Weak Masculine Nouns (N-Declension)
कमज़ोर पुल्लिंग संज्ञाएँ (N-Declension)
A small group of masculine nouns — mostly people and animals — add -n or -en in every case except the nominative singular. Hindi's आ-ending masculine words also shift in the oblique form (लड़का → लड़के), so this idea isn't entirely new.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
The noun itself changes, not just the article — like Hindi's लड़का/लड़के
der Junge (subject) → den/dem/des Jungen (every other case)
लड़का (कर्ता) → लड़के को (हर दूसरे कारक में)
In Hindi, आ-ending masculine nouns (लड़का) shift into the oblique form when a postposition attaches (लड़के को, लड़के का) — this small German group works in exactly that spirit. In regular German nouns, only the article changes (der Mann → den Mann → dem Mann); the noun's spelling stays the same. But 'weak masculine nouns' (N-Declension) break this pattern: der Junge ('boy'), der Student ('student'), der Kunde ('customer'), der Löwe ('lion') — all of these add -n or -en to the noun itself in the accusative, dative, and genitive singular. It's easy to forget because here the noun itself changes, not just its article.
Which nouns belong to this group?
der Mensch, der Kollege, der Herr, der Präsident
इंसान, सहकर्मी, सज्जन, राष्ट्रपति
Weak masculine nouns are almost all masculine nouns referring to people or animals, often ending in -e (der Junge, der Kollege, der Löwe) or borrowed from other languages with a stressed final syllable like -ent, -ist, -and, -at (der Student, der Polizist, der Doktorand, der Soldat). This can't be predicted from the root alone — treat it as a small memorized list, not a rule.
der Herr and der Name have small irregularities
der Herr → den/dem Herrn, des Herrn / der Name → den/dem Namen, des Namens
सज्जन / नाम
der Herr adds just -n in the accusative/dative (not -en), and just -n again in the genitive (des Herrn, not des Herren). der Name (and a few others like der Buchstabe, der Gedanke) is a 'mixed' noun: it takes -n in the accusative/dative like this group, but also adds an extra -s in the genitive (des Namens) — the weak -n plus the regular masculine genitive ending stacked together.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Junge | dair YOONG-eh | लड़काlaṛkā | boy |
| der Student | dair shtoo-DENT | छात्रchātra | student |
| der Kunde | dair KOON-deh | ग्राहकgrāhak | customer |
| der Kollege | dair kol-AY-geh | सहकर्मीsahakarmī | colleague |
| der Herr | dair hair | सज्जन / श्रीमानsajjan / śrīmān | gentleman / Mr. |
| der Name | dair NAH-meh | नामnām | name |
| der Mensch | dair mensh | इंसानinsān | human being / person |
| der Löwe | dair LER-veh | शेरśer | lion |
| der Präsident | dair pray-zee-DENT | राष्ट्रपतिrāṣṭrapati | president |
| der Polizist | dair poh-lee-TSIST | पुलिसकर्मीpulis-karmī | police officer |