German Noun ‘Freund’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Freund’ in German is masculine: der Freund (the friend). Its plural is ‘die Freunde’ (the friends).

‘Freund’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Freund’ requires understanding The German Case System.

German Noun ‘Fenster’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Fenster’ in German is neuter: das Fenster (the window). Its plural is ‘die Fenster’ (the windows).

‘Fenster’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Fenster’ requires understanding The German Case System.

German Noun ‘Familie’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Familie’ in German is feminine: die Familie (the family). Its plural is ‘die Familien’ (the families).

‘Familie’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Familie’ requires understanding The German Case System.

German Noun ‘Computer’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Computer’ in German is masculine: der Computer (the computer). Its plural is ‘die Computer’ (the computers).

‘Computer’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Computer’ requires understanding The German Case System.

German Noun ‘Buch’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Buch’ in German is neuter: das Buch (the book). Its plural is ‘die Bücher’ (the books).

‘Buch’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Buch’ requires understanding The German Case System.

German Noun ‘Brot’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Brot’ in German is neuter: das Brot (the bread). Its plural is ‘die Brote (the breads).

‘Brot’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Brot’ requires understanding The German Case System.

German Noun ‘Film’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Film’ in German is masculine: der Film (the movie). Its plural is ‘die Filme’ (the movies).

‘Film’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Film’ requires understanding The German Case System.

German Noun ‘Auto’: Gender, Plural, & Case [Explained]

The gender of ‘Auto’ in German is neuter: das Auto (the car). Its plural is ‘die Autos’ (the cars).

‘Auto’ is a common German noun that you’ll use to communicate in everyday spoken & written German. But using ‘Auto’ requires understanding The German Case System.

Masculine or Feminine?

How you tell if a German word (i.e. specifically a noun) is masculine or feminine (or a 3rd option: neuter) is a matter of recognizing various noun endings and noun groups that are associated with one gender over the other two.

Rather than attempting to memorize a seemingly random der, die, or das paired with each German noun (there are thousands!!), memorizing a much much shorter list of noun endings and noun groups will be more effective and infinitely less frustrating.

Nominative Vs. Accusative Case

Distinguishing the nominative from accusative cases in German is a matter of three possibilities:

  1. declensions
  2. semantics
  3. word order