German Strong Adjective Declension: Endings Table
German strong adjective declension explained: full endings table for kalter Kaffee, kalte Milch, kaltes Bier across all cases — B1 reference with practice.
German strong adjective declension is the set of endings an adjective takes when no article or determiner stands in front of it — kalter Kaffee, kalte Milch, kaltes Bier, kalte Getränke. With no der/die/das to mark gender and case, the adjective itself has to do the job, and the endings it uses almost perfectly mirror the definite article.
The core principle: the adjective does the article's job. If you can read the definite-article table (der, die, das, den, dem, des), you already know 90% of the strong endings — they're the same letters reused as suffixes (-er, -e, -es, -en, -em).
Strong declension at a glance: full endings table
The complete strong-declension paradigm for kalt (cold) across all four cases:
Reading the table is one thing; producing -er, -es, -em, and -en under pressure is another. Try the no-article phrases yourself in the free trainer below — it needs no sign-up and flags the correct strong ending the second you commit to an answer.
| Case | Masculine (Kaffee) | Feminine (Milch) | Neuter (Bier) | Plural (Getränke) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | kalter Kaffee | kalte Milch | kaltes Bier | kalte Getränke |
| Accusative | kalten Kaffee | kalte Milch | kaltes Bier | kalte Getränke |
| Dative | kaltem Kaffee | kalter Milch | kaltem Bier | kalten Getränken |
| Genitive | kalten Kaffees | kalter Milch | kalten Bieres | kalter Getränke |
Read the table as definite-article endings compressed into one syllable: der → -er, die → -e, das → -es, den → -en, dem → -em, der (dat. f) → -er, der (gen. f/pl) → -er.
What is the German strong adjective declension?
German strong adjective declension is the pattern an adjective follows when it stands in front of a noun without any preceding article (der/die/das, ein/kein, mein/dein, dieser, jeder…). Because nothing else marks the gender and case of the noun, the adjective must carry that information itself — and it does so by taking endings that imitate the definite article.
That's why grammarians call them strong: they are the maximum-information endings. Weak endings (after der-words) only need to be minimal because the article already did the work; mixed endings (after ein-words) fill in the gaps where ein itself has no ending. Strong endings carry the full load alone.
When does the German strong declension apply?
Strong endings appear in every context where the noun phrase has no article and no determiner:
- Uncountable / mass nouns: frisches Brot, kalte Milch, deutsches Bier, guter Wein
- After bare numerals (zwei, drei, …): zwei kalte Bier, drei große Häuser
- After uninflected quantifiers: viel frisches Obst, wenig kaltes Wasser, etwas warme Suppe, mehr deutscher Wein
- After uninflected pronouns: manch guter Rat, solch schönes Wetter, welch großer Unterschied
- In coordinated lists without articles: mit Salz, Pfeffer und frischem Basilikum
- On signs, labels, and headings: Deutscher Weißwein, Frisches Brot
In each of these the adjective is the only element available to encode gender and case — so it gets a strong ending.
German strong declension endings: nominative
In the nominative (subject position), strong endings reproduce the definite article directly:
| Gender | Article signal | Strong ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | der → | -er | kalter Kaffee — cold coffee |
| Feminine | die → | -e | kalte Milch — cold milk |
| Neuter | das → | -es | kaltes Bier — cold beer |
| Plural | die → | -e | frische Brötchen — fresh rolls |
Kalter Kaffee schmeckt im Sommer gut. — Cold coffee tastes good in summer.
Frische Luft tut immer gut. — Fresh air always does good.
Deutsches Bier ist weltberühmt. — German beer is world-famous.
Zwei große Hunde spielen im Park. — Two big dogs are playing in the park.
German strong declension endings: accusative
In the accusative (direct object), only masculine changes — shifting to -en, exactly the way der becomes den:
| Gender | Article signal | Strong ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | den → | -en | schwarzen Tee — black tea |
| Feminine | die → | -e | kalte Milch — cold milk |
| Neuter | das → | -es | kaltes Bier — cold beer |
| Plural | die → | -e | frische Eier — fresh eggs |
Ich trinke gern schwarzen Tee. — I like to drink black tea.
Möchtest du kalte Milch? — Would you like some cold milk?
Er bestellt dunkles Brot. — He orders dark bread.
Wir kaufen frische Eier auf dem Markt. — We buy fresh eggs at the market.
German strong declension endings: dative
In the dative, strong endings again mirror the article (dem → -em, der → -er), and the plural takes -en:
| Gender | Article signal | Strong ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | dem → | -em | mit deutschem Käse — with German cheese |
| Feminine | der → | -er | mit kalter Milch — with cold milk |
| Neuter | dem → | -em | mit frischem Gemüse — with fresh vegetables |
| Plural | den → | -en | mit guten Freunden — with good friends |
Die Pizza wird mit frischem Basilikum serviert. — The pizza is served with fresh basil.
Er kocht mit heißer Butter. — He cooks with hot butter.
Aus reinem Gold gemacht. — Made of pure gold.
Bei schlechten Verhältnissen bleiben wir zu Hause. — In bad conditions we stay home.
