Adjective Declension

Overview

German adjectives placed before a noun must take an ending that reflects the article type, case, and gender/number. Two main declension patterns cover most situations:

• Weak declension — after definite articles (der, die, das) and der-words (dieser, jeder, welcher)
• Mixed declension — after indefinite articles (ein, kein) and possessives (mein, dein, sein...)

The core principle: someone must signal gender. If the article already shows it clearly, the adjective takes a minimal ending. If the article is ambiguous (like "ein"), the adjective compensates.

Der alte Mann liest. — The old man reads. (Weak: article shows gender) Ein alter Mann liest. — An old man reads. (Mixed: adjective shows gender)

Mixed Declension: Nominative

After ein-words (ein, kein, mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer), the adjective ending "fills in" the gender information that the article lacks.

Ein neuer Mann kommt. — A new man comes.

Eine kleine Katze schläft. — A small cat sleeps.

Ein altes Haus steht dort. — An old house stands there.

Keine neuen Schuhe passen. — No new shoes fit.

In nominative, masculine gets -er, feminine -e, neuter -es, plural -en — the adjective carries the gender signal that "ein" cannot show.

Mixed Declension: Accusative

Ich sehe einen neuen Mann. — I see a new man.

Sie hat eine kleine Katze. — She has a small cat.

Wir kaufen ein altes Haus. — We buy an old house.

Er trägt keine neuen Schuhe. — He wears no new shoes.

Masculine changes to -en in accusative. Feminine, neuter, and plural stay the same as nominative.

Mixed Declension: Dative

Ich helfe einem neuen Mann. — I help a new man.

Sie gibt einer kleinen Frau das Buch. — She gives a small woman the book.

Wir wohnen in einem alten Haus. — We live in an old house.

Er spricht mit keinen neuen Leuten. — He speaks with no new people.

In dative, ALL endings are -en — regardless of gender or number. This is the easiest case to remember.

Mixed Declension: Full Table

Weak Declension: Nominative

After definite articles (der, die, das) and der-words (dieser, jeder, welcher), the article already signals gender. The adjective takes minimal endings.

Der neue Mann kommt. — The new man comes.

Die kleine Katze schläft. — The small cat sleeps.

Das alte Haus steht dort. — The old house stands there.

Die neuen Schuhe passen. — The new shoes fit.

Singular nominative is always -e. Plural is -en.

Weak Declension: Accusative

Ich sehe den neuen Mann. — I see the new man.

Sie hat die kleine Katze. — She has the small cat.

Wir kaufen das alte Haus. — We buy the old house.

Er trägt die neuen Schuhe. — He wears the new shoes.

Masculine changes to -en. Feminine and neuter keep -e. Plural stays -en.

Weak Declension: Dative

Ich helfe dem neuen Mann. — I help the new man.

Sie gibt der kleinen Frau das Buch. — She gives the small woman the book.

Wir wohnen in dem alten Haus. — We live in the old house.

Er spricht mit den neuen Leuten. — He speaks with the new people.

Just like mixed, dative is always -en in weak declension too.

Weak Declension: Full Table

Comparison

Side by side, the two patterns reveal a clear logic:

The differences are only in three cells (bold): nominative masculine, nominative neuter, and accusative neuter. In mixed declension, the adjective "compensates" for the ambiguity of "ein" by carrying stronger gender signals (-er, -es).

Tips

1. Dative = always -en, regardless of declension type, gender, or number.
2. Mixed declension: the adjective "fills in" gender information that ein-words lack — hence -er (m), -es (n) in nominative.
3. Weak declension: the article already shows gender, so the adjective takes minimal endings — mostly -e in nominative/accusative.
4. Masculine accusative: always -en in BOTH declension types.
5. When in doubt, -en is the safest guess — it covers the majority of cells in both tables.