What determines the article of compound nouns in German?

Question

Hi everyone,

I've been studying German for about 6 months and compound nouns are really confusing me when it comes to articles.

For example:
- **der Schuh** + **der Schrank** = **der Schuhschrank** (shoe cabinet)
- **die Hand** + **der Schuh** = **der Handschuh** (glove)
- **das Haus** + **die Tür** = **die Haustür** (front door)

So it seems like the LAST word determines the article? Is this always the case?

What about these:
- **der Kindergarten** (das Kind + der Garten)
- **das Schlafzimme

sophie.kl · Accepted Answer

Yes, you've got the rule exactly right! In German compound nouns:

**The LAST word (Grundwort) ALWAYS determines the article.**

This rule is 100% reliable. Here's why your examples work:

- der Schuh + der Schrank = **der** Schrank → **der** Schuhschrank ✅
- die Hand + der Schuh = **der** Schuh → **der** Handschuh ✅
- das Haus + die Tür = **die** Tür → **die** Haustür ✅
- das Kind + der Garten = **der** Garten → **der** Kindergarten ✅
- der Schlaf + das Zimmer = **das** Zimmer → **das** Schlafz

emma.th · Answer

One thing to add about compound nouns: sometimes there's a connecting element called a **Fugenelement** between the parts:

- Arbeit**s**zeit (work + time) → die Arbeitszeit
- Liebe**s**brief (love + letter) → der Liebesbrief
- Küche**n**tisch (kitchen + table) → der Küchentisch

These connecting letters (-s-, -n-, -en-) do NOT change the gender though. The gender always comes from the last word.

A few more examples:
- das Haus + die Tür = die Haustür
- der Fuß + der Ball = der Fußball
- die Ha

What determines the article of compound nouns in German?

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