Template:de-ndecl/documentation

Uses Lua:

• Module:de-noun

Introduction

This template should be used to decline all German nouns and proper noun, in preference to any other, older template that may still exist. (Eventually these will all be eliminated.)

Masculine and neuter nouns

Generally, a single argument is supplied to the template, which specifies the gender and optionally the genitive singular and/or plural. For example, for the noun Alarm, use:

{{de-ndecl|m,s,e}}

which produces

Declension of Alarm [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Alarm	die	Alarme
genitive	eines	des	Alarms	der	Alarme
dative	einem	dem	Alarm	den	Alarmen
accusative	einen	den	Alarm	die	Alarme

Here, m specifies the gender, s the genitive singular ending, and e the plural ending. Note that the module is smart enough to add -n onto the dative plural automatically.

Sensible defaults are provided for the genitive singular and plural. In this case, the default genitive singular for most nouns, including Alarm, adds an -s, and the default plural adds an -e, so both the genitive singular and plural could be omitted:

{{de-ndecl|m}}

which has the same result as above.

If there is more than one possibility for a given ending, separate the possibilities with a colon, as with Fisch (“fish”):

{{de-ndecl|m,es:s,e}}

which produces

Declension of Fisch [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Fisch	die	Fische
genitive	eines	des	Fisches, Fischs	der	Fische
dative	einem	dem	Fisch, Fische1	den	Fischen
accusative	einen	den	Fisch	die	Fische

¹Now rare, see notes.

Because genitive singulars in either -es or -s are so common, a shortcut (e)s is provided. Along with the default plural, the above could be equivalently written:

{{de-ndecl|m,(e)s}}

Other such shortcuts are (s) (either -s or no ending) and (es) (either -es or no ending).

Use - to specify a null ending, e.g. for Mädchen (“girl”), plural Mädchen:

{{de-ndecl|n,s,-}}

which produces

Declension of Mädchen [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Mädchen	die	Mädchen
genitive	eines	des	Mädchens	der	Mädchen
dative	einem	dem	Mädchen	den	Mädchen
accusative	ein	das	Mädchen	die	Mädchen

Feminine nouns

Feminine nouns normally have a null ending in the genitive singular. As a result, the syntax for feminine nouns omits the genitive singular and specifies only the plural, as for Ordnung (“arrangement, order, rank”), plural Ordnungen:

{{de-ndecl|f,en}}

which produces

Declension of Ordnung [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Ordnung	die	Ordnungen
genitive	einer	der	Ordnung	der	Ordnungen
dative	einer	der	Ordnung	den	Ordnungen
accusative	eine	die	Ordnung	die	Ordnungen

Feminine nouns default to the plural -en (or just -n after e), so this could equivalently be written:

{{de-ndecl|f}}

Umlaut

To include umlaut, precede the ending with ^. For example, for Haus (“house”), with plural Häuser, use the following:

{{de-ndecl|n,es,^er}}

which produces

Declension of Haus [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Haus	die	Häuser
genitive	eines	des	Hauses	der	Häuser
dative	einem	dem	Haus, Hause1	den	Häusern
accusative	ein	das	Haus	die	Häuser

¹Now rare, see notes.

The module knows the correct rules for umlaut, e.g. Apfel (“apple”) umlauts in the plural as Äpfel:

{{de-ndecl|m,s,^}}

which produces

Declension of Apfel [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Apfel	die	Äpfel
genitive	eines	des	Apfels	der	Äpfel
dative	einem	dem	Apfel	den	Äpfeln
accusative	einen	den	Apfel	die	Äpfel

Since -s is the default genitive ending in most cases, this could equivalently be written:

{{de-ndecl|m,,^}}

Weak nouns

Additional modifiers beyond the gender, genitive singular and plural are known as indicators. These are specified following a period (.). One common indicator is weak, indicating a weak noun, e.g. Präsident (“president”):

{{de-ndecl|m.weak}} an which produces

Declension of Präsident [masculine, weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Präsident	die	Präsidenten
genitive	eines	des	Präsidenten	der	Präsidenten
dative	einem	dem	Präsidenten	den	Präsidenten
accusative	einen	den	Präsidenten	die	Präsidenten

The code will automatically add -n in place of -en if the noun ends in -e. However, if the noun has -n in place of -en after a consonant, as with Herr, Nachbar, Satyr and their compounds, use weak_n. For example, one of the declensions of Nachbar could be indicated as follows:

{{de-ndecl|m.weak_n}}

which produces

Declension of Nachbar [masculine, weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Nachbar	die	Nachbarn
genitive	eines	des	Nachbarn	der	Nachbarn
dative	einem	dem	Nachbarn	den	Nachbarn
accusative	einen	den	Nachbarn	die	Nachbarn

If the noun has -n in the singular but -en in the plural, as is typical for Herr and its compounds, specify the plural explicitly, as follows:

{{de-ndecl|m,,en.weak_n}}

which produces

Declension of Herr [masculine, weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Herr	die	Herren
genitive	eines	des	Herrn	der	Herren
dative	einem	dem	Herrn	den	Herren
accusative	einen	den	Herrn	die	Herren

For nouns with multiple possible declensions, e.g. weak or strong, use the alternant notation, as described below. For example, Diakon (“deacon”), which can be declined either strong or weak, might be indicated as follows:

{{de-ndecl|((<m>,<m.weak>))}}

which produces

Declension of Diakon [masculine, strong // weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Diakon	die	Diakone, Diakonen
genitive	eines	des	Diakons, Diakonen	der	Diakone, Diakonen
dative	einem	dem	Diakon, Diakonen	den	Diakonen
accusative	einen	den	Diakon, Diakonen	die	Diakone, Diakonen

The general syntax here is to surround each declension with angle brackets, separate them with commas and put double parens around the whole thing. More than two alternants are possible; e.g. for Satyr, which can be either strong, weak with genitive in -n or weak with genitive in -en, use the following:

{{de-ndecl|((<m,s,n>,<m.weak_n>,<m,,n.weak>))}}

which produces

Declension of Satyr [masculine, mixed // weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Satyr	die	Satyrn
genitive	eines	des	Satyrs, Satyrn, Satyren	der	Satyrn
dative	einem	dem	Satyr, Satyrn, Satyren	den	Satyrn
accusative	einen	den	Satyr, Satyrn, Satyren	die	Satyrn

In this case, the plural is always in -n, so the alternants that would by default produce other plurals must have the plural given explicitly.

Additional indicators

Besides weak and weak_n, other supported indicators are as follows:

• sg: singular-only
• article: indicate that the term is normally used with the definite article
• nodatpln: don't add -n onto the dative plural when it normally would be added
• ss: change -ß to -ss before an ending beginning with a vowel (as is common in pre-1996 spellings)
• dat_with_e: include dative variant in -e with footnote even if no genitive with -e- exists; see below

Examples:

1. sg for singular-only, e.g. Butter (“butter”):

{{de-ndecl|f.sg}}

which produces

Declension of Butter [sg-only, feminine]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Butter
genitive	einer	der	Butter
dative	einer	der	Butter
accusative	eine	die	Butter

2. article for nouns normally used with the definite article, e.g. Sternenmeer (“the starry night sky (poetic)”):

{{de-ndecl|n,s:es.sg.article}}

which produces

Declension of Sternenmeer [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
	def.	noun
nominative	das	Sternenmeer
genitive	des	Sternenmeers, Sternenmeeres
dative	dem	Sternenmeer, Sternenmeere1
accusative	das	Sternenmeer

¹Now rare, see notes.

