament (medicine)
Fernseher (TV set)
Kühlschrank (fridge)
Schwimmen (swimming)
Käse (cheese)
Ergebnis (result)

Answers:

die Gesundheit (-heit)
das Kätzchen (-chen)
der Tourismus (-ismus)
die Rechnung (-ung)
das Medikament (-ment)
der Fernseher (-er from the verb fernsehen)
der Kühlschrank (compound: der Schrank)
das Schwimmen (verb used as a noun)
der Käse (an -e exception)
das Ergebnis (-nis)

Want more practice?

Drill each ending, exceptions included, in the article patterns tool.
Test your articles in the A1 German quiz.
Review the article basics in our der, die, das grammar guide.

Keep learning:

German Plural Rules: How to Make Plurals in German

FAQ

How do you know if a noun is der, die or das?

Check for clues: the last part of a compound, natural gender, a telling ending like -ung or -chen, or a meaning group like days or metals. If nothing applies, learn the noun with its article and plural.

Do I really need to get the gender right?

Germans will usually understand you anyway. But gender decides the article in every case and the adjective endings, and for a few words (der See vs. die See) it changes the meaning. Get your most frequent nouns right first.

What gender are English words in German?

Many take the gender of a German word with a similar meaning: die E-Mail (like die Nachricht), die App (like die Anwendung). English -ing words are usually neuter (das Meeting, das Training), though der Pudding is an exception.

Why does German have three genders?

German inherited them from older languages. Old English had masculine, feminine and neuter nouns too, but English lost grammatical gender centuries ago. Gender is a grammar category, not a statement about the thing itself, which is why a table can be masculine and a girl neuter.