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Nouns:
the n-declension
Man sieht nur mit dem Herzen gut - das Wesentliche ist für die Augen unsichtbar"
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in "The little Prince"
Das Herz is a special case that you must remember:
It is the only noun in the n-declension that is not masculine!
All other nouns in the n-declension are masculine .
Except in the nominative singular, their ending is always - (e)n .
Singular or plural?
If you have the accusative, dative and genitive case, you can only tell this by the declined article (der, dem, den, des).
Examples:
Nouns of the n-declension
are also called:
weak nouns
-
"Kennen Sie den Namen des Zeugen?"
-
"Ja, ich kenne die Namen aller Zeugen!"
-
"Haben Sie mit dem Komplizen gesprochen?"
-
"Ja, ich habe sogar mit beiden Komplizen gesprochen!"
In the examples 1 and 3 the noun is in the singular. You can only tell this from the form of the article.
-
den Namen = Akkusativ Singular
-
des Zeugen = Genitiv Singular
-
dem Komplizen = Dativ Singular
In the examples 2 and 4 the nouns are in the plural. Again, this can only be told by the article.
-
die Namen = Akkusativ Plural
-
aller Zeugen = Genitiv Plural
-
beiden Komplizen = Dativ Plural
How do you recognize nouns belonging to the n-declension?
Masculine nouns that end in -e :
Persons:
der Bote, der Experte, der Junge, der Kollege, der Kunde, der Neffe, der Zeuge, ...
Nationalities:
der Brite, der Bulgare, der Chinese, der Däne, der Finne, der Franzose, der Grieche, der Türke, ...
Animals:
der Affe, der Hase, der Löwe, der Rabe, der Schimpanse, ...
some abstract nouns:
der Friede, der Name, der Buchstabe
Nouns coming from Latin or Greek ,
follow the n-declension if they have these endings:
einige abstrakte Nomen:
der Buchstabe, der Friede, der Name
-and, -ant, -ent (usually persons)
der Absolvent, der Agent, der Assistent, der Demonstrant, der Diamant, der Dirigent, der Doktorand, der Elefant, der Emigrant, der Praktikant, der Konsonant, der Konsument, der Lieferant, der Musikant, der Präsident, der Produzent, der Student
Beispiel: der Student + -en = den Studenten
-ad, -at, -oge (usually professions)
der Automat, der Biologe, der Bürokrat, der Demokrat, der Diplomat, der Gynäkologe, der Kamerad, der Kandidat, der Pädagoge, der Philologe, der Soldat, der Soziologe
Beispiel: der Automat + -en = den Automaten, der Biologe + -n = den Biologen
-ist (persons, professions)
der Autist, der Christ, der Egoist, der Idealist, der Journalist, der Kapitalist, der Polizist, der Sozialist, der Spezialist, der Terrorist, der Tourist
Beispiel: der Idealist + -en = den Idealisten
-nom (professions)
der Astronom, der Ökonom ...
Beispiel: der Astronom + -en, den Astronomen
Exceptions: nouns without a specific ending
Some n-declension nouns do not have a specific ending .
You just have to learn them.
der Architekt, der Bär, der Bauer, der Fotograf, der Fürst, der Graf, der Herr, der Held, der Katholik, der Mensch, der Monarch, der Philosoph, der Satellit, der Prinz, der Rebell, der Soldat...
Beispiel:
Heute treffen wir uns mit Herrn Meier, dem Architekten. Ich halte ihn für einen netten Menschen.
Forms of the n-declension
We distinguish:
Nouns ending in -e and other nouns:
Nouns ending in -e receive -n in all cases except the nominative singular
all other nouns receive an -en in all cases except the nominative singular
Put simply: all nouns of the n-declension end in - (e)n
- just not in the nominative singular
Exceptions to this rule:
These two nouns only end in -n :
der Nachbar - den Nachbarn
Ich habe den neuen Nachbarn getroffen.
der Bauer - den Bauern
Hast du die Eier direkt beim Bauern gekauft?
These nouns ending in -e have an additional -s in the genitive:
Two very special nouns:
-
'der Herr' ist ein Wort, das man sehr oft braucht. Es hat im Singular und im Plural verschiedene Formen.
-
Und: Du weißt bereits, dass 'das Herz' eine Ausnahme ist.
Hier findest du alle Formen:
The address on the envelope is as follows:
The n-declension in spoken language
The singular endings are often omitted in spoken language today.
