Environmental Studies. For each suffix or other noun form, memorize one word (useful to you or for some other reason easier to recall) that represents that noun form. … how the word is spelled. English. most often trump the noun group rules. Professions (e.g. In German, all nouns must always be written with a capital letter, regard-less of whether they are at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle: Der Mann und die Frau arbeiten jeden Tag am Computer. (‘He’ [It] is brand-new. : der Airbus, der Storch, der “Albatros”, das “Möwchen”, Also general means of transportation: der Zug (train) [but die Bahn (railway/train)! Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/gender-of-countries-1444446. Trust me on this one! By training yourself this way, you will nurture a ‘German brain’ which you’ll be able to switch over to from your ‘English brain’ with the ease of turning a light on or off. You can just imagine the different noun groups (rivers, hotels, transportation, etc.) Finally, here is the (longest of the 3!) European Studies. The cake is the main part, right? Ich findesieschön. If you’re like many of my students, you’ve been using Duolingo, watching YouTube, or learning German through various online tools. Then, when you come across another word with the same form, it will be easier for you to know which gender to pair with it.For example, if you memorize das Resultat (result), it’s easier to know that the gender of Konsulat (consulate) is also neuter. Computer Science. Going from English as a genderless language to German as a language with three genders is no easy task! You’re well on your way to a very thorough understanding of German noun gender including all these special cases! ThoughtCo. However, there are 5 different ways to form plurals in German (not counting oddballs) so you’ll want to become well-versed in that, too. can function just fine without so much ‘grammar frosting, Airplane, motorcycle, & ship makes/models/names, Rivers within Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Continents, cities, provinces, and most countries, Gerunds, colors, languages, English -ing forms and other parts of speech used as nouns, Hotels, cafes, restaurants, and movie theaters, -a, -anz, -enz, -ei, -ie, -heit, -keit, -ik, -sion, -tion, -sis, -tät, -ung, -ur, schaft, -in OR -frau denoting the female counterpart to a male person, most nouns (coming from verbs) ending in -t, -chen, -lein, -icht, -il, -it, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, -um, most nouns that start with the prefix Ge-, -al, -an, -ar, -är, -at, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv-, -o, -on (foreign loan words for objects), nouns that defy the typical rules for groups, forms, and compounds, foreign-word nouns for which gender hasn’t (yet) been firmly established, nouns with varying gender based on the context and/or region, nouns with double (or triple!) Find your focus. Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity.Depending on the context, these characteristics may include biological sex, sex-based social structures (i.e., gender roles), or gender identity. 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. So, make the most of that connection! When learning a noun in German, it’s crucial to attach the noun to its gender. Learning the following subjects with masculine nouns builds a big-picture framework that you can attach individual words to (and remember them better!). Here are feminine noun suffixes and other forms associated with feminine noun gender (click for examples and common exceptions): die Pizza, die Dissonanz (dissonance), die Frequenz (frequency), die Konditorei (pastry shop), die Demokratie (democracy), die Dummheit (stupidity), die Möglichkeit (possibility), die Musik (music), die Explosion, die Revolution, die Basis, die Realität (reality), die Prüfung (exam), die Prozedur (procedure), die Freundschaft (friendship), das Sofa, das Genie (genius) ,der Atlantik, der Katholik, das Mosaik, der Pazifik, das Abitur (university-entrance diploma), das Purpur (purple), die Studentin (female student), die Kauffrau (businesswoman), die Blume (flower), die Lampe (lamp), die Katze (cat), die Decke (blanket; ceiling) die Collage, die Marionette, Some common exceptions: der Käse (cheese), das Auge (eye), das Ende (end), das Interesse (interest), most nouns that end with -e but begin with Ge- (e.g. Usually, the final word in a compound noun determines the gender, as in: Note that the gender of acronyms is similarly determined by the base word: die CDU (die Christlich-Demokratische Union). ending]die Uni (Universität) university [-tät is a fem. She’s a real beauty!”), which is one of the rare instances in English that we might use gendered pronouns for anything other than people. "The Gender of Countries in the German Language." (The pretty woman gives the poor man the little red package full of coins.). Students study in classes with 9:1 student-faculty ratio. ending]. "The Gender of Countries in the German Language." General Catalog Marriott Library, Suite 1705F 295 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, UT 84112 © 2021 The University of Utah Lawrence offers a Bachelor of Arts & Bachelor of Music, with 32 majors in the college & 3 in the