German Declension Summary: A Comprehensive Guide395

German declension is a fundamental aspect of the language that involves changing the form of nouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate their grammatical case and number. Mastering German declensions is crucial for constructing grammatically correct sentences and comprehending written and spoken German.

Noun Declensions

German nouns follow four declension patterns, each with its own set of endings: strong masculine, strong neuter, weak masculine, and weak feminine. The declension pattern of a noun is determined by its gender and its ending in the nominative case (the subject form).

Strong Masculine Nouns

Nouns with the endings -el, -en, -er, or a consonant generally follow the strong masculine declension pattern:

Case
Singular
Plural




Nominative
der Tisch (the table)
die Tische (the tables)


Genitive
des Tisches (of the table)
der Tische (of the tables)


Dative
dem Tisch (to/for the table)
den Tischen (to/for the tables)


Accusative
den Tisch (the table)
die Tische (the tables)

Strong Neuter Nouns

Nouns with the endings -chen, -lein, -ment, or -tum generally follow the strong neuter declension pattern:

Case
Singular
Plural




Nominative
das Haus (the house)
die Häuser (the houses)


Genitive
des Hauses (of the house)
der Häuser (of the houses)


Dative
dem Haus (to/for the house)
den Häusern (to/for the houses)


Accusative
das Haus (the house)
die Häuser (the houses)

Weak Masculine Nouns

Nouns with the endings -e, -ant, or -ent generally follow the weak masculine declension pattern:

Case
Singular
Plural




Nominative
der Junge (the boy)
die Jungen (the boys)


Genitive
des Jungen (of the boy)
der Jungen (of the boys)


Dative
dem Jungen (to/for the boy)
den Jungen (to/for the boys)


Accusative
den Jungen (the boy)
die Jungen (the boys)

Weak Feminine Nouns

Nouns with the endings -heit, -keit, -schaft, or -ung generally follow the weak feminine declension pattern:

Case
Singular
Plural




Nominative
die Freiheit (freedom)
die Freiheiten (freedoms)


Genitive
der Freiheit (of freedom)
der Freiheiten (of freedoms)


Dative
der Freiheit (to/for freedom)
den Freiheiten (to/for freedoms)


Accusative
die Freiheit (freedom)
die Freiheiten (freedoms)

Adjective Declensions

German adjectives also follow different declension patterns depending on their ending:

Weak Adjectives

Weak adjectives have the endings -e, -el, -en, -er, or -s and agree in case, number, and gender with the noun they modify:

Case
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine




Nominative
der schöne Mann (the handsome man)
das schöne Haus (the handsome house)
die schöne Frau (the handsome woman)


Genitive
des schönen Mannes (of the handsome man)
des schönen Hauses (of the handsome house)
der schönen Frau (of the handsome woman)


Dative
dem schönen Mann (to/for the handsome man)
dem schönen Haus (to/for the handsome house)
der schönen Frau (to/for the handsome woman)


Accusative
den schönen Mann (the handsome man)
das schöne Haus (the handsome house)
die schöne Frau (the handsome woman)

Mixed Adjectives

Mixed adjectives have endings that vary depending on the case, number, and gender of the noun:

Case
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine




Nominative
jung (young)
junges
junge


Genitive
jungen
jungen
jungen


Dative
jungen
jungen
jungen


Accusative
jungen
junges
junge

Strong Adjectives

Strong adjectives have endings that are the same in all cases for singular masculine and neuter nouns:

Case
Masculine
Neuter




Nominative
guter Wein (good wine)
gutes Bier (good beer)


Genitive
guten Weines (of good wine)
guten Bieres (of good beer)


Dative
gutem Wein (to/for good wine)
gutem Bier (to/for good beer)


Accusative
guten Wein (good wine)
gutes Bier (good beer)

Article Declensions

German articles also follow specific declension patterns to agree with the noun they precede.

Definite Articles

Case
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine




Nominative
der (the)
das (the)
die (the)


Genitive
des (of the)
des (of the)
der (of the)


Dative
dem (to/for the)
dem (to/for the)
der (to/for the)


Accusative
den (the)
das (the)
die (the)

Indefinite Articles

Case
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine




Nominative
ein (a/an)
ein (a/an)
eine (a/an)


Genitive
eines (of a/an)
eines (of a/an)
einer (of a/an)


Dative
einem (to/for a/an)
einem (to/for a/an)
einer (to/for a/an)


Accusative
einen (a/an)
ein (a/an)
eine (a/an)

Importance of Declensions in German

Mastering German declensions is essential for several reasons:
Grammatical Accuracy: Correct declensions ensure that nouns, adjectives, and articles agree in case, number, and gender, creating grammatically sound sentences.
Sentence Structure: Declensions determine the word order and sentence structure in German, ensuring clarity and comprehension.
Case Distinction: Declensions distinguish between the different grammatical cases, enabling precise expression

2025-02-25

---

Previous：German Word Formation

Next：Word Chain Japanese: A Linguistic Adventure