The der/die/das rules / Nouns ending in -ma

Rule for neuter · das

Nouns ending in -ma

-ma → das · 0.3% (but Mama, Oma, Firma are die!)

The rule, in plain language

Many nouns of Greek origin ending in -ma are neuter in German: das Thema, das Klima, das Drama - and in the plural several take special forms like Themen or Dramen. Overall the pattern is fairly rare (only 0.3% of our list, 6 words), but useful for abstract or scientific terms. Here the exceptions really matter: die Firma, die Mama, and die Oma also end in -ma but are feminine - in fact among the most commonly used words in the whole vocabulary, so don't let the final letters fool you for family or business words.

In the A1-B1 vocabulary of the Genau course, this rule covers 6 words (0.3%) and has 3 exceptions - all listed below.

Representative examples

The exceptions

These contradict the rule - learn them as-is:

All course words that follow this rule

Rules stick through practice. In the Genau app you train exactly this rule on its own words, with the GENAU! stamp on every correct answer - free, offline, no account. Coming soon to the App Store.