This indicator is especially useful in the headword template {{de-noun}}, e.g.:

{{de-noun|n,s:es.sg.article}}

which produces

das Sternenmeer n (strong, usually definite, definite genitive des Sternenmeers or des Sternenmeeres, no definite plural)

3. nodatpln to suppress the final -n in the dative plural after a final -e, -er or -el, e.g. Retina (“retina”):

{{de-ndecl|f,e.nodatpln}}

which produces

Declension of Retina [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Retina	die	Retinae
genitive	einer	der	Retina	der	Retinae
dative	einer	der	Retina	den	Retinae
accusative	eine	die	Retina	die	Retinae

4. ss to indicate that a final -ß changes to -ss before an ending beginning with a vowel (for pre-1996 spellings), e.g. Schluß (“end, conclusion”) (superseded spelling):

{{de-ndecl|m,es,^e.ss}}

which produces

Declension of Schluß [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Schluß	die	Schlüsse
genitive	eines	des	Schlusses	der	Schlüsse
dative	einem	dem	Schluß, Schlusse1	den	Schlüssen
accusative	einen	den	Schluß	die	Schlüsse

¹Now rare, see notes.

5. dat_with_e to explicitly include the dative variant in -e with footnote even if no genitive with -e- exists, e.g. for Admiral (“admiral”):

{{de-ndecl|m,,e:^e.dat_with_e}}

which produces

Declension of Admiral [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Admiral	die	Admirale, Admiräle
genitive	eines	des	Admirals	der	Admirale, Admiräle
dative	einem	dem	Admiral, Admirale1	den	Admiralen, Admirälen
accusative	einen	den	Admiral	die	Admirale, Admiräle

¹Now rare, see notes.

Note that by default the variant in -e with associated footnote appears whenever a genitive form includes an -e- in it (genitive is specified as es, (e)s or ses). To suppress its appearance, as in recently-coined words, use the override dat:- (see Overrides below).

Irregular genitives and plurals

If the genitive or plural are sufficiently irregular, they cannot be specified using an ending and/or the use of ^ to indicate umlaut. In those cases, specify the full form, e.g. for Vakuum (“vacuum”) with plural Vakua or Vakuen:

{{de-ndecl|m,s,Vakua:Vakuen}}

which produces

Declension of Vakuum [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Vakuum	die	Vakua, Vakuen
genitive	eines	des	Vakuums	der	Vakua, Vakuen
dative	einem	dem	Vakuum	den	Vakua, Vakuen
accusative	einen	den	Vakuum	die	Vakua, Vakuen

Note that the default plural of neuter nouns in -um changes the -um to -en (see below), so the following would equivalently work:

{{de-ndecl|m,s,Vakua:+}}

Here, + explicitly requests the default.

A full form is recognized as such by beginning with a capital letter. In the rare case where a full form must be given and begins with a lowercase letter, precede the full form with !. For example, for deus ex machina (alternative letter-case form of Deus ex Machina), use:

{{de-ndecl|m,-,!dei ex machina}}

which produces

Declension of deus ex machina [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	deus ex machina	die	dei ex machina
genitive	eines	des	deus ex machina	der	dei ex machina
dative	einem	dem	deus ex machina	den	dei ex machina
accusative	einen	den	deus ex machina	die	dei ex machina

Angle-bracket notation

An alternative notation is available, which specifies the lemma explicitly along with the declension. E.g. for Haus, the following could be used:

{{de-ndecl|Haus<n,es,^er>}}

Since the lemma here is the same as lemma attached to the angle brackets, it can be omitted:

{{de-ndecl|<n,es,^er>}}

Both notations are equivalent to the following:

{{de-ndecl|n,es,^er}}

For single-word terms, angle brackets aren't usually needed, but they become necessary with multiword expressions and alternants; see below.

