GermanFluent

A1 · Noun gender

das: -chen, das Essen

Diminutives in -chen and -lein are neuter

FormStamm + -chen / -lein = das; Infinitiv als Nomen = das

Meaning and usage

Nouns that end in the diminutive suffixes -chen and -lein are neuter: das Mädchen, das Brötchen, das Fräulein. The same is true when a verb is used as a noun, for example das Essen, das Kochen, das Fahren. These nominalised verbs name an activity or a thing and always take das.

The rule is about the suffix, not every word that ends in those letters: der Kuchen is masculine, because its -chen is not a diminutive. English speakers often go by meaning and say die Mädchen for one girl. In German one girl is das Mädchen.

Examples 5

Test yourself

  1. 1 Sprachbausteine

    Mädchen heißt Lena.

    Show answer

    Correct answer: Das

    Mädchen ends in the diminutive -chen, so it is neuter: das Mädchen. The verb heißt shows that it is one girl.

    • die would make it plural, but the verb heißt is singular.
    • den is masculine accusative, and the girl is the subject.
    • der is masculine, and Mädchen is neuter.

In this topic: Noun gender

  1. der, die, das the three definite articles: der, die, das
  2. ein, eine a or an: ein, eine
  3. die: -ung, -heit, -keit Nouns in -ung, -heit, -keit are usually feminine
  4. die: nouns in -e Most nouns ending in -e are feminine
  5. der: Tage, Monate, Jahreszeiten Days, months, seasons and weather words take der
  6. das: -chen, das Essen Diminutives in -chen and -lein are neuter
  7. die Haustür Compound nouns take the gender of their last part

Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.