German
Der, die, das: German gender and articles
Every German noun comes with a gender, and the article shows it: der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter). The catch is that gender is grammatical, not logical, so das Mädchen (the girl) is neuter. The way through is to learn the article with the noun.
Three genders, one article each
Every noun is der, die or das. The gender is grammatical, not logical, so you cannot always reason it out.
der Tischthe table (masculine)
die Lampethe lamp (feminine)
das Mädchenthe girl (neuter, despite the meaning)
Endings that hint at gender
| Ending | Usually | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ung, -heit, -keit | die | die Zeitung |
| -chen, -lein | das | das Mädchen |
| -er (doer) | der | der Lehrer |
These are tendencies, not laws, but they cover a lot of nouns.
Always learn the article
Never learn Tisch; learn der Tisch. The article is part of the word. A fixed colour or mental slot per gender helps it stick.
Nothing replaces exposure here, so meeting each noun with its article, over and over, is what fixes the gender. Verboteca stores German vocabulary with the article attached, so you always practise der, die, das together with the word.