The concept of nouns having genders is fairly common in most Indo-European languages. While English nouns don't have grammatical gender, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian and Russian nouns do have gender. East Asian languages do not have gender for their nouns.
| Noun Genders |
| English |
Nouns do not have grammatical gender in English. |
| Español |
Nouns which denote a person, thing or idea are either M or F. Generally speaking these rules apply for distinguishing between masculine and feminine nouns.
- gender is M when describing a male or F if talking about a female with the article agreeing with the gender : el perro (the male dog), la perra (the female dog)
- nouns ending in -a are usually F : la tienda (the store)
- nouns ending in -d, -z or -ión are usually F : la universidad (the university), la luz (the light), la nación (the nation)
- nouns ending in -o are usually M : el plato (the plate)
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| Deutsch |
Nouns in German can be either masculine, feminine, or neuter and they are always capitalized. Grammatical gender does not always match biological gender so the gender of objects and abstract nouns can be any of the three genders. Generally speaking there are few rules to use for determing gender. Memorization is usually required.
- nouns ending in -el, -ing, -s are M : der Vogel (the bird), der Frühling (Spring, the season), der Fuchs (the fox)
- trees, plants and fruit are usually F : die Tanne (the fir tree), die Blume (the flower), die Gurke (the cucumber) - notable exceptions include der Baum (the tree) and der Apfel (the apple)
- nouns ending in -age, -ei, -heit, -ie, -ik, -ion, -itis, -keit, -schaft, -tät, -ung, and -uf are F : die Gesundheit (the health), die Grammatik (the grammar), die Geschwindigkeit (the speed), die Wissenschaft (the science)
- nouns ending in -ett, -il, -ium, -ma, -ment, -nis, -tel, -tum, and -um are N (most of of foreign origin) : das Stadium (the stage), das Instrument (the instrument), das Zentrum (the downtown)
- nouns ending in -chen or -lein are N : das Bildchen (the little picture), das Fräulein (the young lady)
- nouns referring to humans can be M, F or N : der Mann (the man), die Frau (the woman), das Mädchen (the girl)
- nouns referring to countries, states and cities can be M, F or N : der Iran (Iran), die Schweiz (Switzerland), das Wien (Vienna)
- some M nouns have corresponding female nouns that end in -in : der Arzt (the male doctor), die Ärztin (the female doctor)
- some nouns can be both M and F, their meaning determined by their gender : der See (the lake), die See (the ocean or sea)
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| Français |
All nouns are either M or F. Gender is often arbitrary and difficult. Generally speaking there are very few rules to use for determining gender. Memorization is usually required.
- nouns ending in -ace, -ance, -esse, -ise, -nne or -tié are usually F : la chance (the chance), l'hôtesse (the hostess), la personne (the person)
- nouns ending in -b, -d, -et, -ing, -isme, -k, -l, -oir, -one, -ou, or -p are usually M : le pied (the foot), le billet (the ticket), l'orteil (the toe), le cou (the neck)
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| Portuguese |
All nouns are either M or F. Gender is often arbitrary and so memorization is necessary. Generally speaking these rules apply for distinguishing between masculine and feminine nouns.
- gender is M when describing a male or F if talking about a female with the article agreeing with the gender : o amigo (the male friend), a amiga (the female friend)
- nouns ending in -a or -dade are usually F : a camisa (the shirt), a qualidade (the quality)
- nouns ending in -o are usually M : o sapato (the shoe)
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| Italiano |
All nouns are either M or F. Generally speaking these rules apply for distinguishing between masculine and feminine nouns.
- gender is M when describing a male or F if talking about a female with the article agreeing with the gender : il amico (the male friend), la amica (the female friend)
- nouns ending in -a or -ione are usually F : la lattuga(the lettuce), l'immigrazione(the immigration)
- nouns ending in -o are usually M : il museo (the museum)
- nouns ending in a consonant are usually M : il film (the movie)
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| Русский |
Nouns in Russian can be either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Generally speaking gender can be recognized by the ending. There are also six cases to consider in Russian and the ending of nouns change with the case. Memorization is usually required.
- nouns ending in a consonant are M : парк (park)
- nouns ending in -a are F : книга kni-ga (book)
- nouns ending in -o are N : одеяло a-di-ya-la (blanket)
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| 中文 |
Nouns do not have grammatical gender in Chinese. |
| 日本語 |
Nouns do not have grammatical gender in Japanese. |
| 한국어 |
Nouns do not have grammatical gender in Korean. |
