German Weak Nouns (n-Declension): The Hidden Pattern That Changes Certain Masculine Nouns

German learners at B1 level often encounter a confusing pattern: some masculine nouns don't behave like regular nouns. Instead of staying the same and just changing the article, they add -en (or -n) in accusative, dative, and genitive cases — and in the plural. This is called n-Declension or the weak masculine paradigm. Search 'German n-declension' or 'German weak nouns' and you'll find it's actually a manageable list with clear patterns. Once you know which nouns are weak, the confusion disappears.

Which nouns are weak (n-declension) in German

The main categories of weak masculine nouns: 1) Masculine nouns ending in -e referring to living beings: der Junge (boy → dem Jungen), der Hase (hare), der Löwe (lion), der Affe (monkey), der Kollege (colleague), der Franzose (Frenchman). 2) Masculine nouns of non-German origin ending in -and, -ant, -ent, -ist, -at, -nom, -oge, -soph: der Student (→ dem Studenten), der Journalist, der Diplomat, der Kandidat, der Astronom, der Biologe, der Philosoph. 3) A small group of irregular weak nouns: der Herr (→ Herrn, Herrn, Herrns), der Mensch (→ dem Menschen), der Nachbar (→ dem Nachbarn).

How weak nouns decline in all four cases

Pattern: Nominative singular: no ending (der Student). All other cases singular (accusative, dative, genitive): -(e)n (den Studenten, dem Studenten, des Studenten). Plural all cases: -(e)n (die Studenten, den Studenten, der Studenten, die Studenten — accusative/nominative same). Example full declension for der Mensch: Nom: der Mensch, Akk: den Menschen, Dat: dem Menschen, Gen: des Menschen. Plural: die Menschen. The -en ending applies in every case except nominative singular. A helpful check: if you see a masculine noun ending in -en (not the verb), it's likely a weak noun in an oblique case.

The special case of der Herr

Der Herr (Mr./Lord/gentleman) has a unique declension pattern even among weak nouns. Singular: Nom: der Herr, Akk: den Herrn, Dat: dem Herrn, Gen: des Herrn. Plural: die Herren (all cases: die/den/der Herren). Note: the singular uses -n (not -en) and the genitive singular is des Herrn (not des Herrens). You'll see this constantly in formal German: Sehr geehrter Herr Müller (nominative — no ending), Ich schreibe an Herrn Müller (accusative/dative — Herrn). Getting Herrn right in formal German correspondence immediately marks you as a careful, educated German writer.

Weak nouns in real German text and speech

Weak nouns appear constantly in formal and written German. Der Student, der Journalist, der Präsident, der Kandidat, der Soziologe — these are words that appear daily in German news, German academic writing, and German professional communication. German learners who read German newspapers and watch German news programmes encounter weak noun declension constantly. The most common weak nouns (der Mensch, der Kollege, der Student, der Journalist, der Herr) are worth memorising explicitly. For all other weak nouns, recognising the -e ending or -ent/-ist/-at suffix tells you the noun is weak. Real German content — particularly German news and documentaries — provides the exposure needed to make weak noun declension intuitive.