I am sorry for failing to write a blog of my class in the last two days. I have had an equally important matters to attend. (hehehe)
Anyway, aside from reviewing German numbers and pronouncing the words correctly, we have mostly discussed and learned the gender of the nouns or foods found in the Supermarket.
die Dose (a can)
1 Kilogramm (kg)= 1000 gramm (g)
0,5 kg = 500 g
0,25 kg = 250 g
die Flasche (a bottle)
der Becher (a cup)
die Packung (a pack)
das Stück (a piece)
die Tafel (a bar)
der Beutel (a bag)
das Glas (a glass jar)
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1 Liter (l) = 1000 milliliters (ml)
die Zwiebel (plural: die Zwiebeln)
die Paprika (plural: die Paprikas) |
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die Karotte (plural: die Karotten)
die Möhre (plural: die Möhren)
der Apfel (plural: die Äpfel)
der Lauch (plural: none)
der Porree (plural: none)
der Blumenkohl (plural: none)
die Zitrone (plural: die Zitronen)
der Broccoli (plural: none)
die Kirsche (plural: die Kirschen)
die Erbse (plural: die Erbsen)
die Gurke (plural: die Gurken)
die Kartoffel (plural: die Kartoffeln)
der Knoblauch (plural: none)
die Tomate (plural: die Tomaten)
die Zucchini (plural: die Zucchinis)
die Bohne (plural: die Bohnen)
der Champignon (plural: die Champignons)
die Lauchzwiebel (plural: die Lauchzwiebeln)
die Aubergine (plural: die Auberginen)
die Pepperoni (plural: die Pepperonis)
der Mais (plural: none)
die Banane (plural: die Bananen)
die Erdbeere (plural: die Erdbeeren)
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| die Birne (plural: die Birnen) |
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| die Walnuss (plural: die Walnüsse) |
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| der Salat (plural: die Salate) |
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| der Spargel (plural: none) |
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| der Spitzkohl (plural: none) |
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| die Pflaume (plural: die Pflaumen) |
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| die Wassermelone (plural: die Wassermelonen) |
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| die Orange (plural: die Orangen) |
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| die Weintraube (plural: die Weintrauben) |
One very important tip to "guess" the gender of a German noun in their plural form:
1. All German nouns regardless of gender, become die in the Nominative and Accusative plural.
RULE NO. 1: When learning a German noun, always treat its article as an integral part of the word! Not Wasser, but das Wasser. Not Hund, but der Hund. However, it can be very helpful to know about the gender generalizations below.
These German gender hints are divided into two main categories: "Always" (no or few exceptions to the rule) and "Usually" (some exceptions). One more important gender rule to remember: in compound nouns, the last word determines the gender (as in die Geburt + der Ort = der Geburtsort, birthplace).
MÄNNLICH - der Always MASCULINE (der/ein):
- Days, months, and seasons: Montag, Juli, Sommer (Monday, July, summer). The one exception is das Frühjahr, another word for der Frühling, spring.
- Points of the compass, map locations and winds: Nordwest(en) (northwest), Süd(en) (south), der Föhn (warm wind out of the Alps), der Scirocco (sirocco, a hot desert wind).
- Precipitation: Regen, Schnee, Nebel (rain, snow, fog/mist)
- Names of cars and trains: der VW, der ICE, der Mercedes. (But motorbikes and aircraft are feminine.)
- Words ending in -ismus: Journalismus, Kommunismus, Synchronismus (equal -ism words in English)
- Words ending in -ner: Rentner, Schaffner, Zentner, Zöllner (pensioner, [train] conductor, hundred-weight, customs collector). The feminine form adds -in (die Rentnerin).
