Der, die, ou das (parte 2)

Last week, we discussed how the ending of a noun may indicate whether it's masculine, feminine, or neuter, and looked at some endings like -er and -ig that typically require the definite masculine article der.

As we did last week, we must offer the disclaimer (avisar) that this is not a 100% reliable way (maneira confiável) to learn the genders of nouns, due to many exceptions.

We encourage you as much as possible to simply learn the appropriate definite article (der, die, or das) along with each individual word so that you'll always know the gender of the noun in the future.

However, if you ever get stuck (mesmo assim encontrar problemas), it might help to know that

-anz,

-ei,

-heit,

-ik,

-ion,

-keit,

-schaft,

-tät, and

-ung

are endings that often indicate a feminine noun.

Let's look at some examples.

Es besteht die Möglichkeit, jedes Board vorher zu testen.
The possibility exists to test every board beforehand.
Existe a possibilidade de testar todas as placas previamente.

Die Region zwischen Amrum und Sylt wurde wegen der Meeressäuger unter Schutz gestellt.
The region between Amrum and Sylt was placed under protection because of the marine mammals.
A região entre Amrum e Sylt foi colocada sob proteção por causa dos mamíferos marinhos.

Beim Volleyball im Sand besteht die Mannschaft nämlich nur aus zwei Spielern.
With volleyball in the sand, the team consists, namely, of just two players.
Com o voleibol na areia, a equipe consiste, nomeadamente, de apenas dois jogadores.

As mentioned last week, there are exceptions particularly for one-syllable words, which will most often not follow the rules.

For example, die Einladung ("the invitation/o convite") is feminine, but der Sprung ("the jump/o salto ") is masculine.

Die Einladung kommt noch.
The invitation is still on its way.
O convite ainda está a caminho.

Und der Sprung an sich geht vielleicht nur drei Sekunden, aber es kommt einem ewig vor.
And the jump itself lasts perhaps only three seconds but it seems eternal.
E o salto em si dura talvez apenas três segundos, mas ele parece eterno.