Rules for guessing the article
When going through the lessons, you’ll encounter rules that help you guess the articles based on word endings or meanings. To keep it simple, we’ve selected the most important and consistent ones. When a rule applies, it will appear after your answer to help reinforce it. We’ve also created this page for those who want a complete overview of all the rules in Artikel Meister.
Rules for masculine nouns
| Rule | Examples |
|---|---|
| Words ending in -ismus | der Kapitalismus, der Sozialismus |
| Words ending in -ag | der Verlag, der Vertrag |
Words ending in -or (exceptions: das Tor, das Labor) | der Motor, der Doktor |
| Words ending in -er (formed from verbs) | der Fahrer (from fahren), der Lehrer (from lehren) |
| Male persons | der Mann, der Vater |
| Seasons | der Sommer, der Winter |
| Months | der Januar, der Februar |
| Weekdays | der Montag, der Dienstag |
| Compass directions | der Norden, der Süden |
Rules for feminine nouns
| Rule | Examples |
|---|---|
| Words ending in -falt | die Vielfalt, die Einfalt |
| Words ending in -heit / -keit | die Freiheit, die Möglichkeit |
| Words ending in -schaft | die Freundschaft, die Gesellschaft |
| Words ending in -tät | die Universität, die Aktivität |
| Words ending in -ion | die Diskussion, die Nation |
| Words ending in -ung | die Bedeutung, die Forschung |
| Words formed by adding -in to a masculine noun | der Lehrer → die Lehrerin, der Arzt → die Ärztin |
| Female persons | die Frau, die Mutter |
Rules for neutral nouns
| Rule | Examples |
|---|---|
| Diminutive forms ending in -chen or -lein | das Mädchen, das Kätzchen, das Fräulein |
| Words ending in -ial | das Material, das Potential |
| Infinitive verbs used as nouns | das Essen, das Verhalten |
| Metals | das Gold, das Silber |
Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words. To determine the article of a compound noun, always look at the last word in the compound.
| Example | Explanation |
|---|---|
| das Flugzeug | The word Zeug is neutral, so the article of Flugzeug is das. |
| der Geburtstag | The word Tag is masculine, so the article of Geburtstag is der. |
Words with Multiple Articles
Some words can take more than one article depending on their meaning.
| Word | Meanings |
|---|---|
| Band | der Band (volume of a book), die Band (music band), das Band (ribbon) |
| Leiter | der Leiter (leader), die Leiter (ladder) |