Genitive in strong declension: the -en surprise
The genitive is where strong declension stops matching the definite article cleanly. Masculine and neuter take -en, not the -es you might expect from des:
| Gender | Strong ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -en | trotz kalten Wassers — despite cold water |
| Feminine | -er | wegen frischer Luft — because of fresh air |
| Neuter | -en | der Geschmack guten Bieres — the taste of good beer |
| Plural | -er | trotz kalter Tage — despite cold days |
The reason is dissimilation: the masculine/neuter noun itself already carries a genitive marker (-(e)s: Wassers, Bieres). If the adjective also ended in -es you'd hear two consecutive -s/-es markers, so the adjective gives way and switches to -en. This is a real exam trap — see the common mistakes below.
Strong vs. weak vs. mixed declension
Quick comparison of all three adjective declension types in the nominative:
| Gender | Strong (no article) | Mixed (ein, kein, mein…) | Weak (der, die, das) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. nom. | kalter Kaffee | ein kalter Kaffee | der kalte Kaffee |
| Fem. nom. | kalte Milch | eine kalte Milch | die kalte Milch |
| Neut. nom. | kaltes Wasser | ein kaltes Wasser | das kalte Wasser |
| Pl. nom. | kalte Tage | keine kalten Tage | die kalten Tage |
Key observation: strong and mixed endings are identical in masculine nominative (-er), feminine nom/acc (-e), and neuter nom/acc (-es). They diverge in the plural and wherever ein itself has no ending: ein kalter Kaffee (mixed) vs. der kalte Kaffee (weak).
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
These are the errors learners make most often with the German strong adjective declension. Each row gives the wrong form, why it's wrong, and the corrected form.
| Mistake | Why it's wrong | Correct form |
|---|---|---|
| kalte Kaffee schmeckt gut (using a weak ending after no article) | With no article, the adjective must carry the masculine-nominative signal itself. The weak -e only works when der is doing the work. | kalter Kaffee schmeckt gut |
| ein kalter Kaffee … treated as strong (confusing strong with mixed) | After ein/kein/mein, the declension is mixed, not strong. The forms overlap in the singular nominative but diverge in the plural and genitive. | ein kalter Kaffee is correct, but as mixed declension — compare keine kalten Tage (mixed) vs. kalte Tage (strong). |
| viele kalte Tage analysed as strong (assuming every unpreceded adjective is strong) | viele is itself an inflected determiner, so the following adjective is weak: viele kalten Tage is wrong, but the trap is real — manch, solch, welch uninflected → strong; vieler, mancher, solcher, welcher inflected → weak. | Inflected quantifier: viele kalten Tage (weak after vieler-form); uninflected: manch kalter Tag (strong after bare manch). |
| trotz kaltes Wassers (genitive masc/neut as -es) | In strong genitive masculine and neuter, the noun already carries the -(e)s marker, so the adjective switches to -en, not -es. | trotz kalten Wassers; der Geschmack guten Weines |
| mit kalte Milch (forgetting dative feminine -er) | Strong dative feminine reflects der → -er, not -e. Bare -e would be the nominative/accusative feminine form. | mit kalter Milch |
The shortcut to remember: when nothing precedes the adjective, ask which article would I use here? The strong ending is that article's ending, with the single genitive masc/neut quirk above.
How to spot a strong-declension context
When in doubt, run this three-step check:
- Is there an article or determiner in front of the adjective? If no → strong. If a der-word → weak. If an ein-word/possessive → mixed.
- If there's a quantifier (viel, wenig, etwas, manch, solch, welch), is it inflected? Uninflected → strong (manch guter Rat). Inflected → weak (manche guten Räte).
- Is the noun in the genitive, masculine or neuter? Then the adjective ending is -en, not -es — even though everything else in the paradigm mirrors the definite article.
The strong table is small. Once these three checks are automatic, the endings follow on their own.
10 exercises on this rule · about 5 min
Frequently asked questions
When do you use German strong adjective declension?
Use strong endings whenever no article or determiner precedes the adjective — with uncountable nouns (kalter Kaffee), after numerals (zwei kalte Bier), after viel/wenig/etwas, and after manch/solch/welch when uninflected. The adjective then has to carry the gender and case signal itself.
What are the strong adjective endings in German?
They mirror the definite article: nominative -er/-e/-es/-e, accusative -en/-e/-es/-e, dative -em/-er/-em/-en, genitive -en/-er/-en/-er. Read this as der/die/das compressed into adjective suffixes.
Why is it kalter Kaffee and not kalte Kaffee?
Without an article in front, the adjective must mark Kaffee as masculine nominative. The strong masculine-nominative ending is -er, exactly like the article der, so kalt + -er = kalter Kaffee.
Are strong endings the same as mixed endings?
They overlap in three slots (masculine nominative -er, feminine nom/acc -e, neuter nom/acc -es) but diverge everywhere else — most visibly in the plural, where mixed has -en (keine kalten Tage) and strong has -e (kalte Tage).
What is the genitive masculine ending in strong declension?
It is -en, not -es: trotz kalten Wassers, der Geschmack guten Weines. The noun itself takes -(e)s, so the adjective gives way and switches to -en to avoid doubling the genitive marker.
Does an unpreceded adjective always take strong endings?
Yes — if the adjective truly has no preceding article or determiner. But many noun phrases that look bare actually have a hidden ein-/kein-/possessive word, which triggers mixed declension instead. Check for ein-words before defaulting to strong.
How can I practise strong adjective endings without an article?
Use the exercises embedded in this page. They feed you article-less phrases like kalt__ Kaffee across all four cases, cost nothing, need no account, and tell you instantly whether the strong ending you chose was right.