What is a noun in German?

• A noun is a naming word used for a person, place, creature or thing.
• Nouns are either masculine, feminine, neuter or plural.
• The words for the or a change depending on the gender and whether the noun is singular or plural.
• All nouns have a capital letter in German.

A noun is a naming word for a person, place, creature or thing. For example: der Bruderbrother, die Stadttown, das Kaninchenrabbit and die Ideeidea.

A noun can be masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. The gender of a noun will usually be indicated by m, f or n next to the word in a dictionary.

The plural ending of a noun will usually be indicated in brackets next to the noun in a dictionary, for example, Hund (-e)

Like in English, all proper nouns have a capital letter in German. For example: Berlin, Wien, Oskar, Mathilda. However, in German all other nouns must also have a capital letter.

It is easy to identify a noun in German because it always has a capital letter. A word can change meaning if the capital letter is missing. For example:

Wir essen das Essen in Essen. - We are eating food in Essen.

• essen with a lowercase e is the verb '(to) eat'.
• das Essen with an uppercase E and preceded by the articledas is the noun 'food'.
• in Essen with an uppercase E is preceded by the preposition in is the town of Essen in Germany.

Remember:

It is important that all nouns start with a capital letter in German. A word can change meaning if the capital letter is missing.

Take this multiple-choice quiz to check your understanding of nouns in German.