I. Theory
While most singular nouns in German do not change form when appearing in different cases, there is a group of masculine nouns that do take an -(e)n ending when they are not in the nominative case. This group is known as “weak nouns”.| Die Regierung hilft dem Bauern. (here: dative, nominative: Bauer) The government helps the farmer. Ich habe in Indien einen Elefanten geritten. (here: accusative, nominative: Elephant) I rode an elephant in India. Sie hat seinen Namen vergessen. (here: accusative, nominative: Name) She has forgotten his name. |
II. Types of Weak Nouns
As not all masculine nouns decline, it is best to memorize the specific types of nouns that do. Below we see different categories of masculine nouns that are considered weak:a. Masculine nouns with an -e ending. (Junge, Name, Kunde, Erbe, Löwe)
| Wir rufen den Kunden an. We are calling the client. Der Tierpfleger füttert den Löwen drei Mal am Tag. The zookeeper feeds the lion three times a day. Ich schreibe meinem Kollegen. I am writing to my colleague. |
b. Foreign nouns with the following suffixes: -ant, -arch, -ast, -ege, -ent, -ist, -oge, -om, -oph, -ot. (Psychologe, Polizist, Präsident, Astronom, Pilot, Buddhist)
| Können Sie einen guten Psychologen empfehlen? Can you recommend a good psychologist? Wir sagten dem Polizisten, wo wir die Tasche gefunden hatten. We told the police officer where we had found the bag. Der Professor gab dem Studenten eine gute Note. The professor gave the student a good grade. |
c. Male individuals and animals: (Mensch, Narr, Herr, Knabe, Riese, Experte)
| Der Held der Geschichte muss einen Riesen erschlagen. The hero of the story must slay a giant. Der König sieht dem schwertjonglierenden Narren zu. The king watches the sword-juggling jester. Das Museum hat einen neuen Experten eingestellt. The museum has hired a new expert. |
III. Irregularities
There are a few masculine singular nouns that have exceptions to the -(e)n rule:a. Nouns such as Name, Gedanke, Glaube, and Wille take a genitive -s
| nom. | Glaube |
| acc. | Glauben |
| dat. | Glauben |
| gen. | Glaubens |
b. Herr takes only an -n in the singular, but an -en in the plural.
| Singular | Plural | |
| nom. | Herr | Herren |
| acc. | Herrn | Herren |
| dat. | Herrn | Herren |
| gen. | Herrn | Herren |