German words ending in -ität
A noun ending in -ität is die, and you probably already know what it means.
-ität is the German spelling of the English ending -ty. Universität is university, Qualität is quality, Aktivität is activity, Realität is reality. Both languages took the ending from Latin, so the vocabulary comes free: take an English abstract noun in -ty and there is a good chance the German word is the same thing with -ität on the end.
The suffix is feminine, and a noun built with a suffix takes the gender of that suffix. So every noun ending in -ität is die. There are no exceptions to this in German.
One thing to carry into the speaking exam. The stress sits on the last syllable, so it is Universi-TÄT and Quali-TÄT. Learners who stress it like the English word are understood, but the German rhythm is the giveaway that fixes fastest.
Worked examples
- die Universität university
- die Qualität quality
- die Aktivität activity
- die Realität reality
- die Mobilität mobility
Measured on this deck
100% of the 5 nouns ending in -ität are die
5 nouns in this deck end in -ität, and all 5 are die, so 100 percent. On this ending the deck and the language agree, and not every page here can say that.
- die Qualität die Qualitäten
- die Universität die Universitäten
- die Aktivität die Aktivitäten
- die Mobilität die Mobilitäten
- die Realität die Realitäten
What a card looks like
Universität
Try it
The drill below is the mixed deck, not an -ität drill. These are long words with a loud final syllable, so they are easy to spot when they come round.
Wohnung