Default genitive and plural algorithms

The following algorithm produces the default genitive singular:

1. If the noun is feminine, use a null ending.
2. Otherwise, if the noun is weak, use -n after -e, -nen after consonant + -in, and otherwise -en.
3. Otherwise, if the noun ends in -nis (neuter like Erlebnis, Geheimnis, etc. or occasional masculine like Firnis), use -ses.
4. Otherwise, if the noun ends in a consonant + -us, use a null ending, as in Euphemismus, Exitus, Exodus, etc.
5. Otherwise, if the noun ends in s/ß/x/z, use -es.
6. Otherwise, use -s.

The following algorithm produces the default plural:

1. If the noun ends in -nis (neuter like Erlebnis or Geheimnis, feminine like Kenntnis or Wildnis, or occasional masculine like Firnis), use -se.
2. Otherwise, if the noun is feminine or weak, use -n after -e, -nen after consonant + -in, and otherwise -en.
3. Otherwise, if the noun ends in -e, use -n.
4. Otherwise, if the noun is neuter and ends in -lein, use a null ending.
5. Otherwise, if the noun is neuter and ends in -um (e.g. Museum or Vakuum), replace the -um with -en.
6. Otherwise, if the noun ends in -mus (e.g. Algorithmus or Aphorismus), replace the -mus with -men.
7. Otherwise, if the noun ends in a consonant + -us (e.g. Abakus, Zirkus, Autobus), use -se.
8. Otherwise, if the noun ends in -el, -em, -en or -er (e.g. Adler, Meier, Riedel), use a null ending. (But this does not apply to nouns in a consonant + -eer/-ier, -eel/-iel, etc., as in Heer, Bier, Ziel, which default to -e as below.)
9. Otherwise, use -e.

Nouns with multiple genders

If a noun has more than one possible gender, separate the genders with a colon, e.g. Abszess (“abcess”):

{{de-ndecl|m:n}}

which produces

Declension of Abszess [masculine // neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der, das	Abszess	die	Abszesse
genitive	eines	des	Abszesses	der	Abszesse
dative	einem	dem	Abszess, Abszesse1	den	Abszessen
accusative	einen, ein	den, das	Abszess	die	Abszesse

¹Now rare, see notes.

You can also place a footnote/qualifier in brackets after a given gender. For example, Abszess is neuter mainly in Austria; to note this, use the following:

{{de-ndecl|m:n[mainly in Austria]}}

Gender qualifiers do not appear in the declension table, but they do appear in the headword, which is specified like this:

{{de-noun|m:n[mainly in Austria]}}

which produces

Abszess m or (mainly in Austria) n (strong, genitive Abszesses, plural Abszesse)

Plural-only nouns

To specify a plural-only noun, use p in place of the gender, e.g. for the eighties (decade):

{{de-ndecl|p}}

which produces

Declension of Achtzigerjahre [pl-only]

	plural
	def.	noun
nominative	die	Achtzigerjahre
genitive	der	Achtzigerjahre
dative	den	Achtzigerjahren
accusative	die	Achtzigerjahre

With plural-only nouns, you cannot specify a genitive or plural form, and if you do so, an error will result.

Footnotes

Footnotes can be indicated by placing text in brackets after a given form. For example, Geschlecht (“gender, type”) has a modern plural Geschlechter as well as an obsolete plural Geschlechte. To indicate this, use the following:

{{de-ndecl|n,s:es,er:e[obsolete]}}

which produces

Declension of Geschlecht [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Geschlecht	die	Geschlechter, Geschlechte2
genitive	eines	des	Geschlechts, Geschlechtes	der	Geschlechter, Geschlechte2
dative	einem	dem	Geschlecht, Geschlechte1	den	Geschlechtern, Geschlechten2
accusative	ein	das	Geschlecht	die	Geschlechter, Geschlechte2

¹Now rare, see notes.
²Obsolete.

Such footnotes show up as qualifiers in the headword:

Geschlecht n (strong, genitive Geschlechts or Geschlechtes, plural Geschlechter or (obsolete) Geschlechte)

You can also footnote an individual gender, an override, or an entire declension. For example, Hanf is normally masculine but rarely neuter. Indicate as follows:

{{de-ndecl|m:n[rare],(e)s.sg}}

which produces

Declension of Hanf [sg-only, masculine // neuter (rare), strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der, das	Hanf
genitive	eines	des	Hanfes, Hanfs
dative	einem	dem	Hanf, Hanfe1
accusative	einen, ein	den, das	Hanf

¹Now rare, see notes.

The footnote shows up as a qualifier in the headword:

Hanf m or (rare) n (strong, genitive Hanfes or Hanfs, no plural)

To footnote an entire declension, place the footnote in brackets directly after a period. For examples, see Alternants below.

Overrides

You can override a particular case/number combination using the form SLOT:VALUE:VALUE:..., where SLOT specifies the particular slot to override, e.g. acc for accusative singular, datpl for dative plural. For example, for the noun Häusle (“house (diminutive)”), whose plural is Häusle and whose dative plural can be either Häuslen or Häusle, use the following:

{{de-ndecl|n,-:s,-.datpl:n:-}}

which produces

Declension of Häusle [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Häusle	die	Häusle
genitive	eines	des	Häusle, Häusles	der	Häusle
dative	einem	dem	Häusle	den	Häuslen, Häusle
accusative	ein	das	Häusle	die	Häusle

Another use of overrides is specifying a distinct genitive for feminine nouns. An example is Quinquagesima (“Quinquagesima”), which has an alternative Latinate genitive singular Quinquagesimä, used mostly when no article is present. Specify as follows:

{{de-ndecl|f.gen:-:Quinquagesimä[especially without an article].sg}}

which produces

Declension of Quinquagesima [sg-only, feminine]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Quinquagesima
genitive	einer	der	Quinquagesima, Quinquagesimä1
dative	einer	der	Quinquagesima
accusative	eine	die	Quinquagesima

¹Especially without an article.

Here, we specify a footnote in brackets, as described in the Footnotes section above. For another example of using a footnote with an override, see the declension of Spätzle below.

Recognized slot names are as follows:

case	singular slot	plural slot
nominative	nom	nompl
genitive	gen	genpl
accusative	acc	accpl
dative	dat	datpl
ablative	abl	—
vocative	voc	—

The ablative and vocative cases are used only in certain terms with special Latinate declensions, e.g. Jesus Christus.

Defective forms

If a given form is missing entirely, use -- to indicate this. An example is Spätzle (“spätzle”), which is missing the genitive singular. Indicate as follows:

{{de-ndecl|n,--,-.datpl:-:n[uncommon]}}

which produces

Declension of Spätzle [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Spätzle	die	Spätzle
genitive	eines	des	—	der	Spätzle
dative	einem	dem	Spätzle	den	Spätzle, Spätzlen1
accusative	ein	das	Spätzle	die	Spätzle

¹Uncommon.

When used in the headword, it displays as follows:

Spätzle n (strong, no genitive, plural Spätzle)

However, for nouns without a plural form, .sg should be used instead of --.

Embedded commas and periods

If you need to include a form that contains an embedded comma or period, precede the comma or period with a backslash. For example, for Vf. (abbreviation of Verfasser (“author”)), with plural either Vf. or Vff., use the following:

{{de-ndecl|m,-,-:Vff\.}}

which produces

Declension of Vf. [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Vf.	die	Vf., Vff.
genitive	eines	des	Vf.	der	Vf., Vff.
dative	einem	dem	Vf.	den	Vf., Vff.
accusative	einen	den	Vf.	die	Vf., Vff.

