How a compound works
A Kompositum (compound) joins two or more words into one. The last part is the head: it says what the thing is and decides the gender. Everything in front narrows it down. The main stress falls on the first part.
The head decides
German writes compounds as one word, without spaces. A hyphen is used with abbreviations, names, digits, or to make a very long word readable: E-Mail-Adresse, Max-Planck-Institut, 3-Zimmer-Wohnung.
The linking elements
Between the parts there is often an extra sound, the Fugenelement (linking element). It looks like a case or plural ending, but it does not carry that meaning: a Hühnerei comes from one hen, and a Bilderrahmen holds one picture.
The main joints
| Joint | Examples |
|---|---|
| nothing | Hausschlüssel, Tischbein, Hilfeleistung |
| -s- | Geburtstag, Verkehrsschild, Arbeitszeit |
| -n- / -en- | Sonnenbrille, Straßenbahn, Studentenausweis |
| -er- | Kinderwagen, Bilderrahmen, Hühnerei |
| -e- | Hundeleine, Wartezimmer |
| final -e drops | Schulbuch, Sprachkurs, Erdbeben |
Rules you can rely on
Many joints have to be learned with the word. Three patterns cover a large share and are worth knowing by heart.
After these suffixes: -s-
Nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät and -ling take -s-: Wohnungsschlüssel, Gesundheitssystem, Informationsquelle, Universitätsbibliothek, Lieblingsessen.
Feminine nouns in -e: usually -n-
Sonne → Sonnenbrille, Straße → Straßenbahn, Kirche → Kirchenchor. Some drop the -e instead, like Schulbuch and Sprachkurs, and a few keep it: Hilfeleistung.
A verb as first part: the stem
The infinitive ending goes: schreiben → Schreibtisch, fahren → Fahrrad. After some stems an -e- remains: warten → Wartezimmer.
Ich habe meinen Wohnungsschlüssel im Büro vergessen.
I left my flat key at the office.
Unsere Arbeitszeiten sind ziemlich flexibel.
Our working hours are pretty flexible.
Arbeit is feminine but still takes -s-.
Der Sprachkurs beginnt nächste Woche.
The language course starts next week.
Compared with English
English strings separate words together: birthday present, traffic sign, language course. German glues them, and the result is one noun with one article, taken from the head. Long compounds are normal: Krankenversicherungskarte is simply the health insurance card.
