Weak Nouns (the n-Declension)
Most German nouns sit still in the singular: der Tisch is der Tisch whether it's the subject, the object, or anything else — only the article moves around it. But one closed class of masculine nouns breaks this rule. They add -(e)n in every case except the nominative singular. Grammarians call them weak masculine nouns (schwache Maskulina) or the n-Declension (n-Deklination). Learners call them annoying — and they are right, because these are exactly the words you use constantly: Student, Junge, Kollege, Mensch, Herr, Nachbar.
The Pattern: -(e)n Everywhere But the Subject
Take der Junge and der Student. As long as the word is the subject (nominative singular), it stays bare. The instant it becomes an object — accusative, dative, or genitive — it picks up -(e)n.
| Case | der Junge (sg.) | der Student (sg.) | Plural (Studenten) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der Junge | der Student | die Studenten |
| Accusative | den Jungen | den Studenten | die Studenten |
| Dative | dem Jungen | dem Studenten | den Studenten |
| Genitive | des Jungen | des Studenten | der Studenten |
Notice two things. First, ordinary masculine nouns mark the genitive singular with -s (des Tisches), but weak masculines mark it with -n instead (des Studenten, never des Students). Second, the -n also shows up in the accusative and dative singular, where normal masculine nouns show nothing at all.
Der Student hat eine Frage.
The student has a question.
Ich kenne den Studenten aus meinem Kurs.
I know the student from my course.
Die Professorin hilft dem Studenten bei der Arbeit.
The professor is helping the student with the paper.
Das ist das Buch des Studenten.
That is the student's book.
Why Does This Happen? The Logic Behind the -n
English speakers find this baffling because English content nouns never change for case at all. But the n-declension is a leftover of a very old, very regular system. These nouns historically belonged to a group whose stem ended in -n, and that -n surfaced in all the "oblique" (non-subject) cases. Modern German simplified its case endings so much that for most nouns they vanished — but this group held onto its -n. Rather than being a weird exception, the n-declension is a fossil of the older, more inflected German that the rest of the language has shed.
That history also explains who belongs to the class: it is dominated by animate (living) masculine beings, especially people and animals. The language kept the extra marking exactly where it was most communicatively useful — on the humans and creatures most likely to be doing things to one another. Note too that these nouns' plural matches the singular oblique form: die Jungen, die Studenten, die Menschen (an -en plural).
Who Belongs to the n-Declension?
There is no single catch-all rule, but these reliable groups cover the great majority.
1. Masculine nouns ending in -e that denote male people or animals. The largest and most predictable group.
| Nominative | Accusative / Dative / Genitive sg. |
|---|---|
| der Junge (the boy) | den / dem / des Jungen |
| der Kunde (the customer) | den / dem / des Kunden |
| der Kollege (the colleague) | den / dem / des Kollegen |
| der Löwe (the lion) | den / dem / des Löwen |
| der Neffe (the nephew) | den / dem / des Neffen |
Hast du den neuen Kollegen schon kennengelernt?
Have you met the new colleague yet?
Wir haben dem Kunden einen Rabatt angeboten.
We offered the customer a discount.
2. Internationalisms for people, ending in stressed -ent, -ant, -ist, -graph, -soph (and more): der Student, der Präsident, der Praktikant, der Polizist, der Journalist, der Fotograf, der Philosoph.
Der Polizist hat dem Touristen den Weg erklärt.
The policeman explained the way to the tourist.
3. A short fixed list that does not end in -e but still declines this way — these simply have to be memorized:
| Nominative | Accusative / Dative / Genitive sg. |
|---|---|
| der Mensch (the human/person) | den / dem / des Menschen |
| der Nachbar (the neighbor) | den / dem / des Nachbarn |
| der Bauer (the farmer) | den / dem / des Bauern |
| der Held (the hero) | den / dem / des Helden |
| der Herr (the gentleman) | den / dem / des Herrn (pl. die Herren) |
So ein Verhalten kann man keinem Menschen zumuten.
You can't expect such behavior of anyone.
Note on der Herr: it takes just -n in the singular (den Herrn, dem Herrn, des Herrn) but -en in the plural (die Herren). This is why a letter opens Sehr geehrter Herr Müller (fixed salutation), yet you say Ich habe Herrn Müller getroffen — Herr picks up its -n the moment it is an object.
