German builds new nouns by joining words together: Kinder + Zimmer = Kinderzimmer (children’s room). For the article, one of the most reliable rules in the language applies: the last word decides. Because it’s das Zimmer, it’s das Kinderzimmer, whatever comes in front.
How it works
| Compound | Last word |
|---|---|
| das Kinderzimmer | das Zimmer |
| die Haustür | die Tür |
| der Bahnhof | der Hof |
| der Handschuh | der Schuh |
| die Zahnbürste | die Bürste |
| das Flugzeug | das Zeug |
The rule even beats the ending: Kinderzimmer ends in -er, and most -er nouns are masculine, yet it’s das Kinderzimmer.
Finding the last word
Read the word from the end: which noun comes last? With long words it helps to split step by step: Hauptbahnhof is Haupt + Bahnhof, and Bahnhof is Bahn + Hof. The last word is der Hof, so it’s der Hauptbahnhof.
The parts are often joined by a linking letter: -s-, -es-, -n-, -en- or -er-. It belongs to the first part and doesn’t change the article: Arbeit·s·platz (der Platz), Straße·n·bahn (die Bahn), Kind·er·garten (der Garten).
The most common last words
These words end German compounds especially often. Each list shows how reliably the rule holds for them.
- die-zeit
- die-arbeit
- das-haus
- das-recht
- das-spiel
- das-werk
- das-stück
- die-karte
- der-bau
- das-buch
- der-baum
- das-geschäft
- die-stelle
- das-blatt
- der-preis
- das-system
- der-raum
- die-politik
The few exceptions
- das Wort, but die Antwort: Ant- isn’t a word of its own, and Antwort isn’t really a compound in today’s German.
- der Mut, but die Demut, die Wehmut, die Anmut and die Sanftmut, while der Hochmut and der Übermut stay masculine.
- Teil can be der or das, but das Gegenteil and das Abteil are always neuter.
Every dictionary page explains, under “Why is it …?”, whether a noun is a compound and which word its article comes from.