conservatory. Memorize these new words as der Tisch, die Blume, das Haar. Extra Bonus: various means of transportation (ships, motorbikes, etc.) The average native speaker (of any language) uses upwards of 20,000 — many of which are nouns. English uses gendered pronouns — he, she, it, her, him, his, hers, etc. : die Seine, die Themse (Thames), die Wolga, der Diamant, der Granit, der Lehm (clay), der Quarz, der Ton (cement), das Erz (ore), die Kohle (coal), die Kreide (chalk), das Mineral (mineral), der Taifun (typhoon), der Wind, der Frost, der Nebel (fog), die Brise (breeze), das Eis (ice), das Gewitter (thunderstorm), die Graupel(hail), das Wetter (weather), die Witterung (atmospheric conditions). A major is the degree you will earn at graduation, while a concentration focuses on a specific field of study related to a major, though not every major has a concentration. on the reverse side. Below, we’ll look at which topics you can quickly learn to associate with which gender (including examples & common exceptions). ). Luckily, we have a few tricks up our sleeves! Hobby, Flip-flops, Baby, Taxi, T-Shirt, Tourist, Computer, E-Mail and Sweatshirt are the words which sound exactly the same both in German and English. Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) General Literary Studies (GLS) General Science. The walls with the shelves full of books start pulsing and expanding with ever-increasing Frequenz, pushing in on you so that you start to feel great Panik. It's easiest to simply memorize which gender is associated with which country in the German language as you learn the spellings of the countries themselves. der Bäcker (baker, from backen), der Fahrer (driver, from fahren), but also der Onkel (uncle), der Vater (father), etc. Listed are the masculine noun subject areas and exceptions (click for examples): der Bock (billy goat), der Hahn (rooster), der Stier (bull), der Eber (boar), der BMW, der Skoda, der Ford, der Ferrari, der Audi, der VW, der Mercedes, der Dollar, der Euro, der Cent, der Schilling, der Pfennig, der Franken, die Mark (former German currency), das Pfund (British pound), der Sonntag (Sunday), der Januar (January), der Winter, der Monat (month), der Abend (evening), das Jahr (year), die Nacht (night), die Woche (week), der Norden (north), der Osten (east), der Suden (south), der Westen (west), der Gin, der Schnaps, der Wein (wine), der Kakao (cocoa), der Saft (juice), der Mann (man), der Vater (father), der Arzt (doctor), der Italiener (italian man), der Mount Everest, der Montblanc, der Himalaja, der Taunus, der Balkan, die Eifel, die Haardt, die Rhön, die Sierra Nevada, and mountains / mountain ranges that are actually compound nouns (compound nouns take the gender of the final noun): das Erzgebirge, das Matterhorn, die Zugspitze, der Ganges, der Mississippi, der Nil, der Delaware, der Jordan, der Kongo, non-German rivers ending in -a or -e, e.g. I think it’s long and lush!). You don’t even have to memorize actual vocabulary to make this a useful visualization exercise. Memorizing the gender each and every noun would be mighty-hard to do. As you’re just getting started with German, it’s a good idea to memorize the gender for each isolated noun. There is an Explosion! With language, the main part is whatever idea you are communicating. The Bachelor of Special Studies (B.S.S.) As you stumble and stagger, suddenly you step on a bar of BLUE Seife (soap) that takes you down the hall on such a wild ride that you start to feel Übelheit (nausea) and start to throw up BLUE books that fly up onto the shelves — you´re in the middle of a Bücherei (bookstore) that you’re creating! When stating that someone is from a certain city, often the suffix –er/ erin will be added: Berlin -> ein Berliner, eine BerlinerinKöln (Cologne)-> ein Kölner, eine KölnerinTo state that someone is from a certain country, see Countries and Cities in GermanTo some cities that already end in –er, you can add –aner/ anerin: ein Hannoveraner, eine HannoveranerinHowever, that is quite a mouthful, therefore it is more commonly expressed as such: Sie/ Er kommt aus Hannover. There are notably fewer feminine noun categories (even easier to memorize!). I use red, blue, and green, respectively. You’re just outside the gates (wearing all BLUE, of course), you raise your arms in joyous victory and shout Freiheit!Thinking in images — whether a still shot or a short movie clip — allows you to attach the German word directly to the concept, bypassing English altogether. Foreign words sometimes still have their noun gender up for grabs. After all, they modernized their hand-written alphabet ninety or so years back. In any case, that’s what we’ll tell ourselves to make us feel better as we delve into German noun gender. We’ll study major events in global LGBTQ history, investigate local histories of queer and transgender people and communities, and consider how LGBTQ histories have helped shape broader conversations about civil rights, equality, and justice. Even when you learn an abstract noun such as die Freiheit (freedom), you can still think in images — imagine you’ve been freed from prison. Use the list below to get more information on majors, minors, and the departments and programs that administer them. