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.