Nominativ: Der Student wohnt in Heidelberg. (no change)
Akkusativ: Ich habe einen Student getroffen.
Dativ: Ich habe mit dem Student in der Mensa gegessen.
Genitiv: who omits the n-declension in colloquial language, will usually also replace the genitive with the the preposition von (+ dative)
However, in better-level language and in written language, its use is still important - especially at a higher language level (from B1).
The n-declension is also often found in idioms and proverbs.
Good to know:
There is only a relatively small number of nouns that make up the n-declension.
Some belong to the basic vocabulary and the majority is "international", so similar in many other languages.
Therefore, these words are easy to learn - preferably always together with the accusative singular - as it stands here. The rules above help with this.
All important words of the n-declension:
Get the download now:
PDF (6 pages) with an overview of the most important words of the n-declension:
Nouns ending in -e :
the monkey, the monkey
the messenger, the messenger
the boy, the boy
the bull den cops
the fellow, the fellow
the dragon, the dragon
the heir, the heir
the expert, the expert
the hawk, the hawk
the finch, the finch
the husband, the husband
the comrade, the comrade
the hare, the hare
the shepherd, the shepherd
the inmate, the inmate
the Jew, the Jew
the boy, the boy
the bachelor, the bachelor
the boy, the boy
the colleague, the colleague
the accomplice, the accomplice
the coyote, the feces
the customer, the customer
the layman, the layman
the pilot, the pilot
the lion, the lion
the offspring, the offspring
the nephew, the nephew
the ox, the ox
the godfather, the godfather
the raven, the raven
the giant, the giant
the chimpanzee, the chimpanzee
the lay judge, the lay judge
the slave, the slave
the witness, the witness
Nationality on -e :
the Afghan, the Afghans
the Basque, the Basque
the British, the British
the Bulgarian, the Bulgarian
the Burmese, the Burmese
the Chinese, Chinese
the Dane, the Danes
the Finn, the Finn
the French, the French
the Greek, the Greek
the Irishman, the Irishman
the Croat, the Croat
the Kurd, the Kurds
the Pole, the Poles
the Portuguese, the Portuguese
the Romanian, the Romanian
the Scot, the Scot
the Turk, the Turks
Nouns in -and, -ant, -ent :
the graduate, the graduate
the agent, the agent
the assistant, the assistant
the protester, the protesters
the diamond, the diamond
the conductor, the conductor
the graduate student, the graduate student
the elephant, the elephant
the emigrant, the emigrant
the intern, the intern
the consonant, the consonant
the consumer, the consumer
the supplier, the supplier
the musician, the musician
the president, the president
the producer, the producer
the quotient, the quotient
the student, the student
noun on -is :
the autistic, the autistic
the Christian, the Christian
the egoist, the egoist
the idealist, idealist
the journalist, the journalist
the capitalist, the capitalist
the communist, the communists
the cop, the cop
the socialist, the socialist
the specialist, the specialist
the terrorist, the terrorist
the tourist, the tourist
the utopian, the utopian
noun to -ad, -at, -oge
the machine, the machine
the biologist, the biologist
the bureaucrat, the bureaucrat
the democrat, the democrat
the diplomat, the diplomat
the gynecologist, the gynecologist
the comrade, the comrade
the candidate, the candidate
the educator, the educator
the philologist, the philologist
the psychologist, the psychologist
the soldier, the soldier
the sociologist, the sociologist
Aside from that:
the athlete, the athlete
the architect, the architect
the bear, the bear
the bandit, the bandit
the farmer, the farmer
the surgeon, the surgeon
the photographer, the photographer
the prince, the prince
the count, the count
the hero, the hero
the Lord, the Lord (Pl. the Lords)
the Catholic, the Catholics
man, man
the monarch, the monarch
the neighbor, the neighbor
the fool, the fool
the philosopher, the philosopher
the prince, the prince
the rebel, the rebel
the seismograph, the seismograph
the therapist, the therapist
the vagabond, the vagabond
Nouns with an additional -s in the genitive singular
the letter, the letter, the letter
the thought, the thought, the thought
the name, the name, the name
the peace (s), the peace, the peace
the spark, the spark, the spark
the will, the will, the will
the heart, the heart (Akk), the heart (Dat), the heart (Gen)
the hearts (pl.)
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