German Noun Declension Directory
Explore 595 essential German nouns with der die das gender badges, singular & plural forms, N-Deklination highlights, de-DE pronunciation audio, and complete Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive tables.
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Strong Declension (Starke Deklination)
Standard pattern for most masculine (der) and neuter (das) nouns: genitive singular ends in -s or -es.
Feminine Declension (Weibliche Deklination)
All feminine (die) nouns stay completely unchanged in the singular across Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive.
N-Declension / Weak (Schwache Deklination)
Animate and classical masculine nouns ending in -e, -ent, -ant, -ist, -oge, plus key nouns like Herr and Mensch.
Mixed Declension (Gemischte Deklination)
Small group of nouns combining weak -(e)n endings with strong genitive -ns (e.g. der Name, der Gedanke, das Herz).
Related Grammar Guides & Interactive Tools
German Noun Declension FAQs
How does German noun declension work across the four cases?
In German, most case marking appears on the article or determiner (der, den, dem, des) rather than the noun itself. Nouns still change in specific patterns: strong masculine and neuter nouns add -(e)s in the Genitive singular, N-Declension masculine nouns add -(e)n in Accusative, Dative, and Genitive singular, and almost all plurals add -n in the Dative plural.
What is N-Deklination (weak masculine nouns)?
N-Deklination applies to a group of masculine (der) nouns—mostly animate people and animals such as der Student, der Herr, der Kollege, der Mensch, and der Junge—that take -n or -en in every singular case other than the Nominative, as well as in the plural.
When do German plural nouns take an extra -n in the Dative?
In the Dative plural (e.g. mit den Kindern), a German noun adds -n to its plural form unless the plural already ends in -n (die Frauen → den Frauen) or -s (die Autos → den Autos).
Should I memorize the article der, die, or das with every German noun?
Yes. While suffixes such as -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft (die), -chen, -lein, mostly -ment (das, but der Moment), and -ismus, -ling (der) reliably predict many nouns, treating the article and plural form as one unit prevents case errors later.