FAM: Compound Nouns

Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are very common in German and are easily formed. Your vocabulary will increase once you learn to analyze the different parts of a compound word:

der Sommer + der Tag = der Sommertag (the summer day)
der Winter + der Abend = der Winterabend (the winter evening)
das Haus + das Tier = das Haustier (the house animal, or the pet)

Important: Note that the last element in a compound word determines the gender.

Table lamp in German

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