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience and for our. For example, I don’t think any German would actually suggest that the qualities of a fork (die Gabel) are feminine, but that of a spoon (der Löffel) are masculine, and that of a knife (das Messer) are neuter. The Gender of Countries in the German Language. © 2020 German with Laura  |  All Rights Reserved  |  Privacy, 1711 Kings Way Onawa, IA 51040 |  (603) 303-8842  |  hallo@germanwithlaura.com. So, all German nouns have 1 of 3 genders and the gender of each noun impacts multiple words in a given sentence. Like the masculine noun topics, there are many neuter noun categories. First, you make this list:Pizza, Eleganz, Krankheit, Seife, Übelkeit, Bücherei, Frequenz, Panik, Hand (a common word that is an exception to the rule — we’d expect ‘Hand’ to be masculine [or maybe neuter] because it’s monosyllabic), Chirurgie, Schlacht, Explosion, Strömung, Elektrizität, Nabelschnur, Skepsis, HalluzinationThen, you create a wild story that you can use to tie the words together (using BLUE as much as possible, too, to represent how these words are all feminine). Do you like ‘him’ [it]?). So, for example, imagine walking down a street seeing hotels, cafes, restaurants and movie theaters that are all green because that noun group is neuter. German goes them one better and adds a third gender: neuter. In English, we substitute gendered pronouns when talking about people (male & female) and then ‘it’ when talking about everything else, as in: How was her vacation? The gender of almost any German noun is determined by its form — especially suffixes, which are little endings such as -at, -ion, -ung, -ig, -um, and more. Our majors and programs are interdisciplinary and experiential, helping you prepare for the careers of tomorrow. Read more below in the section on feminine noun forms. die Arktis (Artic), die Antarktis (Antarctica), die Schweiz (Switzerland) and other provinces or countries, including those that end in -a, -e, -ei, and -ie (e.g. You see a bright BLUE Strömung (stream; current) of Elektrizität shoot up into the sky. You may find some other words that seem to break the rules for noun forms, but, really, are shortened words that take the gender of the full form, for example: der Akku (Akkumulator) battery [-or is a masc. Most world languages have nouns that are either masculine or feminine. When applicable, English loan words will take whatever gender is associated with the same suffix (or whatever suffix is pronounced the same way, even if spelled differently): der Computer (-er is generally a masculine ending)der Rotor (-or is a masculine ending)die City, die Party, die Lobby, die Story (-ie is a feminine ending; pronounced the same! It’s very useful to learn both noun groups and noun forms, but note that, when in conflict, the following noun form rules overrule noun group rules! German noun gender is determined generally based on the gender of the person (e.g. How do you know what gender the noun is? Now the big question. Note that the pronoun ich (‘I’) has no initial capital in German, but Sie Several examples are already listed above for using pictures as much as possible. der/das Break der/das Deal der/das Ketchup der/die/das Joghurt der/die Parkader/das Radarder/das Soda. There are a lot of exceptions to all the rules (they are often logical if you come at them from a different angle, though); however, the noun group and forms rules will guide you true a good 80% of the time, which is still loads better than when you thought German noun gender was completely without rhyme or reason! Imagine a multi-tiered cake. BUT. This is the German Core 100 List. German Studies. (‘She’ [It] is a tulip. As your language capabilities get more and more advanced, you won’t be slowed down by tediously translating in your head before you can produce the desired German. Write the German word (without gender) on one side, the gender abbreviation (M = masculine, F = feminine, and N = neuter) and translation (as necessary; avoid whenever possible) on the other. Other than that, English doesn’t have noun gender. , driver) are most often transformed into the female version by adding and -in: ). Moreover, there are no articles before nouns which can provide you a hint unlike in some languages i.e. When you learn a new noun that you find relevant to your life, write it into a mini notebook that’s been split into sections for nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and phrases. and see those items as the corresponding gender color. It was really nice. can also be referred to as feminine in English (“Check out my new boat! The answer: all German nouns have gender. Haar (hair): Ihr Haar ist braun. That’s right! Bauer, Ingrid. der Mann) OR because its form (usually a suffix, e.g. We have already seen many oddball nouns that don’t abide by the typical noun group or even noun form rules. I think ‘she’s’ [it’s] pretty). You look above to see a BLUE Hand materialize that is going to perform Chirurgie (surgery) on the pulsating walls of your Bücherei. It’s a stretch for our brains to think in this new, ‘gendered noun’ way. Ingrid Bauer, who is fluent in German, has been teaching and tutoring the German language since 1996. As we do so, we must also create a community