In German the words for job titles are different, depending on whether you are talking about a man or a woman.

The feminine form is usually created by adding -in to the masculine form. Unlike masculine job titles, feminine ones ending in -in have a regular plural:

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Lehrer	die Lehrerin
Plural	die Lehrer	die Lehrerinnen

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Ingenieur	die Ingenieurin
Plural	die Ingenieure	die Ingenieurinnen

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Pilot	die Pilotin
Plural	die Piloten	die Pilotinnen

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Computerexperte*	die Computerexpertin*
Plural	die Computerexperten	die Computerexpertinnen

*When the masculine job title ends with -e, this is replaced by -in in the feminine.

Sometimes the feminine form also gets an umlaut.

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Arzt	die Ärztin
Plural	die Ärzte	die Ärztinnen

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Koch	die Köchin
Plural	die Köche	die Köchinnen

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Anwalt	die Anwältin
Plural	die Anwälte	die Anwältinnen

There are also some feminine job titles that are formed completely differently:

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Bankkaufmann	die Bankkauffrau
Plural	die Bankkaufmänner	die Bankkauffrauen

	masculine	feminine
Singular	der Krankenpfleger	die Krankenschwester
Plural	die Krankenpfleger	die Krankenschwestern

When discussing a group of professionals to which both men and women belong, the masculine plural, also known as the "generic masculine," is frequently used. However, in order to give equal importance to the various genders, other plural forms are increasingly being used. Gender-neutral forms with what is known as the gender asterisk or colon are common. However, the asterisk and colon spellings are not yet officially recognized.

Viele Lehrer*innen (oder: Lehrer:innen) arbeiten auch am Wochenende.

Bankkaufleute arbeiten in einer Bank.

Talking about professions