Feminine Noun Gender

There are three genders in German: Masculine, feminine and neuter. Usually, the gender of a noun is determined by its ending.

The endings for the most important feminine nouns are:

Frequency	Ending
Very common	-ei	-ung	-in
	-heit	-keit	-ion
Common	-ie	-schaft	-elle
	-ik	-ur	-ade
Rare	-age,	-ette	-enz
	-ere	-ine	-isse
	-tät	-itis	-ive
	-se	-sis

Keep in mind that there are exceptions.

Unfortunately, there are many other feminine nouns that have different endings than these and whose gender is not easy to identify.

Gender of nouns ending with "-ei"

- How often this ending is seen: Very often
- Plural with "-en"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Polizei	police
die Abtei	abbey
die Konditorei	confectionery
die Leckerei	delicacy
die Datei	file

Exceptions:

Exception	Meaning
der Brei	mash
der Schrei	scream
der Papagei	parrot
das Ei	egg
das Einerlei	monotony
das Blei	lead

Gender of nouns ending with "-ung"

- How often this ending is seen: Very often
- Plural with "-en"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Zeitung	newspaper
die Dichtung	poetry
die Empfehlung	recommendation
die Erfahrung	experience

Exceptions:

Exception	Meaning
der Schwung	momentum
der Sprung	jump

Gender of nouns ending with "-in"

- How often this ending is seen: Very often
- Plural with "-nen"

NOTE: Nouns ending with "-in" only are feminine if they refer to a woman.

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Lehrerin	female professor
die Darstellerin	actress
die Eignerin	female owner
die Australierin	Australian woman
die Chefin	female boss

Exceptions: All diminutives ending with "-lein" are neuter: das Madlein (the maiden)

Gender of nouns ending with -heit

- How often this ending is seen: Very often
- Plural with "-en"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Freiheit	freedom
die Neuheit	novelty
die Sicherheit	safety
die Trägheit	laziness

Gender of nouns ending with "-keit"

- How often this ending is seen: Very often
- Plural with "-en"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Gefährlichkeit	dangerousness
die Höflichkeit	politeness
die Langsamkeit	slowness
die Häufigkeit	frequency

Gender of nouns ending with "-ion"

- How often this ending is seen: Very often
- Plural with "-en"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Produktion	production
die Funktion	function
die Kanalisation	drainage
die Nation	nation

Gender of nouns ending with "-ie"

- How often this ending is seen: Very often
- Plural with "-n"
- Many come from Latin or Greek

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Geografie	geography
die Garantie	guarantee
die Fantasie	fantasy
die Galerie	gallery
die Astronomie	astronomy

Exceptions: der Zombie (zombie), der Yuppie (yuppie), der Unfreie (slave), der Laie (layman)

Gender of nouns ending with -schaft

- How often this ending is seen: Media
- Plural with "-en"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Freundschaft	friendship
die Gemeinschaft	community
die Wirtschaft	economy
die Wissenschaft	science

Words ending with "-elle"

- How often this ending is seen: Media
- Plural with "-n"
- From Italian or French

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Welle	wave
die Zelle	cell
die Zitadelle	citadel
die Quelle	source
die Tabelle	table

Exceptions: der Junggeselle (single), der Geselle (journeyman)

Gender of nouns ending with "-ik"

- How often this ending is seen: Media
- Plural with "-en"
- Many are from Greek or Latin

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Fabrik	factory
die Musik	music
die Technik	technique
die Statistik	statistics
die Politik	politics

Exceptions: der Atlantik (Atlantic), der Streik (strike)

Gender of nouns ending with "-ur"

- How often this ending is seen: Media
- Plural with "-en"
- Many of them are from Latin

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Kultur	culture
die Natur	nature
die Diktatur	dictatorship
die Agentur	agency

Exceptions:

• Professions: der Chauffeur (driver), der Ingenieur (engineer), der Regisseur (director), etc.
• References to male people: der Amateur (amateur), der Voyeur (voyeur), etc.
• In addition: das Futur (future), das Abitur (exam at end of high school)

Gender of nouns ending with "-ade"

- How often this ending is seen: seldom
- Plural with "-n"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Marmelade	marmalade
die Limonade	lemonade
die Schokolade	chocolate
die Schublade	drawer

Gender of nouns ending with "-age"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-n"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Eremitage	hermitage
die Etage	floor
die Frage	question
die Bandage	bandage

Gender of nouns ending with "-ette"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-n"
- Many are from French

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Diskette	disk
die Etikette	label
die Zigarette	cigarette
die Marionette	marionette
die Kassette	cassette

Gender of nouns ending with "-enz"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-en"
- Many come from Latin or Greek

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Konferenz	conference
die Frequenz	frequency
die Transparenz	transparency
die Turbulenz	turbulence
die Tendenz	tendency

Gender of nouns ending with "-ere"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-n"
- Many of them are from Italian or French.

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Schere	scissors
die Portiere	curtain
die Niere	kidney
die Misere	misery

Exceptions: der Karabiniere (carbineer), der Gondoliere (gondolier), das Ampere (ampere)

Nouns ending with "-ine"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-n"
- Many come from Latin or Greek

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Violine	violin
die Vakzine	vaccination
die Maschine	machine
die Ruine	ruin
die Leine	rope

Exceptions: der Beduine (bedouin)

Nouns ending with "-isse"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-n"
- Many of them are from Latin or Greek

Examples:

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom

Example	Meaning
die Narzisse	narcissus
die Prämisse	premise
die Kulisse	frame
die Abzisse	abscissa

Gender of nouns ending with "-tät"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-en"
- Many come from Latin or Greek

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Universität	university
die Pubertät	puberty
die Naivität	naivety
die Parität	parity
die Priorität	priority

Gender of nouns ending with "-itis"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural "-itis ➜ -iden "
- They come from Greek and are diseases (-itis means inflammation)

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Bronchitis	bronchitis
die Cellulitis	cellulitis
die Rachitis	rickets
die Hepatitis	hepatitis

Nouns ending with -ive

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-n"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Lokomotive	locomotive
die Olive	olive
die Perspektive	perspective
die Alternative	alternative

Gender of nouns ending with "-se"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-n"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Rose	rose
die Zuckerdose	sugar bowl
die Osmose	osmosis
die Badehose	swimming trunks

Gender of nouns ending with "-sis"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural "-sis ➜ -sen "

Examples:

Example	Meaning
die Basis	basis
die Dosis	dose
die Genesis	genesis

Exception: das Chassis (chassis)

We suggest you practice what you've learned by trying out your knowledge in a simple exercise about gender

Related topics: Gender of Masculine Nouns, Gender of Neuter Nouns

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