in which every individual, regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, disability, nationality, political or religious views, or position within the institution, is respected. Generally speaking, countries in German are not preceded by definite articles. But it becomes an absolute Schlacht (massacre) with BLUE pages flying every which way while the Frequenz of the pulsating bookshelf-walls builds in intensity until BOOM! Noun gender, though, is a core part of the German language. Listed are the feminine noun subject areas and exceptions (click for examples): die Boeing, die Cessna, die BMW, die Honda, die “Bismarck”, die “Bremen”, Means of transportation that maintain the gender of the base word, e.g. are gendered nouns in German: Tisch (table): Er ist nagel-neu. das Singen (singing), das Blau (blue), das Spanisch, das Meeting, das Nein (no), das Marriott, das “Hard-Rock”, das Hilton, das “Grand Rex”, das Gold, das Kobalt (cobalt), das Blei (lead), das Eisen (iron), das Kupfer (copper), die Bronze (bronze), der Phospor (phosphorus), der Schwefel (sulfur), der Stahl (steel), also metals or chemical elements that are compounds such as der Sauerstoff (oxygen), das Atom, das Elektron, das Volt, das Watt, Liter and Meter having varying gender. Read more below in the section on feminine noun forms. Imagine that’s a cake. When we talk about noun gender, what do we really mean? For more detailed Study Tips, read below! -ung is feminine) OR because it belongs to a noun group associated with a particular gender (e.g. There are also some nouns that have two different genders AND different meanings of the noun associated with that change — for example. It is the only official language in Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein. French and Arabic. Pick three contrasting colors for the masculine, feminine, and neuter. Helpful Definitions Learning Modes. Not an important aspect of English. Most countries are spelled differently in German than English and they may be masculine, feminine, or neuter. Heads Up: Everything bolded is called a declension. Learn the gender of various forms as opposed to getting hung up on individual nouns and you’ll master German gender in a fraction of the time. When memorizing noun groups or noun forms according to gender, pick practical (to you!) In addition to noun groups, we can categorize German noun gender according to spelling patterns (generally ‘suffixes’ added on to the end of words). Imagine a Pizza with BLUE pepperonis, which you put on your head like a hat. Ah! For example, write ‘Hund’ (dog) in red, ‘Katze’ (cat) in blue, ‘Pferd’ (horse) in green.As an alternate idea for your flashcards, write the word color-coded like the examples above and just the translation (or better yet, draw a picture!) CLARA f German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous".The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. Magst du ihn? Over 75 academic units in LSA combine to provide over 85 majors, subplans, and other degree programs as well as over 100 minors. 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). Isn’t that going to be complicated? There are however exceptions. Evening/weekend: Classes are held outside of regular business hours. das Genie), die Ankunft (arrival), die Fahrt (drive), die Macht (power), die Aussicht (view), der Dienst (service), der Durst (thirst), das Gift (poison). Location. As you can see, German noun gender is important! BUT the concept of noun gender in German has wider application! Digital Studies. Accelerated: Degrees are completed in a condensed timeframe. examples BUT string them all together with wacky, vivid imagery.For example, you want to memorize all the feminine noun forms. Our 74 majors, minors and interdisciplinary programs provide broad exposure to diverse thought and deep exploration within your fields of interest. German also uses a case system that is crucially important (and very different from how English works). You waltz down the hall with Eleganz, dressed from head-to-toe in outlandish BLUE silks. There are many topics — weather, numbers, minerals — that are closely associated with just one of the three genders, with limited exceptions. 20 other masculine and feminine nouns that start with Ge- not counting any Ge- nouns referring to male or female persons (e.g. Offered by University of Colorado System. days of the week) are masculine  — even noting the handful of exceptions — then to keep memorizing the gender of each individual noun you come across. list of suffixes and other forms connected with neuter noun gender (click for examples and common exceptions): 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), der Profit, der Granit, die Firma (company), der Zement (cement), der Reichtum (wealth), der Irrtum (error), das Gesetz (law), das Gespräch (conversation), das Gebäude (building), der Gedanke (thought), der Geschmack (taste), and approx. A language (e.g. For example, check out this sentence –everything bolded is related to the gender of the nouns. genders, with then different definitions, And there are still others, such as the common. We’ll also talk about ‘outliers’ nouns such as these: You’re busy and sometimes German feels like a big bite that you’ve somehow got to chew.