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You should learn each noun together with its article in the nominative case right from the start.
In this way the different articles will become natural to you. Not "Hund", but "der Hund", not Lampe, but "die Lampe" etc.
Happy learning :-)
Hallo Sara! Here are some tips that I have learned. I'm not sure if these are everything that determines which article to use, but it has helped me guess.
Der- maculine / male people - seasons -days / months - ling @ the end of a word - ant @ the end of a word - us @ the end of a word - ich/ig @ the end of a word
Die - feminine / female people - in @ the end of a word - German rivers - ei @ the end of a word - schaft @ the end of a word - heit/keit @ the end of a word - ung @ the end of a word - ion @ the end of a word - ik @ the end of a word - ie @ the end of a word - enz/anz @ the end of a word -ur @ the end of a word
Das - neutral - lein/chen @ the end of a word - um @ the end of a word - ment @ the end of a word - ma @ the end of a word - ing @ the end of a word - Ge @ the beginning of a word
HOPE THIS HELPS! :)
1108
It's simple, you try not to forget.
Joke aside, there is no foolproof way for it. I have been learning German for 12 years now, and sometimes still struggle to find the correct article, when I speak it. There are some rules for special nouns, but no general one.
This might help you, though:
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/die-der-das/
Viel Glück!
Hello! First, I color code my nouns: I can hesitate in remembering if any random abstract notion is supposed to be feminine, neuter or masculine, but chances are I remember if the word is blue, green or red.
Second, this https://courses.smartergerman.com/courses/learn-german-articles-course/lectures/3358466 saved me a lot of headaches :)
I suppose it depends how one's mind works. Mine likes images and stories, so the superhero technique is great for me. Color-coding is extremely simple and perfect for anyone with a visual component to one's memory :)
Hi Sara,
There are two answers:
- You'll have to learn the article with the noun.
- There are some basic rules, but there are also many exceptions, so don't rely on these rules fully. Also, make sure you don't mistake the last few letters of a word for an ending.*(See end of comment)
The are rules are roughly like this:
Feminine:
DIE:
Female people.
*exceptions include das Mädchen (the girl).
Most nouns ending the following endings are feminine:
-heit
-keit
-ung
-schaft
-e
-ei
-ie
-in
Foreign words that are used in German with the following endings are feminine:
-ade
-age
-anz
-enz
-ik
-ion
-tät
-ur
Cardinal numbers have a feminine article.
Masculine:
DER
Male people.
Most nouns ending in the following are Masculine:
-ant
-ling
-ner
-ich
-ig
-en*
*except for infinitives.
-ismus
Most instruments or things that do stuff that end in "-er" or "-or".
(Most?) Nouns derived from verbs ending in "-er" are masculine.
Car brands are masculine.
Months and seasons, days, points on the compass, and most weather elements are masculine.
(Here is a link to a list of all the months, seasons, points in the compass, and days of the week.)
Most names of alcoholic drinks are masculine.
Most non-German rivers.
Neuter:
DAS
Most nouns that end in the following are Neuter:
-chen
-lein
-um
-ment
-ma
-nis
Most collective nouns starting with "Ge-" are neuter.
Infinitives used as a noun are neuter.
Most of the 112 chemical elements are neuter.
Colors are neuter.
* About proper endings and coincidental "endings":
Here is an example, there is a "rule" that words ending in -in is feminine. What about das Bein (the leg)? Well, it's not an ending! It's just the last letters of the word.
Using the same rule as example, let's take a look at die Ärztin (the [female] doctor).
The infinitive form, or root-form, of the word is der Arzt (the [male] doctor), so the -in at the end of Ärztin is a real ending (-in, here, indicates that it's a female doctor, without it, it's a male doctor).
I hope this makes sense! Have fun with you courses!
(I'm open for corrections.)
