Adjective Declension (Definite Articles) in German

Overview

When an adjective appears before a noun in German, it must take an ending that agrees with the noun's gender, number, and case. After definite articles (der, die, das), adjectives follow the weak declension pattern, which uses only two endings: -e and -en. This is the most structured and predictable of the three adjective declension patterns, making it a good starting point at the A2 level.

In English, adjectives never change form — "the tall man," "the tall woman," "the tall children" all use the same word "tall." In German, the adjective ending shifts: "der große Mann," "die große Frau," but "den großen Mann" (accusative). These endings carry grammatical information about gender and case, and getting them right is essential for sounding natural.

The good news is that the weak declension after definite articles has a clean pattern: -e appears in just five positions (the nominative singular for all genders plus the feminine and neuter accusative), and -en appears everywhere else.

How It Works

Weak Adjective Endings (After Definite Articles)

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	-e	-e	-e	-en
Accusative	-en	-e	-e	-en
Dative	-en	-en	-en	-en

The simple rule: Use -e in the nominative singular (all genders) and the accusative singular feminine and neuter. Use -en everywhere else.

An even simpler way to remember: -en is the default, and -e is the exception (nominative singular + feminine/neuter accusative).

This pattern also applies after:

• dieser (this), jeder (each/every), welcher (which)
• alle (all), beide (both), solcher (such)

These words — called "der-words" — trigger the same weak adjective endings as der/die/das.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Der große Mann kommt.	The tall man is coming.	Masculine nominative: -e
Ich sehe die kleine Katze.	I see the small cat.	Feminine accusative: -e
Mit dem neuen Auto.	With the new car.	Neuter dative: -en
Die alten Häuser sind schön.	The old houses are beautiful.	Plural nominative: -en
Der junge Lehrer unterrichtet.	The young teacher is teaching.	Masculine nominative: -e
Ich lese das interessante Buch.	I'm reading the interesting book.	Neuter accusative: -e
Die nette Frau hilft mir.	The nice woman helps me.	Feminine nominative: -e
Ich kenne den neuen Studenten.	I know the new student.	Masculine accusative: -en
In der kleinen Stadt gibt es viel.	There is a lot in the small city.	Feminine dative: -en
Die guten Schüler lernen viel.	The good students learn a lot.	Plural nominative: -en

Common Mistakes

Using -er, -es endings after definite articles

• Wrong: Der großer Mann kommt.
• Right: Der große Mann kommt.
• Why: After a definite article, the adjective takes the weak ending -e (nominative masculine), not the strong ending -er. The article already shows the gender and case.

Forgetting -en in the accusative masculine

• Wrong: Ich sehe der große Mann.
• Right: Ich sehe den großen Mann.
• Why: In the accusative masculine, both the article changes (der → den) and the adjective takes -en.

Using -e instead of -en in the plural

• Wrong: Die alte Häuser.
• Right: Die alten Häuser.
• Why: Plural always takes -en in the weak declension, regardless of case.

Applying weak endings without a definite article

• Wrong: Große Mann kommt. (trying to say "A tall man is coming")
• Right: Ein großer Mann kommt.
• Why: Without a definite article (or with an indefinite article), different declension rules apply.

Usage Notes

Adjective declension is one of the aspects of German that takes the longest to fully master. Even advanced learners occasionally hesitate over endings. The key insight for the weak declension is that the definite article already carries most of the grammatical information (gender, case, number), so the adjective only needs minimal endings — hence why it is called "weak."

In spoken German, native speakers sometimes mumble adjective endings, particularly in fast speech. While you should aim for accuracy, do not let fear of wrong endings stop you from using adjectives. Communication is rarely impeded by a slightly wrong ending.

Practice Tips

1. Memorize the pattern as a grid: five slots get -e (the "cross" of nominative row + feminine/neuter accusative column), everything else gets -en. Visualizing this pattern helps more than memorizing individual forms.
2. Practice by describing things around you with definite articles: "Der schwarze Stuhl. Die weiße Wand. Das große Fenster. Die alten Bücher." Cycle through all genders and the plural.
3. Read German texts and highlight adjective + noun combinations. Identify the article, gender, case, and ending. With enough examples, the patterns become automatic.

Related Concepts

• Definite Articles (Nominative) — the articles that trigger weak adjective endings
• Adjective Declension (Indefinite Articles) — the mixed declension pattern after ein/eine/ein
• Participle I as Adjective — present participles used as adjectives follow the same declension rules