Forming feminine personal nouns in German

• Many nouns that describe people have both masculine and feminine forms.

• Jobs and nationalities are often gendered, eg Lehrermale teacher and Lehrerinfemale teacher.

• The feminine form is usually formed by adding -in to the end of the masculine noun, but there are some exceptions.

What are the masculine nouns in German?

The following nouns describe people. Their feminine forms are created by adding -in, eg Freundin.

To form feminine personal nouns:

• If the masculine form ends in -er, add -in to the end of the word, add -in to the end of the word:

  • eg, der Italiener (Italian, m) becomes die Italienerin (Italian, f)

• If the masculine form ends in -e, change the -e to -in:

  • eg, der Brite (British, m) becomes die Britin (British, f)

• DeutscheGerman is the same for both masculine and feminine:

  • der Deutsche/ die Deutsche (German, m and f)

• Some nouns change spelling slightly when forming the feminine:

  • eg, der Arzt (doctor, m) becomes die Ärztin (doctor, f)

Here are some examples of nationalities and job titles in German with their masculine and feminine forms:

Answer these questions on gendered nouns to test your understanding: