N-Declension: der Kunde, den Kunden
A small club of masculine nouns adds -n or -en in every case except the nominative: der Kunde becomes den Kunden, dem Kunden, des Kunden. Learn who belongs to the club and how the pattern works.
A strange -n appears
Read these three sentences and watch the word Kunde: Der Kunde wartet an der Kasse. Die Verkäuferin hilft dem Kunden. Kennen Sie den Kunden schon? Same customer, three different forms — and only the first one looks like the dictionary entry.
This is the n-declension, sometimes called the weak masculine declension. A limited group of masculine nouns adds -n or -en in every case except the nominative singular. Not just in the plural, as you might expect, but in the accusative, dative and genitive singular too.
The group is small but impossible to avoid, because it contains exactly the nouns you need for offices, shops and workplaces: Kunde, Kollege, Patient, Student, Herr, Mensch, Nachbar. One short lesson now saves you from a lifetime of writing dem Kunde.
Der Kunde wartet an der Kasse.
The customer is waiting at the till.
Nominative — the only form without the extra -n.
Die Verkäuferin hilft dem Kunden.
The shop assistant is helping the customer.
Dative: dem Kunden — the noun itself changes, not just the article.
Kennen Sie den Kunden schon?
Do you already know the customer?
Who is in the club
Three groups cover almost every n-declension noun you will meet. First: masculine nouns ending in -e that name people — der Kunde, der Kollege, der Junge, der Zeuge (the witness). If a masculine person-noun ends in -e, assume it is weak.
Second: masculine nouns for people with the international endings -ent, -ist, -at and similar — der Student, der Patient, der Polizist, der Praktikant, der Präsident. These come from Latin and Greek, and German declines them all the weak way: mit dem Studenten, für den Patienten.
Third: a handful of short one-syllable words you simply memorise — der Mensch, der Herr, der Nachbar (which takes -n: dem Nachbarn). Herr is everywhere in formal life, so it gets its own section below. Note what is not in the club: ordinary masculine nouns like Bruder, Lehrer or Tisch never take these endings.
Ich verstehe mich gut mit meinem Kollegen.
I get along well with my colleague.
Die Ärztin spricht gerade mit dem Patienten.
The doctor is talking to the patient right now.
Ich habe den Jungen heute im Park gesehen.
I saw the boy in the park today.
Der Polizist stellt dem Zeugen eine Frage.
The police officer asks the witness a question.
Two club members in one sentence: Polizist in the nominative, Zeugen in the dative.
The full pattern, including the genitive
The complete singular of Kunde: der Kunde, den Kunden, dem Kunden, des Kunden. Notice the genitive — no -s. Weak masculine nouns take -en in the genitive too: die Beschwerde des Kunden, der Termin des Patienten. This is the one masculine group that escapes the -s rule from the genitive lesson.
The plural is easy: it is identical to the weak singular forms — die Kunden, die Studenten, die Kollegen. In practice this means that once you leave the nominative singular behind, the word simply always ends in -n or -en.
One noun bends the rule: der Name. It declines weak (den Namen, dem Namen) but its genitive adds an extra -s: des Namens. A tiny irregularity — and a frequent one, because forms and contracts ask about names constantly.
Die Beschwerde des Kunden liegt schon auf dem Tisch.
The customer's complaint is already on the table.
Genitive without -s: des Kunden, not des Kundes.
Ich habe den Namen des Studenten leider vergessen.
Unfortunately I have forgotten the student's name.
Das Auto meines Nachbarn steht seit Wochen vor der Garage.
My neighbour's car has been standing in front of the garage for weeks.
Nachbar takes -n: meines Nachbarn, dem Nachbarn.
Bitte prüfen Sie die Schreibweise Ihres Namens.
Please check the spelling of your name.
Name is the exception: weak forms plus a genitive -s — des Namens.
Herr: the form on every envelope
The most frequent weak noun in your life will be Herr. Nominative der Herr, but every other singular case is Herrn: Haben Sie Herrn Schmidt gesehen? Der Brief ist an Herrn Weber adressiert. Every addressed envelope, every formal e-mail opening, every reception-desk conversation uses this form.
The rule of thumb: Herr only when you speak to the man or he is the subject — Sehr geehrter Herr Müller, Herr Müller ist im Urlaub. The moment he is the object of a verb or follows a preposition, he becomes Herrn: für Herrn Müller, mit Herrn Müller, an Herrn Müller.
Why does this matter beyond politeness? Because getting dem Kunden, des Patienten and Herrn right is one of the quiet signals that separates B1 German from A2 German. Native readers rarely praise a correct weak ending — but they always notice a missing one.
Haben Sie Herrn Schmidt heute schon gesehen?
Have you seen Mr Schmidt yet today?
Der Brief ist an Herrn Weber adressiert.
The letter is addressed to Mr Weber.
Die Bank schickt dem Kunden einen neuen Vertrag.
The bank is sending the customer a new contract.
Check yourself
Quick checks on this lesson. Get at least three quarters right to mark it as completed.
Ich habe ___ gestern angerufen. — Which form of der Kunde is correct?
Practise what you learned