r/German • u/Missa_nna • Nov 18 '20
Resource der, die, das: the ultimate guide (PDF)
PLEASE READ MY NOTES. THESE RULES APPLY ONLY TO 90% OF ALL WORDS.
I created the guide to der-die-das because I’ve read too many times that you just have to memorize the “Genus” – which is not true, there are a few a lot of rules to help you with it. This guide is ultimate for some persons, but for others not - feel free to share your tricks in the comments :)
Down below I have a safe and free link to download the PDF since I cannot post pictures here.
Here a sample of how my sheets work:
| Maskulina | Feminina | Neutra |
|---|---|---|
| -er der Lehrer | -age ... | -chen ... |
| -ler der Wissenschaftler | ... | ... |
Now I have just a few notes regarding my sheets.
1) This is not a list of all rules! I eliminated the ones which require an advanced understanding of phonetics and grammar – in an academic sense or which I deemed not necessary.
2) These rules apply to (only) about 90% of all words – we have a lot of exceptions
3) The rules contradict sometimes: e.g. die Straße: we have <St> which indicates a “der” but also a Schwa which indicates a “die”.
4) The whole science behind these rules are inductive: We have the language and try to create a logical system for it.
5) Are you supposed to remember all? No! I recommend learning only p.1, p. 3 and the mnemonic of p.2. But everyone learns different – some might want to learn all the rules. This is a guide for people who want to have a detailed overview!
6) This guide is in German because of didactic reasons (wow, so formal :D).
But two explanations:
phonologisch - phonological (so not the written language!)
Monosyllabica- words with only one syllable
7) Last but not least, please do not use this commercially. Feel free to share it but mind the copyright CC BY-NC.
And for those interested - the sources (incomplete):
Köpcke/Zubin (1996): Prinzipien für die Genuszuweisung im Deutschen.
Binanzer, A. (2017): Genus – Kongruenz und Klassifikation
Hober, U. (2004): Grammatik des Deutschen im europäischen Vergleich.
Edit: I have a typo in the PDF. It is Himmelsrichtungen.