n-Deklination in German: Useful Tipps

Hey, you have probably noticed that some nouns change their endings in certain cases. This is called n-Deklination!

The good news is that the rule is quite simple: certain masculine nouns add -n or -en in almost every case except the nominative.

der Student

Nominative: Der Student lernt Deutsch.

Akkusativ: Ich sehe den Studenten.

Dative: Ich helfe dem Studenten.

Genitive: Das Buch des Studenten.

Nouns used with n-Deklination

Quite common with masculine nouns referring to people or animals, especially nouns ending in:

-e: der Junge → den Jungen

-ent: der Student → den Studenten

-ant: der Praktikant → den Praktikanten

-ist: der Tourist → den Touristen

-at: der Diplomat → den Diplomaten

There are OF COURSE :D a few exceptions:

der Mensch → den Menschen and der Herr → den Herrn…

A useful tip

When you learn a masculine noun that follows n-Deklination, don't memorize only the nominative form. Learn it together with its accusative form:

der Student – den Studenten

Now you are prepared!