Nomen-Deklination und N-Deklination
In German, nouns are divided into two main groups when declining by case (Kasus):
- Weak nouns (N-Deklination) – mainly masculine nouns with a special declension rule.
- Strong nouns – includes most other nouns with more common declension patterns.
1. The group of weak nouns (N-Deklination)
🔹 What is the N-Deklination rule?
N-Deklination refers to weak nouns (schwache Nomen), mainly masculine nouns that follow a special declension rule.
These nouns remain unchanged in the nominative, but add "-n" or "-en" in the genitive, dative, and accusative.
Example:
-
Nominative: Der Student lernt Deutsch.
(The student is learning German.) -
Accusative: Ich sehe den Studenten.
(I see the student.) -
Dative: Ich gebe dem Studenten ein Buch.
(I give the student a book.) -
Genitive: Das Buch des Studenten ist interessant.
(The student’s book is interesting.)
🔹 How to recognize weak nouns
📌 Most masculine nouns ending in -e or certain suffixes belong to the N-Deklination group.
Clue 1: All masculine nouns ending in -e are weak nouns
Masculine nouns ending in "-e" usually belong to the weak noun group.
Example:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der Junge (the boy) | die Jungen |
| Accusative | den Jungen | die Jungen |
| Dative | dem Jungen | den Jungen |
| Genitive | des Jungen | der Jungen |
Clue 2: Masculine nouns ending in -af, -ant, -at, -ent, -ist are weak nouns
Masculine nouns with these suffixes also belong to N-Deklination.
Example:
| Case | der Polizist (policeman) | der Präsident (president) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der Polizist | der Präsident |
| Accusative | den Polizisten | den Präsidenten |
| Dative | dem Polizisten | dem Präsidenten |
| Genitive | des Polizisten | des Präsidenten |
Note:
These nouns all add "-en" in genitive, dative, and accusative.
🔹 Some exceptions among weak nouns
Some nouns don’t fully follow the rule but still belong to N-Deklination.
Example:
| Noun | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| der Name (name) | der Name | den Namen | dem Namen | des Namens |
| der Friede (peace) | der Friede | den Frieden | dem Frieden | des Friedens |
Note:
Some nouns like "der Name", "der Friede" add "-ns" in the genitive instead of just "-en".
2. The group of strong nouns (Starke Deklination)
🔹 How to recognize strong nouns
Strong nouns include:
- All masculine nouns not showing weak noun clues.
- All feminine nouns.
- All neuter nouns except "das Herz" (which has a special declension).
🔹 Declension rules for strong nouns
Rule 1: Masculine & neuter singular nouns in genitive → add "-s" or "-es"
In the genitive, strong masculine and neuter nouns usually add "-s" or "-es".
Example:
| Noun | Nominative | Genitive |
|---|---|---|
| der Tisch (the table) | der Tisch | des Tisches |
| das Auto (the car) | das Auto | des Autos |
Note:
- Nouns ending in a consonant usually add "-es".
- Nouns ending in a vowel usually add "-s".
Rule 2: Plural nouns in dative always add "-n"
In the dative plural, all strong nouns add "-n" unless they already end in "-s" or "-n".
Example:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die Blume (the flower) | die Blumen |
| Dative | der Blume | den Blumen |
Note:
- This rule applies to all strong nouns in the plural.
- Nouns that already end in "-n" or "-s" do not add an extra ending.
🎯 3. Summary of key points
- Weak nouns (N-Deklination) are mainly masculine nouns ending in "-e", "-af", "-ant", "-at", "-ent", "-ist".
- Weak nouns add "-en" in genitive, dative, and accusative.
- Strong nouns include all feminine nouns, most masculine and neuter nouns.
- Strong masculine & neuter nouns add "-s" or "-es" in genitive.
- Plural nouns always add "-n" in dative, unless they already end in "-s" or "-n".