- The basic "atmospheric" elements that end in -stoff: der Sauerstoff (oxygen), der Stickstoffder Wasserstoff (hydrogen), plus carbon (der Kohlenstoff). The only other elements (out of 112) that are masculine are der Phosphor and der Schwefel (sulphur). Note: All of the other chemical elements are neuter (das Aluminium, Blei, Kupfer, Uran, Zink, usw.). (nitrogen),
Usually MASCULINE (der/ein):
- Agents (people who do something), most occupations and nationalities: der Architekt, der Arzt, der Deutsche, der Fahrer, der Verkäufer, der Student, der Täter (architect, physician, German [person], driver, salesman, student, perpetrator). Note that the feminine form of these terms almost always ends in -in (die Architektin, die Ärztin, die Fahrerin, die Verkäuferin, die Studentin, Täterin, but die Deutsche).
- Nouns ending in -er, when referring to people (but die Jungfer, die Mutter, die Schwester, die Tochter, das Fenster)
- Names of alcoholic drinks: der Wein, der Wodka (but das Bier)
- Names of mountains and lakes: der Berg, der See (but Germany's highest peak, die Zugspitze follows the rule for the feminine ending -e, and die See is the sea).
- Most rivers outside of Europe: der Amazonas, der Kongo, der Mississippi
- Most nouns ending in -ich, -ling, -ist: Rettich, Sittich, Schädling, Frühling, Pazifist (radish, parakeet, pest/parasite, spring, pacifist)
WEIBLICH - die (pron. DEE)
- Nouns ending in the following suffixes: -heit, -keit, -tät, -ung, -schaft - Examples: die Freiheit, Schnelligkeit, Universität, Zeitung, Freundschaft (freedom, quickness, university, newspaper, friendship). Note that these suffixes usually have a corresponding English suffix, such as -ness (-heit, -keit), -ty (-tät), -ship (-schaft).
- Nouns ending in -ie: Drogerie, Geographie, Komödie, Industrie, Ironie (often equal to words ending in -y in English)
- Names of aircraft, ships and motorbikes: die Boeing 747, die Titanic, die BMWder BMW). The die comes from die Maschine, which can mean plane, motorbike and engine. - Helpful reminder: Ships are often referred to as "she" in English. (motorbike only; the car is
- Nouns ending in -ik: die Grammatik, Grafik, Klinik, Musik, Panik, Physik - But there are some exceptions!
- Borrowed (foreign) nouns ending in: -ade, -age, -anz, -enz, -ette, -ine, -ion, -tur: Parade, Blamage (shame), Bilanz, Distanz, Frequenz, Serviette (napkin), Limonade, Nation, Konjunktur (economic trend). Note: Such words often resemble their English equivalent. A rare -ade exception: der Nomade.
- Cardinal numbers: eine Eins, eine Drei (a one, a three)
- Nouns ending in -in that pertain to female people, occupations, nationalities: Amerikanerin, Studentin (female American, student), but der Harlekin and also many non-people words: das Benzin, der Urin (gasoline/petrol, urine).
- Most nouns ending in -e: Ecke, Ente, Grenze, Pistole, Seuche (corner, duck, border, pistol, epidemic), but der Deutsche, das Ensemble, der Friede, der Junge ([the] German, ensemble, peace, boy)
- Nouns ending in -ei: Partei, Schweinerei (party [political], dirty trick/mess), but das Ei, der Papagei (egg, parrot).
- Most types of flowers and trees: Birke, Chrysantheme, Eiche, Rose (birch, chrysanthemum, oak, rose), but der Ahorn, (maple), das Gänseblümchen (daisy), and the word for tree is der Baum
- Borrowed (foreign) nouns ending in -isse, -itis, -ive: Hornisse, Initiative (hornet, initiative)
SÄCHLICH - das
- Nouns ending in -chen or -lein: Fräulein, Häuschen, Kaninchen, Mädchen (unmarried woman, cottage, rabbit, girl/maiden)
- Infinitives used as nouns (gerunds): das Essen, das Schreiben (eating/food, writing)
- Almost all of the 112 known chemical elements (das Aluminium, Blei, Kupfer, Uran, Zink, Zinn, Zirkonium, usw.) - except for six that are masculine: der Kohlenstoff (carbon), der Sauerstoff (oxygen), der Stickstoff (nitrogen), der Wasserstoff (hydrogen), der Phosphor and der Schwefel (sulphur). Note: Most of the elements end in -ium, a das ending.
