Gender

Podcast transcript:

Click here for the pdf version of the podcast on gender.

Or click here for the transcript of the podcast on gender in a Word document

Youtube video transcripts:

Click here for "What are genders?" as a pdf.

Or click here for "What are genders?" a Word document

Click here for "How do I know which gender to use?" as a pdf.

Or click here for "How do I know which gender to use?" a Word document

Statistics

Percentage of German Words of Each Gender:

Source: http://www.libc.leidenuniv.nl/schiller/content_docs/schwichtenberg_schiller_b_l_2004.pdf

Feminine Nouns

Words with the following endings are ALWAYS feminine:

-ung

-schaft

-keit

-heit

-tion

-sion

-in

Over 90% of words with the following ending are feminine:

-e

Neuter Nouns

The following types of word are ALWAYS neuter:

* the infinitives of verbs used as nouns, for instance Essen when it’s being used as a noun meaning food or meal as opposed to as a verb meaning to eat

* Parts of speech in general used as nouns, for instance Blau, Englisch, Spanisch and Deutsch

* Words ending in:

-chen

-lein

Over 90% of words beginning with Ge-, such as Gebäude (building) and Gespräch (talk).

Masculine Nouns

The following types of word are ALWAYS masculine:

* alcoholic drinks - except Bier which is neuter and the names of individual cocktails which vary

* names of seasons

* months

* days of the week

* words referring to types of weather, such as rain or sunshine * nouns referring to compass points, e.g. north, south, east and west.

Over 60% of nouns with the following endings are masculine:

-el

-er

-en (with the exception of infinitives used as nouns, which all end in -en and are also always neuter)

Determiners and Adjectival Endings

Click here for common determiners and adjectival endings in the nominative case.

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