Compound nouns and linking elements

German famously glues words together: Arbeitsplatz, Wartezimmer, Kindergarten. The rules behind these compounds are simpler and more reliable than they look.

By the Desi European Tales editorial team · Updated 1 November 2026

How compounds work

A compound noun (Kompositum) has two or more parts. The last part is the base word (Grundwort): it names the basic thing and decides the gender and the plural. The parts before it are modifiers (Bestimmungswörter): they say what kind of thing it is.

das Haus + die Tür → die Haustür (a kind of door, so feminine)
die Tür + das Schloss → das Türschloss (a kind of lock, so neuter)
die Holztür = a door made of wood; das Türholz would be wood for doors
Plural: das Schulbuch → die Schulbücher (only the base word changes)

The main stress is normally on the first part: HAUStür, KINdergarten. Long compounds are read from the back: Krankenversicherungskarte is a card (Karte) for health insurance (Krankenversicherung).

What can be a modifier?

Modifier	Example	Meaning
noun	der Bahnhof, die Holztür	railway station, wooden door
verb stem	das Wartezimmer, der Schreibtisch, die Waschmaschine	waiting room, desk, washing machine
adjective	die Großstadt, das Hochhaus	city, high-rise
preposition, adverb	die Nachspeise, die Außenwand	dessert, outside wall

A verb usually appears as its stem without -en: schreiben → Schreibtisch. Some stems add -e for easier pronunciation: warten → Wartezimmer, lesen → Lesebrille.

Linking elements (Fugenelemente)

Between the parts there is often a small linking element. It is not a genitive or a plural, even if it sometimes looks like one:

-s- after nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät, -ling, and after many others: der Arbeitsplatz, der Zeitungsartikel, die Gesundheitskosten, der Geburtstag, and even der Liebesbrief.
-(e)n- often after feminine nouns in -e: die Sonnenbrille, die Blumenvase, der Straßenname.
-e-: die Hundeleine, das Wartezimmer.
-er-: der Kindergarten, das Bilderbuch.
-es-: das Bundesland, das Tageslicht.
no element, or the final -e is dropped: das Schulbuch, der Sprachkurs.

Tips

Linking elements are partly unpredictable, so learn frequent compounds as whole words. The rule for -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion is very reliable: Wohnungsmarkt, Sicherheitsdienst, Freundschaftsspiel, Informationsblatt. Write compounds as one word, not as two (Busfahrer, not Bus Fahrer). Use a hyphen only for clarity, with abbreviations or with names: E-Mail, Kfz-Steuer, Goethe-Institut. In your own texts, avoid compounds with more than three parts; a phrase with a genitive or a preposition is often clearer: die Kosten der Krankenversicherung für Studierende is much easier to read than one giant compound. When you read a long compound, split it from the back and look for linking elements, which mark the boundaries between the parts.

Common mistakes

Not quite	Correct	Why
Das Haustür ist offen.	Die Haustür ist offen.	The last part (die Tür) decides the gender of the compound.
der Arbeitplatz	der Arbeitsplatz	Arbeit takes the linking element -s- in compounds.
die Schulebücher	die Schulbücher	Schule drops its final -e in compounds, and only the base word takes the plural.
der Bus Fahrer	der Busfahrer	Compound nouns are written as one word.

Practice questions

Practise it in the course

Back to the grammar reference or to the C1 lessons.

Sources

Original practice questions written by the Desi European Tales editorial team; they are not the official exam questions. Checked 1 November 2026.

🏠