Genau
Topic test · A2

Compound nouns test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

die Hand + der Schuh = ?

hand + shoe = glove

der Handschuh. The last part gives the article: der Schuh. Even though Hand at the front is feminine, it changes nothing.

What does Das Schlüsselhaus mean?

It is a house. The last part gives the meaning here, too. A “house key” would be der Hausschlüssel.

die Wohnung — why is this word “die”?

Because it ends in -ung. Every noun ending in -ung · -heit · -keit · -schaft takes die — no exceptions.

Split the word Arbeitsplatz correctly.

Arbeits + Platz. The -s- in between is the linking sound (Fugenlaut) and it belongs to the part in front: Arbeits | platz. The last part, Platz, is a word on its own. The plural is made at the end, too: die Arbeitsplätze.

das Haus → das Häuschen. What does -chen do here?

It makes it smaller. Every noun with -chen or -lein takes das — which is also the answer to why das Mädchen is das.

der Zahn + der Arzt = ? Who decides the article?

The gender of a compound is always decided by the last part: der Arzt → der Zahnarzt. The first part only narrows down the meaning.

die Zeitung — how can you know the article?

Every noun ending in -ung · -heit · -keit · -schaft · -ion is die. Knowing the suffix hands you the article of hundreds of words for free.

What is das Wörterbuch made of?

A plural form can stay at the joint: das Wort → die Wörter → das Wörterbuch. The article again comes from the last part: das Buch.

Which is correct?

The same law again: last part die Mitte → die Stadtmitte. Don’t let the articles of other compounds mislead you; in each word, look at its own last part.

Why is das Mädchen (girl) “das”?

The rule is grammatical, not about meaning: the diminutive endings -chen and -lein make a word neuter every time — die Magd → das Mädchen, das Haus → das Häuschen.

In compound nouns the article is always decided by the first word.

Wrong. The article of a compound is always decided by the last word.

Freiheit, Gesundheit and other nouns ending in the suffix -heit always have the article .

Which article?

Nouns formed with endings like -heit, -keit, -ung always take the article die.

Build the sentence: This is a little house.

This is a little house.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

-chen is a diminutive ending and makes the article of the word das.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. The article ALWAYS comes from the last part

    However long the compound is, the last part decides the gender: der Arzt → der Zahnarzt, die Mitte → die Stadtmitte.

    die Hand + der Schuh = der Handschuh

  2. Read the meaning from the end to the start

    The last part says WHAT it is, the first part says WHICH one: das Schlüsselhaus is a house (a key house), der Hausschlüssel is a key.

    Hausschlüssel ≠ Schlüsselhaus

  3. A linking sound can appear in between

    -s- or a plural form joins the parts: Arbeitsplatz · Wörterbuch. These are not typos, they are glue.

    Arbeit + s + Platz

  4. The suffix gives the article away

    -ung · -heit · -keit · -schaft · -ion → always die. -chen · -lein → always das. These two rules wipe out hundreds of things to memorise.

    die Zeitung · das Mädchen

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • die Zahnarzt (because of die Zahn)

    der Zahnarzt

    The article of the first part does not count; the last part der Arzt decides. (And it is der Zahn anyway.)

  • Schlüsselhaus = house key

    Schlüsselhaus = key house (a house)

    The LAST part says what it is. A house key is der Hausschlüssel.

  • Arbeitplatz

    Arbeitsplatz

    Arbeit enters compounds with the linking -s-.

  • die Mädchen (because it means a girl)

    das Mädchen

    The diminutive -chen makes the word grammatically neuter; the meaning does not change the gender rule.