Nouns ending in -ung: die
dieFeminine (die)
Words ending in -ung are always feminine.
Not every word that ends in these letters follows the rule. See the look-alikes below.
How reliable is this rule?
In our rule set: Always (firm rule in our data).
In our word lists, nouns ending in -ung that take die: 28 of 30.
Examples ending in -ung
- dieZeitung
newspaper · pl. Zeitungen
- dieÜbung
exercise · pl. Übungen
- dieWohnung
apartment · pl. Wohnungen
- dieOrdnung
- dieBildung
- dieLeitung
- dieErfahrung
experience · pl. Erfahrungen
Look-alikes: same ending, different article
These nouns end in the same letters but do not take die. Some come from our lists, some are common words we checked by hand. Matching letters alone are not always enough, so check the word.
- derSprung
jump, leap
- derSchwung
swing, momentum
Common questions
- Which article do German nouns ending in -ung take?
- Words ending in -ung are always feminine. In our word lists, 28 of 30 of them take die.
- Are there exceptions to the -ung rule?
- In our lists, yes: der Sprung, der Schwung. Learn these words together with their article.
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