Nominalization in German

Overview

Nominalization (Nominalisierung) is the process of turning verbs and adjectives into nouns, and German does this more extensively and systematically than most languages. At the B2 level, understanding nominalization is crucial because it is one of the defining features of formal, academic, and bureaucratic German. It also helps you recognize word formation patterns that expand your vocabulary dramatically.

The simplest form is turning an infinitive into a neuter noun by capitalizing it: lesen (to read) becomes das Lesen (reading). German also converts adjectives into nouns: schön (beautiful) becomes das Schöne (the beautiful thing), and reisend (traveling) becomes der/die Reisende (the traveler). These nominalized forms take article and adjective endings just like regular nouns.

Nominalization allows German to create compact, abstract expressions that are characteristic of sophisticated writing. Where English might use a full clause — "the fact that he arrived late" — German can compress this into a nominalized phrase: sein spätes Ankommen (his late arriving).

How It Works

Infinitives as nouns (always neuter)

Infinitive	Noun	Meaning
lesen	das Lesen	reading
schwimmen	das Schwimmen	swimming
essen	das Essen	food / eating
leben	das Leben	life / living
rauchen	das Rauchen	smoking

These are always neuter (das) and do not change in the plural (they rarely have a plural).

Adjectives as nouns

Nominalized adjectives take adjective endings and carry articles that indicate gender:

Adjective	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter (abstract)
deutsch	der Deutsche (the German man)	die Deutsche (the German woman)	das Deutsche (the German language/thing)
neu	der/die Neue (the new person)	—	das Neue (the new thing)
krank	der Kranke (the sick man)	die Kranke (the sick woman)	—
angestellt	der Angestellte	die Angestellte	—

Declension: Nominalized adjectives follow the same ending rules as regular adjectives:

Case	Definite (masc.)	Indefinite (masc.)
Nom.	der Kranke	ein Kranker
Acc.	den Kranken	einen Kranken
Dat.	dem Kranken	einem Kranken
Gen.	des Kranken	eines Kranken

Participles as nouns

Participle	Noun	Meaning
reisend (Partizip I)	der/die Reisende	the traveler
angestellt (Partizip II)	der/die Angestellte	the employee
bekannt (Partizip II)	der/die Bekannte	the acquaintance
verwandt (Partizip II)	der/die Verwandte	the relative

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Das Lesen ist wichtig.	Reading is important.	Infinitive as noun
Das Schöne an der Stadt.	The beautiful thing about the city.	Adjective as abstract noun
Die Angestellten arbeiten hier.	The employees work here.	Partizip II as noun (plural)
Beim Essen spricht man nicht.	One doesn't talk while eating.	bei + dem contracted
Der Kranke braucht Ruhe.	The sick person needs rest.	Adjective as person noun
Das Rauchen ist verboten.	Smoking is prohibited.	Infinitive noun in regulations
Die Reisenden warten am Bahnhof.	The travelers are waiting at the station.	Partizip I as noun (plural)
Er hat nichts Neues erzählt.	He didn't say anything new.	nichts/etwas + nominalized adj.
Zum Lernen braucht man Ruhe.	For studying, one needs quiet.	zu + dem contracted
Der Vorsitzende leitet die Sitzung.	The chairperson leads the meeting.	Partizip I as title
Ich wünsche dir alles Gute.	I wish you all the best.	Fixed expression
Etwas Interessantes ist passiert.	Something interesting happened.	etwas + nominalized adj.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting to capitalize nominalized words

• Wrong: Das lesen ist wichtig.
• Right: Das Lesen ist wichtig.
• Why: In German, all nouns are capitalized. When a verb or adjective becomes a noun, it must be capitalized too.

Using wrong endings on nominalized adjectives

• Wrong: Ich habe einen Bekannte getroffen. (masculine)
• Right: Ich habe einen Bekannten getroffen.
• Why: Nominalized adjectives still follow adjective declension rules. After einen (masc. acc.), the ending is -en.

Treating nominalized infinitives as countable

• Wrong: Die Lesens sind interessant.
• Right: Das Lesen ist interessant.
• Why: Nominalized infinitives are always neuter singular and do not form plurals. They function as uncountable/abstract nouns.

Confusing etwas/nichts + adjective patterns

• Wrong: Etwas interessante ist passiert.
• Right: Etwas Interessantes ist passiert.
• Why: After etwas, nichts, viel, wenig, and alles, the nominalized adjective takes a strong neuter ending (-es): etwas Neues, nichts Besonderes, alles Gute.

Usage Notes

Nominalization is a defining characteristic of formal German. Academic papers, legal documents, news reports, and business communications use it extensively. A bureaucratic sentence like Die Bearbeitung Ihres Antrags erfolgt nach Eingang der Unterlagen (The processing of your application takes place after receipt of the documents) is packed with nominalizations.

In everyday spoken German, nominalization is used more selectively. Certain nominalized infinitives are so common they do not feel formal at all: das Essen (food/meal), das Leben (life), das Treffen (meeting). Others, like das Zustandekommen (the coming about/realization), are clearly formal register.

The pattern etwas/nichts/alles + nominalized adjective is extremely productive and common at all levels: etwas Schönes (something beautiful), nichts Besonderes (nothing special), alles Wichtige (everything important).

Nominalized participles for people are standard in German and avoid gender-specific terms: die Studierenden (the students, from studierend) is increasingly used instead of die Studenten as a gender-neutral alternative. This trend is reshaping contemporary German.

Practice Tips

1. Take ten verbs you use daily and nominalize them: das Kochen, das Arbeiten, das Schlafen, das Einkaufen. Use each in a sentence with a preposition: Beim Kochen höre ich Musik. Zum Arbeiten brauche ich Kaffee.
2. Practice the etwas/nichts/alles pattern by describing your day: Heute ist etwas Interessantes passiert. Ich habe nichts Besonderes gemacht. Ich wünsche dir alles Gute.
3. Read a formal German text (news article, official letter) and identify all nominalizations. Try to "de-nominalize" them back into verb or adjective forms to confirm your understanding.

Related Concepts

• Definite Articles (Nominative) — articles are essential for nominalized forms
• Verbal Nouns with Complements — extending nominalizations with modifiers and complements