Können Sie den Herrn an der Tür hereinbitten?
Could you ask the gentleman at the door to come in?
The der-Name Sub-Type: Weak Plus a Genitive -s
A tiny but high-frequency set almost follows the weak pattern but adds one extra wrinkle: the genitive takes a strong -s on top of the -n, giving the unique ending -ns. The flagship is der Name → des Namens.
| Case | der Name (sg.) | das Herz (sg.) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der Name | das Herz |
| Accusative | den Namen | das Herz |
| Dative | dem Namen | dem Herzen |
| Genitive | des Namens | des Herzens |
Members of the der Name group are mostly abstract masculine nouns: der Name, der Gedanke, der Glaube, der Wille, der Buchstabe, plus der Friede(n) and der Funke(n). Their genitives are des Namens, des Gedankens, des Willens, des Buchstabens, des Friedens. The single neuter member is das Herz — its accusative equals its nominative (das Herz, like all neuters), but its dative is dem Herzen and its genitive des Herzens.
Ich kann mir deinen Namen einfach nicht merken.
I just can't remember your name.
Allein der Gedanke daran macht mich nervös.
Just the thought of it makes me nervous.
Das liegt mir sehr am Herzen.
That matters a great deal to me. (literally: it lies very much at my heart)
Common Mistakes
❌ Ich sehe der Student.
Incorrect — using the nominative form as a direct object.
✅ Ich sehe den Studenten.
I see the student.
This is the classic n-declension error. Sehen takes an accusative object, so both the article (der → den) and the noun (Student → Studenten) must change. English speakers fix the article and forget the noun.
❌ Das ist das Auto des Nachbars.
Incorrect — using the regular genitive -s on a weak masculine noun.
✅ Das ist das Auto des Nachbarn.
That is the neighbor's car.
Weak masculines never take genitive -s. The genitive marker for this class is -n: des Nachbarn.
❌ Ich habe mit ein Kollege gesprochen.
Incorrect — no dative -n, and wrong article form.
✅ Ich habe mit einem Kollegen gesprochen.
I spoke with a colleague.
Mit triggers the dative; the dative singular of a weak masculine ends in -en. The pattern applies after ein- words too, not just after der.
❌ die Bedeutung des Namen
Incorrect — missing the genitive -s on a der-Name noun.
✅ die Bedeutung des Namens
the meaning of the name
Name is not Student. The der-Name sub-type needs the extra -s in the genitive: des Namens.
Key Takeaways
- Weak masculine (n-declension) nouns add -(e)n in every case except the nominative singular, including the accusative and dative.
- Their genitive singular ends in -n (des Studenten), not the usual -s; their plural also ends in -en.
- Core members: masculine -e nouns for people/animals (der Junge, der Kunde, der Löwe), people-internationalisms in -ent/-ant/-ist/-graph (der Student, der Polizist), and a fixed list (der Mensch, der Herr, der Nachbar, der Bauer, der Held).
- der Herr takes -n in the singular, -en in the plural.
- The der Name sub-type adds a genitive -s on top of the -n: des Namens, des Gedankens, des Herzens.
- The number-one error is leaving the noun bare when it's an object: ich sehe den Studenten, never ich sehe der Student.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- How Nouns Themselves Change for CaseB1 — German marks most case information on the article — but the noun itself changes too, in exactly three predictable spots: the genitive -(e)s, the dative plural -n, and the n-declension.
- The -(e)n PluralA2 — The -(e)n plural dominates feminine nouns (about 90% take it) and the weak masculine n-nouns — it never takes an umlaut, and gender prediction by ending tells you in advance when it applies.
- Gender of Persons and ProfessionsA2 — How natural gender maps onto grammatical gender for people, and how the productive suffix -in derives feminine job titles like Lehrerin, Ärztin, and Köchin.
- The Accusative CaseA1 — The accusative marks the direct object — and because only masculine articles visibly change, masculine 'den/einen' is the system's single biggest stumbling block.
- The Dative CaseA2 — What the dative case is, how its articles and pronouns change, and how to use it for the indirect object.
- The Genitive CaseB1 — How German marks possession and relation with the genitive — its article forms, the -(e)s ending on masculine and neuter nouns, and why it follows the noun it modifies.