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Declension of Nouns
Weak Declension | Strong Declension | Mixed Declension | Four Golden Rules | Oddments | The E Rule | Essential Parts of a Noun
This sections focuses on the declension of the nouns in German. Each one varies with the nouns themselves. There are three groups for which you can divide the declension of nouns - weak, strong, and mixed:
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Weak Declension:
adds an -n or -en to the noun:
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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der Student
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die Studenten
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Acc.
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den Studenten
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die Studenten
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Gen.
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des Studenten
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der Studenten
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Dat.
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dem Studenten
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den Studenten
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Other nouns in this declension include: der Bayer (Bavarian), der Christ (Christian), der Nerv (nerve), der Neffe (nephew), and der Mensch (human being) among others.
Feminine nouns may also be included in this grouping with the exception that no feminine nouns change their singular form:
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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die Blume
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die Blumen
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Acc.
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die Blume
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die Blumen
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Gen.
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der Blume
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der Blumen
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Dat.
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der Blume
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den Blumen
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No neuter nouns are found in this grouping.
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Strong Declension:
adds -(e)s to the genitive except with feminine nouns. This grouping may be broken up into more detailed groups:
nouns ending with -el, -en, and -er make no ending changes, in singular or plural, though they may or may not add an umlaut:
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Singular
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Plural
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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der Onkel
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die Onkel
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der Vater
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die Väter
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Acc.
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den Onkel
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die Onkel
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den Vater
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die Väter
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Gen.
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des Onkels
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der Onkel
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des Vaters
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der Väter
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Dat.
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dem Onkel
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den Onkeln
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dem Vater
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den Vätern
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Nouns without umlaut include: das Fenster (window), der Kuchen (cake), das Männlein (little man), der Wagen (car), das Gemüse (vegetable)
Nouns with umlaut include: der Apfel (apple), der Bruder (brother), die Tochter (daughter), das Kloster (monestery, convent), der Ofen (oven)
some nouns add an -e to form the plural with or without an umlaut, all the words in this grouping are monosyllables:
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Singular
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Plural
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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der Tag
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die Tage
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der Sohn
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die Söhne
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Acc.
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den Tag
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die Tage
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den Sohn
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die Söhne
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Gen.
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des Tag(e)s
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der Tage
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des Sohn(e)s
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der Söhne
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Dat.
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dem Tag
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den Tagen
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dem Sohn
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den Söhnen
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Nouns without umlaut include: der Tisch (table), der Arm (arm), das Bein (leg), der Film (film), das Schuh (shoe)
Nouns with umlaut include: die Angst (fear), der Artzt (doctor), die Hand (hand), die Kuh (cow), der Plan (plan)
other nouns add an -er to form the plural with or without an umlaut:
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Singular
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Plural
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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das Bild
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die Bilder
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der Wald
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die Wälder
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Acc.
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das Bild
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die Bilder
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den Wald
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die Wälder
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Gen.
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des Bild(e)s
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der Bilder
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des Wald(e)s
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der Wälder
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Dat.
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dem Bild
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den Bildern
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dem Wald
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den Wäldern
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Nouns without umlaut include: das Brett (plank), das Ei (egg), der Geist (spirit), das Licht (light), das Kind (child)
Nouns with umlaut include: das Bad (bath), das Haus (house), der Mann (man, husband), der Irrtum (error), das Land (country)
two oddments are feminine nouns with the suffix -in add -nen to form the plural, also some foreign nouns form their plural by adding -s, these foreign words are the only nouns not ending their dative plural with -n:
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Singular
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Plural
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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die Löwin
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die Löwinnen
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das Hotel
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die Hotels
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Acc.
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die Löwin
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die Löwinnen
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das Hotel
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die Hotels
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Gen.
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der Löwin
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der Löwinnen
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des Hotels
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der Hotels
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Dat.
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der Löwin
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den Löwinnen
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dem Hotel
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den Hotels
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Feminine nouns with the -in suffix: die Ärztin (woman doctor), die Engländerin (Englishwoman), die Lehrerin (schoolmistress, female teacher), die Studentin (female student), die Füchsin (vixen)
Foreign words withh -s plurals: das Auto (automobile), der Chef (boss), der Tee (tea), das Büro (office), das Radio (radio)
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Mixed Declension
has strong genitive singular ending, (e)s, and weak plural ending, -n or -en:
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Singular
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Plural
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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der Schmerz
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die Schmerzen
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der Name
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die Namen
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Acc.
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den Schmerz
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die Schmerzen
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den Namen
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die Namen
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Gen.
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des Schmerzes
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der Schmerzen
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des Namens
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der Namen
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Dat.
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dem Schmerz
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den Schmerzen
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dem Namen
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den Namen
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Genitive in -(e)s: das Auge (eye), das Bett (bed), der Direktor (director), der Vetter (male cousin), das Hemd (shirt)
Genitive in -ens: der Buchstabe (letter of the alphabet), der Funke (spark), das Herz (heart), der Wille (will), der Gedamle (thought)
Many of these -ens nouns may be found with an -n on the nominative singular.
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There are four golden rules to the declension of nouns:
1. umlauts can only be added to a, o, and u, never e or i.
2. feminine nouns never add endings in the singular.
3. except for -s plurals all German plurals in the dative case end with -n.
4. in the plural nominative, accusative and genitive forms all remain the same.
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Oddments:
some words only occuring in the singular: das Blut (blood), das Gold (gold), das Mehl (flour), das Obst (fruit in general), das Fleisch (meat)
some words only occuring in the plural: die Eltern (parents), die Leute (people), die Ferien (holidays), die Geschwister (siblings, brothers and sisters)
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Singular
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Plural
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Singular
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Plural
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Nom.
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der Herr
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die Herren
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der Käse
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die Käse
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Acc.
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den Herrn
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die Herren
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den Käse
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die Käse
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Gen.
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des Herrn
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der Herren
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des Käses
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der Käse
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Dat.
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dem Herrn
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den Herren
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dem Käse
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den Käsen
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| Leave out the e in -(e)s unless the noun ends with -s, -sch, -z. Otherwise use it as much as possible.
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| The most essential parts of the declension of a noun are the nominative singular, genitive singular and nominative plural. When you look up Stadt in a dictionary it should say: Stadt f (-;-¨e). This indicates that it is feminine, makes no changes in the genitive singular, and has the nominative plural Städte.
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