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Gender of Masculine Nouns

1 Endings that mark the masculine gender

There are three genders in German: Masculine, feminine and neuter. Usually, the noun gender is determined by the noun's ending. The endings that mark the masculine gender in order of most importance are:

-ich, -ist, -or, -ig, -ling, -ismus, -ant, -är, -eur, -iker and -ps

Endings that mark the masculine gender

Words ending with "-ich"

- How often this ending is seen: Average
- Plural with "-e"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Teppich	carpet
der Sittich	parakeet
der Abgleich	adjustment
der Bereich	range
der Teich	pond

Exception: das Reich (kingdom)

Words ending with "-ist"

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

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Artist	artist
der Egoist	egoist
der Feminist	feminist
der Herzspezialist	cardiologist
der Komponist	composer

Words ending with "-or"

- How often this ending is seen: Average
- Plural: The majority end with "-en" and some with "-e"
- Many come from Latin

Examples: fan

Example	Meaning
der Ventilator	fan
der Motor	motor
der Faktor	factor
der Marmor	marble

Exceptions: das Fluor (Fluorine), das Chlor (chlorine), das Tor (gate), das Labor (laboratory), das Dekor (decoration)

Words ending with "-ig"

- How often this ending is seen: Less often
- Plural with "-e"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der König	king
der Honig	honey
der Essig	vinegar
der Käfig	cage

Exception: das Reisig (brushwood)

Words ending with "-ling"

- How often this ending is seen: Less often
- Plural with "-e"

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Schmetterling	butterfly
der Frühling	spring
der Lehrling	apprentice
der Zwilling	twin

Exceptions: das Bowling, die Reling (railing)

Words ending with "-ismus"

- How often this ending is seen: Less often
- The plural follows this construction even though many nouns lack a plural form: "-ismus" ➜ "-ismen"
- Many come from Latin or Greek

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Optimismus	optimism
der Magnetismus	magnetism
der Expressionismus	expressionism
der Feudalismus	feudalism
der Kapitalismus	capitalism

Words ending with "-ant"

- How often this ending is seen: Less often
-Plural with "-en"
- Most words ending with "-ant", especially if they come from Latin

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Diamant	diamond
der Fabrikant	manufacturer
der Elefant	elephant
der Lieferant	supplier

Exceptions: das Restaurant, die Want (shroud)

Words ending with "-är"

- How often this ending is seen: Not often
- Most words ending with "-är" are masculine, especially if they are from French
- The plural can be formed with "-e" (for words from French such as der Veterinär ➜ die Veterinäre) or with "-en" (der Bär ➜ die Bären)

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Bär	bear
der Veterinär	veterinarian
der Aktionär	stockholder
der Sekretär	secretary

Exceptions: das Militär (military), das Quartär (quartenary)

Words ending with "-eur"

- How often this ending is seen: Not often
- Plural with "-e" [der Friseur ➜ die Friseure]
- Many of them come from French

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Friseur	hairdresser
der Amateur	amateur
der Ingenieur	engineer

Words ending with "-iker"

- How often this ending is seen: Not often
- No ending is added to form the plural [der Physiker ➜ die Physiker]
- They come from Latin or Greek

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Alkoholiker	alcoholic
der Informatiker	computer scientist
der Physiker	physicist
der Politiker	politician

Words ending with "-ps"

- How often this ending is seen: Seldom
- Plural with "-e" (der Schlips ➜ die Schlipse) but sometimes an "Umlaut" is added to the last vowel of the world to make the plural (der Schnaps ➜ die Schnäpse)

Examples:

Example	Meaning
der Schlips	tie
der Gips	cast
der Schnaps	schnaps
der Klaps	slap

Now you can prove if you have mastered the material in a simple gender exercise (It's pretty fun)

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