German Grammar & Vocabulary Guide
A Study Resource for Beginner to Intermediate German Student
By Colin LaCoste
1. German Nouns & Gender (der, die, das)
In German, every noun has a gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. This determines which
article ("the") is used with the noun:
Gender Article Example English
Masculine der der Hund the dog
Feminine die die Blume the flower
Neuter das das Buch the book
Why Gender Matters
● Articles change depending on gender and case.
● Adjective endings, pronouns, and sentence structure are all based off knowing the
correct gender.
How to Recognize Gender (Patterns)
Gender Common Endings Examples
Masculine -er, -en, -el, -ig, -ling, -or der Lehrer, der Honig
Feminine -e, -heit, -keit, -ung, -schaft, -ion die Blume, die Nation
Neuter -chen, -lein, -ment, -um, -ma, -tum das Mädchen, das Zentrum
There are exceptions so always learn new nouns with their article!
Tips for Learning Genders
● Use color coding when studying (Example: blue for masculine, red for feminine, green
for neuter).
, 2. Plural Rules
There isn’t only one rule, there are multiple. It is very important to memorize as many as you
can.
Common Plural Endings:
Ending Example (Singular → Plural)
-e die Hand → die Hände
-en die Blume → die Blumen
-er das Buch → die Bücher
-n die Freundin → die Freundinnen
-s das Auto → die Autos
— der Lehrer → die Lehrer
Umlauts:
Umlauts are the two dots (¨) above vowels which indicate a change in sound
● a → ä
● o → ö
● u → ü
Tip: Learn the plural form when you learn the word.
A Study Resource for Beginner to Intermediate German Student
By Colin LaCoste
1. German Nouns & Gender (der, die, das)
In German, every noun has a gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. This determines which
article ("the") is used with the noun:
Gender Article Example English
Masculine der der Hund the dog
Feminine die die Blume the flower
Neuter das das Buch the book
Why Gender Matters
● Articles change depending on gender and case.
● Adjective endings, pronouns, and sentence structure are all based off knowing the
correct gender.
How to Recognize Gender (Patterns)
Gender Common Endings Examples
Masculine -er, -en, -el, -ig, -ling, -or der Lehrer, der Honig
Feminine -e, -heit, -keit, -ung, -schaft, -ion die Blume, die Nation
Neuter -chen, -lein, -ment, -um, -ma, -tum das Mädchen, das Zentrum
There are exceptions so always learn new nouns with their article!
Tips for Learning Genders
● Use color coding when studying (Example: blue for masculine, red for feminine, green
for neuter).
, 2. Plural Rules
There isn’t only one rule, there are multiple. It is very important to memorize as many as you
can.
Common Plural Endings:
Ending Example (Singular → Plural)
-e die Hand → die Hände
-en die Blume → die Blumen
-er das Buch → die Bücher
-n die Freundin → die Freundinnen
-s das Auto → die Autos
— der Lehrer → die Lehrer
Umlauts:
Umlauts are the two dots (¨) above vowels which indicate a change in sound
● a → ä
● o → ö
● u → ü
Tip: Learn the plural form when you learn the word.
