German N-Deklination: weak nouns with examples

Why the noun changes too

When you learned the cases, you may have focused on the article. With weak masculine nouns, the noun changes as well: Der Student lernt. (“The student is studying”) versus Ich kenne den Studenten. (“I know the student”).

This pattern is called N-Deklination. In the singular, the noun adds -(e)n in Akkusativ, Dativ and Genitiv; the Nominativ keeps the basic form.

The forms in the table are singular. Seeing Studenten doesn’t automatically mean “students”: the article and the sentence let you tell number and case apart.

Groups worth recognising

Many weak masculine nouns refer to people or living beings. Common ones include:

• Masculine nouns in -e, such as der Junge, der Kunde, der Kollege.
• People with endings like -ent, -ant, -ist, -at, for example der Student, der Lieferant, der Tourist, der Diplomat.
• Words best memorised individually, such as der Mensch and der Herr.

Endings are clues, not permission to add -n to any noun. Der Vater doesn’t follow this pattern: Ich sehe den Vater. (“I see the father”). Save each word with a form that shows its declension: der Kunde – den Kunden.

Herr and the mixed forms

Herr has Herrn in the marked singular cases, but Herren as its plural: Ich spreche mit dem Herrn. (“I’m talking to the gentleman”) versus Ich spreche mit den Herren. (“I’m talking to the gentlemen”).

Some similar nouns follow a mixed pattern, with -ns in the Genitiv singular. Don’t force them into the Student table: for example, der Buchstabe → des Buchstabens (“the letter” of the alphabet). Check the Genitiv form and the plural when you learn these words.

Tell three different endings apart

In mit dem freundlichen Kollegen (“with the friendly colleague”), dem marks Dativ, freundlichen has an adjective ending and Kollegen has the weak-noun ending. The case links these changes, but they belong to different words.

Don’t confuse the singular N-Deklination with the Dativ plural -n of other nouns either: mit den Kindern (“with the children”). Kind is neuter and that doesn’t make it a weak masculine noun.

A short review routine

Describe a person in four sentences: subject, object, a phrase with mit and possession with the Genitiv. Underline the article first and then the noun. This guide belongs to the Dilelang B2 block; common words may appear earlier in other courses. If the cases are still hard, go back to Akkusativ and Dativ.

Exercises with answers

Answer before opening the solutions. Each answer explains the reason for the form:

1. Ich sehe den ___. (Junge, singular).
2. Wir helfen dem ___. (Student, singular).
3. Das ist die Tasche des ___. (Kollege, singular).
4. Der ___ wartet draußen. (Kunde, singular).
5. Ich spreche mit dem ___. (Herr, singular).
6. Wir besuchen den ___. (Vater, singular).

Show answers and explanations

1. Jungen: Akkusativ singular of a weak masculine noun.
2. Studenten: Dativ singular; -en is added.
3. Kollegen: weak Genitiv singular, with no -s added.
4. Kunde: Nominativ singular; it keeps the basic form.
5. Herrn: marked singular form; Herren is the plural.
6. Vater: not part of this class; no -n is added.