- Names of hotels, cafés and theaters
- Names of colors used as nouns: das Blau, das Rot (blue, red)
- Geographic place names (towns, countries, continents): das Berlin, Deutschland, Brasilien, Afrika (but learn non-das countries, such as: der Irak, der Jemen, die Schweiz, die Türkei, die USA [plur.])
- Young animals and people: das Baby, das Küken (chick); but der Junge (boy).
- Most metals: Aluminium, Blei, Kupfer, Messing, Zinn (aluminium, lead, copper, brass, tin/pewter; but die Bronze, der Stahl - bronze, steel)
- Nouns ending in -o (often cognates from Latin): das Auto, Büro, Kasino, Konto (account), Radio, Veto, Video - Note: Exceptions: die Avocado, die Disko, der Euro, der Scirocco, etc. - But there are more exceptions!
- Fractions: das/ein Viertel (¼), das/ein Drittel (but die Hälfte, half)
- Most nouns starting with Ge-: Genick, Gerät, Geschirr, Geschlecht, Gesetz, Gespräch (back of the neck, device, dishes, sex/gender, law, conversation), but there are many exceptions, such as der Gebrauch, der Gedanke, die Gefahr, der Gefallen, der Genuss, der Geschmack, der Gewinn, die Gebühr, die Geburt, die Geduld, die Gemeinde, die Geschichte, and others)
- Most borrowed (foreign) nouns ending in -ment: Ressentiment, Supplement (but der Zement, der/das Moment [2 diff. meanings])
- Most nouns ending in -nis: Versäumnis (neglect; but die Erlaubnis, die Erkenntnis, die Finsternis)
- Most nouns ending in -tum or -um: Christentum, Königtum (Christianity, kingship; but der Irrtum, der Reichtum - error, wealth)
My 2 cents: Since I could not memorize these sentences, I just memorized the keywords for each category (i.e. der, die, das).
For DER:
1. Days, months, and seasons.
2. Points of the compass, map locations and winds.
3. Precipitation.
4. Cars and trains.
5. Most rivers outside of Europe.
6. Most occupations and nationalities.
7. Alcoholic drinks.
8. Mountains and lakes.
5. Words ending in -ich, -ling, -ist, -ismus, -ner, -stoff, -er.
For DIE:
1. Aircraft, ships and motorbikes.
2. Cardinal numbers.
3. Flowers and trees.
4. Borrowed (foreign) nouns ending in -isse, -itis, -ive, -ade, -age, -anz, -enz, -ette, -ine, -ion, -tur.
5. Nouns ending in -in, -heit, -keit, -tät, -ung, -schaft, -ie, -ik, -e, -ei.
For DAS:
1. Infinitives verbs used as nouns.
2. Almost all of the 112 known chemical elements.
3. Hotels, cafés and theaters .
4. Colors used as nouns.
5. Nouns ending in -chen, -lein, -o, -nis, -tum, -um.
6. Geographic place names (towns, countries, continents).
7. Young animals and people.
8. Most metals.
9. Fractions.
10. Most borrowed (foreign) nouns ending in -ment.
11. Most nouns starting with Ge-.
I may not be an expert in guessing but this is will be of great help for me.
More here.
God bless everyone!
Have a nice day!
Believe in your heart that God is with us all the time. Things that are happening not according to our plans are here to remind us that we have to trust in God always and know that He gives what is best for us. God knows what is best for us. He is our Creator. There are things that we could never understand about God, but it is better to leave it that way. So then we must put our faith in our almighty and one and true living God.
