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A2 → Grammar · Lesson 22 of 22

German Word Formation: How Compound Nouns Work

die Wortbildung
Before this lesson: make sure you've covered Relative Clauses (Basics) first.

German loves building long words by joining shorter ones together — compound nouns (Komposita). Once you learn the pattern, you can often guess a new word's meaning just by breaking it into parts. The article always matches the LAST word in the chain.

Types you should know

Komposita
compound nouns, two or more words joined
Nomen + Nomen
noun + noun, the most common pattern

See it in action

CompoundBuilt fromMeaning
der Handschuhdie Hand + der Schuhglove (lit. "hand shoe")
das Krankenhauskrank + das Haushospital (lit. "sick house")
die Hausaufgabedas Haus + die Aufgabehomework
der Kühlschrankkühl + der Schrankfridge (lit. "cool cupboard")
Memory trick: The article of a compound word always comes from the LAST part: das Haus + die Aufgabe = die Hausaufgabe.
⚠ Common mistake: Don't guess the gender from the first part of a compound — the LAST word always decides der/die/das.

🎯 Quick check

What determines the article of a German compound noun?

Related topics

Relative Clauses (Basics)
← PreviousRelative Clauses (Basics)