The German Language: Masculine Nouns

                In every language, one of the simplest forms of grammar is the noun. Besides the verb, the noun is one of the most important pieces of grammar for a sentence. In order to keep up a conversation or an accurate description, you need to be able to have a good command of nouns, whether it is in English, German, Italian, or Mandarin. The simplest form of a sentence is just a single verb, but the noun is equally important in sentences longer than a single word. You could argue that the pronoun can easily take the place of the noun, but in sentences like “It runs,” “It calls,” “It does,” what is doing the action? Learning pronouns come after nouns, and in German nouns are very important.

In German, nouns come in three different types. Each of the three different types of nouns are separated into “genders,” with each of the genders being masculine, feminine, and neuter. Each of the three genders have a different word for ‘the,’ with the masculine, feminine, and neuter words for ‘the’ in German being der, die, or das, respectively. For German words that are comprised of more than one independent word, such as "Fehlalarm," or "false alarm" (literally "fault alarm"), the gender of the word follows the last of the compound words. This article, in particular, is about the masculine nouns, and at first it may seem obvious which are masculine (the man, the male doctor, the male dog), but when you stop and think about how many nouns are in each language, you may start to think about which ones are which.

Going beyond the words that are obviously masculine, der Vater, der Bruder, der Mann, (father, brother, man) there are a few rules about which nouns are masculine and which are the other genders, but at the end of the day there are words that you’ll just have to know which are which. After you determine which nouns are which, you need to know which word for 'the' and 'a/an' to use. The masculine form of 'the' and 'a/an' is 'der' and 'ein,' respectively, when the noun is the subject of the sentence (i.e. "the man runs.")Here is a helpful list of hints and rules for determining which nouns are male:

The first set of rules comes with the endings of the words. There are a number of different endings that occur in German consistently, just as in every language, whether it is English or Italian. In Italian, many (feminine) words end in –a, and in English there are many words that end in –hood (neighborhood, motherhood, etc.). In German, it is no different. When you come into contact with a noun in German (which is always capitalized), those that end in –ich, -ig, or –ing are considered masculine nouns, and therefore are given the masculine word for ‘the’ in German, der. –ant, -ast, and most words that end in -en are also German endings that create masculine nouns. Naturally, there are exceptions to the rules, but for the most part, these are good rules to follow.

There are also rules for what are masculine words in German that do not have to do with endings, but for what the words stand for. Some of these include cars, such as brands for cars, like ein Volkswagen or der BMW. Many rivers in German are also masculine, but many are feminine, so you must memorize which ones are which. Even the word for "a river" in German is masculine, or der Fluss.

                The German words for the days of the week are masculine (though, ironically, the word for “week” is feminine, or die Woche), and they start with der: Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag, and Sonntag (which are Monday to Sunday, respectively). The four seasons and twelve months of the year (the year, which, also ironically, is not masculine, but the neuter das Jahr) are also masculine. That is, der Sommer, Herbst, Winter, and Frühling as the four seasons (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) and Januar, Februar, März, April, Mai, Juni, Juli, August, September, Oktober, November, and Dezember (assuming you can figure those translations) as the twelve months. The four directions on a map or compass are also masculine, and they are der Norden, Süden, Osten, and Westen (North, South, East, and West). Weather precipitation, or snow and rain, also receive the masculine gender, or der Schnee and Regen.

When considering translations, nouns for professions are masculine when they are discussing a male person. If you are speaking about a teacher who is mail, it is der Lehrer, though to make this a female teacher you would at the ending –in. Adding the ending –in to make a profession a female works for the majority of professions, but without the ending they are masculine nouns, such as der Arzt, or “the (male) doctor.” Nationalities, such as “the American, the Italian, and the German” are also masculine nouns, or “der Amerikaner, Italiener, und Deutscher.” One of the last definite rules for nouns being determined as masculine are nouns that come from verbs that are have the infinitive -en dropped. This means, that if in English you have the word “to run,” the word for “the run” would be masculine in German, or “laufen” as the verb and “der Lauf,” or “the run” in German. It is der Lauf because the -en is dropped from the end, as opposed to rauchen and das Rauchen, or "to smoke" and "the smoke," which still has the infinitive -en, and takes the neuter form.

Here is a listed guide for how to determine if a German noun is masculine:

The endings:

-ant: der Konsonant, the consonant

-ast: ein Ast, a branch

-en: der Laden, the shop/store

-er (which usually denotes profession): ein Lehrer, a (male) teacher

-ich: der Teppich, the carpet

-ig: der Honig, the honey

-ing: ein Ring, a ring

-us: der Buddhismus, the Buddhism

Many rivers:

Der Main

Der Rhein

Brand Names for Cars and Trucks:

Der Volkswagen

Ein BMW

The days of the week:

Montag - Monday

Dienstag – Tuesday

Mittwoch - Wednesday

Donnerstag - Thursday

Freitag - Friday

Samstag - Saturday

Sonnstag – Sunday

Weather precipitation:

Der Regen – the rain

Der Schnee – the snow

The seasons of the year:

Der Frühling - Spring

Der Sommer - Summer

Der Winter - Winter

Der Herbst – Fall

The months of the year:

Der Janurar, Februar, März, April, Mai, Juni, Juli, August, September, Oktober, November, Dezember

The cardinal directions:

Der Nord - North

Der Süden - South

Der Osten - East

Der Westen - West

Professions:

Der Lehrer – the teacher

Ein Arzt – a (male) doctor

Nationalities:

Ein Deutscher – a (male) German

Ein Amerikaner – an (male) American

Nouns that derive from verbs (without -en):

Der Lauf: the run

Ein Besuch: a visit (from besuchen)

Need help with your German?

German is often a difficult language for people to understand and learn, especially at the beginning. It's important to keep on it, so try this program, Rocket German.