> With both Russian and German I had a problem memorizing the vocabulary. German genders don't make sense - why is a table a strong, proud man, whereas a mangy,

> With both Russian and German I had a problem memorizing the vocabulary. German genders don't make sense - why is a table a strong, proud man, whereas a mangy, flea-infested feral tomcat a proper lady? Gosh this resonates. I remember learning "das Mädchen" and feeling my brain throw up its little brain-hands in resignation and defeat. I assume you've read Mark Twain's "The Awful German Language"? Link: http://crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html http://crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Awful_German_Language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Awful_German_Language The "Tale of the Fishwife and its Sad Fate" is so funny. Did you ever get a strategy for the German nouns besides the rules-of-thumb and raw grueling familiarization/memorization?