26 Compound nouns and acronyms
26.1 The last part of a compound noun decides the overall gender and number:
der Kupferstich ‘copper engraving’ is made up of das Kupfer and
der Stich.
die Studentenkneipe ‘student pub’ is made up of der Student and
die Kneipe.
das Kopfsteinpflaster ‘cobblestones’ is made up of der Kopfstein and
das Pflaster.
die Busreise ‘bus trip’ is made up of der Bus and die Reise.See also 54.1 (p. 135).
26.2 Acronyms take their gender from the principal noun:
der DGB ‘Federation of German Trade Unions’: der Deutsche
Gewerkschaftsbund
die SPD ‘Social Democratic Party’: die Sozialdemokratische Partei
Deutschlands
das BAFöG ‘National Law on Support for Education and Training’:
das BundesausbildungsförderungsgesetzSee also 29.7b (p. 52).
27 Gender variations
27.1 A few nouns have alternative genders, which frequently depend on regional usage:
in Germany and Austria das Foto, das Radio and das Taxi, but in
Switzerland die Foto, der Radio and der Taxi
in Germany and Switzerland der Keks ‘biscuit’, but in Austria das
Keks27.2 There are several nouns which are identical in form in the singular but whose gender
depends on their meaning. These often have different plural forms:
der Band, plural die Bände ‘volume/book’
but: das Band, plural die Bänder ‘ribbon/tape’
and: das Band, plural die Bande ‘bonds’ (between people)
also: die Band, plural die Bands ‘band/pop group’der Leiter, same plural, ‘leader’
but: die Leiter, plural die Leitern ‘ladder’der Pony, no plural, ‘fringe (of hair)’
but: das Pony, plural die Ponys ‘pony’der See, plural die Seen ‘lake’
but: die See, no plural, ‘sea’See also 29.9 (p. 53).
27
Gender variations