N-Deklination (Complete Guide)

In this article I will show you everything you have to know about the N-Deklination. It’s much easier than most learners of German think. If you memorize a handful of suffixes (endings) as well as 5-10 additional nouns you’re good to go!

Deklination (declension) basically means that you have to change the endings of articles, adjectives and (to a much lesser degree) also nouns in German. In most instances the noun does not change at all.

If you’re looking for a complete list of N-Deklination nouns please refer my other article on the topic.

Normal declension vs. N-Deklination

Let’s first of all compare a “normal” noun (der Mann – man) to a noun that has to be declined according to the N-Deklination (der Kunde – customer):

 SingularPlural
Nominativder Manndie Männer
Akkusativden Manndie Männer
Dativdem Mannden Männern
Genitivdes Mannesder Männer
“normal” noun
 SingularPlural
Nominativder Kundedie Kunden
Akkusativden Kundendie Kunden
Dativdem Kundenden Kunden
Genitivdes Kundender Kunden
N-Deklination noun

The noun der Mann only changes in two cases: Genitiv singular where you add “(e)s” and Dative plural where we have to add “n”.

The N-Deklination noun der Kunde, however, changes for every singly form except for the first one – the nominative singular. In every other form (Akkusativ, Dativ, Genitiv in the singular and for all 4 cases in the plural) we need to add an “n”. You can see now where the N-Deklination got its name from. 🙂

Der Kunde ist sehr sympathisch. (Nominativ)
Ich kenne den Kunden seit langer Zeit. (Akkusativ)
Ich helfe dem Kunden gern. (Dativ)
Die Frau des Kunden ist auch sehr nett. (Genitiv)

Die Kunden haben gestern viel gekauft. (Nominativ Plural)
Ich mag die Kunden wirklich gern. (Akkusativ Plural)
Ich habe den Kunden viele Produke verkauft. (Dativ Plural)
Ich konnte alle Wünsche der Kunden erfüllen. (Genitiv Plural)

What nouns belong to the N-Deklination?

The nouns that are declined according to the N-Deklination …

  • are mostly people and animals,
  • mostly end in -e, -ist*, -ent*, -ant* -and*, -at* -graf*, -ot*, -ad*, -it* and -et* and
  • a few other masculine nouns: der Herr, der Mensch, der Nachbar, der Bauer, der Bär, der Prinz, der Held, das Herz.
  • These nouns are all masculine (exception: das Herz).

*Please note that we have to add “en” instead of just the “n” when the noun ends in “f”, “t” or “d”.

Now let’s take a look at some examples before I show you some specific cases and exceptions. Since (especially for the first three groups) there are a lot of nouns, I’ve included only the most important ones in this article. If you’re looking for a complete list of N-Deklination nouns please refer my other article on the topic.

Most important N-Deklination nouns that end in “e”

der Affemonkey
der BriteBriton
der Buchstabe*letter (i.e. a, b, c…)
der BulgareBulgarian
der ChineseChinese
der DäneDane
der Experteexpert
der FranzoseFrench
der Gedanke*thought
der GriecheGreek
der Haserabbit
der Jungeboy
der Kollegecolleague
der Kundeclient
der Löwelion
der Name*name
der PolePole
der PortugiesePortuguese
der Willewill

*See the two subchapters on the exceptions below regarding these nouns.

Most important N-Deklination nouns that end in “ist”

der Egoistegoist
der Journalistjournalist
der Polizistpoliceman
der Terroristterrorist
der Touristtourist

Most important N-Deklination nouns that end in “ent”

der Agentagent
der Assistentassistant
der Konsumentconsumer
der Studentstudent

Most important N-Deklination nouns that end in “ant” / “and”

der Demonstrantdemonstrator
der DoktorandPhD student
der Konsonantconsonant
der Passantpasser-by
der Praktikanttrainee, intern

Most important N-Deklination nouns that end in “at” / “ad”

der Automat(vending) machine
der Kameradcomrade
der Kandidatcandidate
der Soldatsoldier

Most important N-Deklination nouns that end in “et, “it, “graf”, “ot” and “soph”

der Athletathlete
der Banditoutlaw
der Fotografphotographer
der Idiot idiot
der Kometcomet
der Patriotpatriot
der Philosophphilosopher

Most important other N-Deklination nouns

der Bauerfarmer
der Bärbear
der Heldhero
der Herr*Mr.; gentleman
das Herz*heart
der Menschhuman
der Nachbarneighbour
der Prinzprince

*See next to subchapters on the exceptions regarding these nouns.

Exceptions: nouns that differ from the normal N-Deklination endings

Exceptions 1: das Herz, der Buchstabe, der Gedanke, der Name

Das Herz is the only N-Deklination noun that is not masculine. Together with the nouns der Buchstabe, der Gedanke, der Name, it gets an extra “s” for the genitive case.

 SingularPlural
Nominativder Kundedie Kunden
Akkusativden Kundendie Kunden
Dativdem Kundenden Kunden
Genitivdes Kundender Kunden
normal N-Deklination noun
 SingularPlural
Nominativder Namedie Namen
Akkusativden Namendie Namen
Dativdem Namenden Namen
Genitivdes Namens (!)der Namen
N-Deklination +s in the genitive singular

Exception 2: der Herr, die Herren

The noun “der Herr” gets an extra “e” in its plural forms.

 SingularPlural
Nominativder Manndie Männer
Akkusativden Manndie Männer
Dativdem Mannden Männern
Genitivdes Mannesder Männer
“normal” noun
 SingularPlural
Nominativder Herrdie Herren
Akkusativden Herrndie Herren
Dativdem Herrnden Herren
Genitivdes Herrnder Herren
exception: der Herr (plural “e”)

If you’re looking for a complete list of N-Deklination nouns please refer my other article on the topic.

Exercises

Test your knowledge with exercises on this topic!

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