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What are weak masculine nouns in German?
In German, there is a group of masculine nouns known as “weak masculine nouns”. Their endings change depending on the grammatical case (nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive—see the corresponding module) and whether they are singular or plural.
How it works
Plural: these nouns always end in -en or -n.
Singular:
- Nominative: base form (e.g., der Student)
- Accusative / Dative / Genitive: they take -en or -n (Studenten, Jungen, etc.)
Examples:
der Junge (the young man) → den/dem/des Jungen → Jungen (plural)
der Student (the student) → den/dem/des Studenten → Studenten (plural)
Exception: der Herr: (sir, mister)
singular (except nominative): Herrn
plural: Herren
How to recognize a weak masculine noun?
- Masculine nouns ending in -e (referring to a human or animal):
der Affe (the monkey), der Hase (the hare), der Junge (the boy/young man), der Riese (the giant), etc.
- Masculine nouns of foreign origin (stressed ending):
der Fotograf (the phographer), der Soldat (the soldier), der Präsident (the president), der Tourist (the tourist), der Idiot (the idiot), der Planet (the planet), etc.
- A few masculine nouns ending in a consonant:
der Bauer (the farmer), der Held (the hero), der Mensch (the human being), der Nachbar (the neighbor), der Herr (Mr./sir, the gentleman), etc.
Do not confuse them!
Substantivized adjectives (adjectives used as nouns) are not weak masculine nouns. der Deutsche (“the German”) comes from deutsch, and is therefore not a weak masculine noun.
The 6 irregular weak masculine nouns
These nouns take -ns in the genitive singular instead of just -n or -en.
der Buchstabe (letter of the alphabet) → des Buchstabens
der Funke (spark) → des Funkens
der Gedanke (thought) → des Gedankens
der Glaube (belief) → des Glaubens
der Name (name) → des Namens
der Wille (will) → des Willens
Also: das Herz (neuter) follows the same pattern.