Every German noun is masculine, feminine or neuter, and you cannot always tell which from the meaning. A girl is das Mädchen, and a spoon is der Löffel. The honest advice is to learn each noun with its article. But there are clues, and they will get you the right answer more often than not.
Think of them as clues rather than rules: a few have exceptions, and the exceptions are mentioned below.
Clues for die (feminine)
- -ung: die Zeitung, die Wohnung, die Bestellung
- -heit and -keit: die Freiheit, die Möglichkeit
- -schaft: die Freundschaft
- -ion and -tät: die Nation, die Universität
- -in for a woman or a female animal: die Lehrerin, die Ärztin
- Most nouns ending in -e are feminine too: die Lampe, die Straße. The exceptions include masculine people and animals (der Junge, der Hase) and a few others such as der Name.
Clues for das (neuter)
- -chen and -lein, which make things smaller: das Mädchen, das Kaninchen, das Fräulein. This is why a girl is neuter.
- -um: das Museum, das Zentrum
- -ment: das Dokument, das Instrument (but der Moment and der Zement)
- Verbs used as nouns: das Essen (eating, food), das Leben (life)
Clues for der (masculine)
- Days, months and seasons: der Montag, der Januar, der Sommer
- Many weather words: der Regen, der Schnee, der Wind (although das Wetter itself is neuter)
- -ling and -ismus: der Frühling, der Tourismus
- -er for a person who does something: der Lehrer, der Fahrer
Compound nouns: the last part decides
Many German nouns are made of two or more words joined together. The last part gives the gender, whatever the first part is:
die Hand + der Schuh = der Handschuh
the glove
das Haus + die Tür = die Haustür
the front door
So when you meet a long unfamiliar noun, look for the last word you recognise.
What to do with this
Use the clues as a first guess, then check. Whenever you learn a new noun, learn it with its article (die Lampe, not just Lampe), and the gender will become automatic over time.