Multiword expressions

To decline a multiword expression, include the text of the expression in |1= and put the spec for each word after the word, surrounded by angle brackets. For example, for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (“limited liability company”):

{{de-ndecl|[[Gesellschaft]]<f> [[mit]] [[beschränkt|beschränkter]] [[Haftung]]}}

which produces

Declension of Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung	die	Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung
genitive	einer	der	Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung	der	Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung
dative	einer	der	Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung	den	Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung
accusative	eine	die	Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung	die	Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung

Another example, for Jäger und Sammler (“hunter-gatherer”):

{{de-ndecl|[[Jäger]]<m> [[und]] [[Sammler]]<m>}}

which produces

Declension of Jäger und Sammler [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Jäger und Sammler	die	Jäger und Sammler
genitive	eines	des	Jägers und Sammlers	der	Jäger und Sammler
dative	einem	dem	Jäger und Sammler	den	Jägern und Sammlern
accusative	einen	den	Jäger und Sammler	die	Jäger und Sammler

It is not necessary to surround each word with brackets, but when used in {{de-noun}} it ensures that the words are individually linked in the headword.

Arbitrary specs can be included inside of angle brackets, e.g. for Mittelwort der Gegenwart (“present participle”):

{{de-ndecl|[[Mittelwort]]<n,(e)s,^er> [[der]] [[Gegenwart]]}}

which produces

Declension of Mittelwort der Gegenwart [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Mittelwort der Gegenwart	die	Mittelwörter der Gegenwart
genitive	eines	des	Mittelwortes der Gegenwart, Mittelworts der Gegenwart	der	Mittelwörter der Gegenwart
dative	einem	dem	Mittelwort der Gegenwart, Mittelworte der Gegenwart1	den	Mittelwörtern der Gegenwart
accusative	ein	das	Mittelwort der Gegenwart	die	Mittelwörter der Gegenwart

¹Now rare, see notes.

For singular-only nouns, include the indicator .sg inside the angle brackets, as for Kreuz des Südens (“Southern Cross”):

{{de-ndecl|[[Kreuz]]<n.sg> [[des]] [[Süden]]s}}

which produces

Declension of Kreuz des Südens [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Kreuz des Südens
genitive	eines	des	Kreuzes des Südens
dative	einem	dem	Kreuz des Südens, Kreuze des Südens1
accusative	ein	das	Kreuz des Südens

¹Now rare, see notes.

Any number of declined components can be included, and will be handled correctly. An example with three is Heiliges Römisches Reich (“Holy Roman Empire”):

{{de-ndecl|[[heilig|Heiliges]]<+> [[römisch|Römisches]]<+> [[Reich]]<n,s:es.sg>}}

which produces

Declension of Heiliges Römisches Reich [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
neuter gender	strong declension
nominative	Heiliges Römisches Reich
genitive	Heiligen Römischen Reichs, Heiligen Römischen Reiches
dative	Heiligem Römischem Reich, Heiligem Römischem Reiche1
accusative	Heiliges Römisches Reich
	weak declension
nominative	das	Heilige Römische Reich
genitive	des	Heiligen Römischen Reichs, Heiligen Römischen Reiches
dative	dem	Heiligen Römischen Reich, Heiligen Römischen Reiche1
accusative	das	Heilige Römische Reich
	mixed declension
nominative	ein	Heiliges Römisches Reich
genitive	eines	Heiligen Römischen Reichs, Heiligen Römischen Reiches
dative	einem	Heiligen Römischen Reich, Heiligen Römischen Reiche1
accusative	ein	Heiliges Römisches Reich

¹Now rare, see notes.

Adjectival nouns and adjective-noun combinations

Some nouns are declined like adjectives. An example is Erwachsener (“adult”) (definite nominative der Erwachsene, indefinite nominative ein Erwachsener, definitive genitive des Erwachsenen, bare plural Erwachsene, definite plural die Erwachsenen, etc.). To indicate this, put a + in place of the declension:

{{de-ndecl|+}}

which produces

Declension of Erwachsener [masculine, adjectival]

	singular		plural
masculine gender	strong declension
nominative	Erwachsener		Erwachsene
genitive	Erwachsenen		Erwachsener
dative	Erwachsenem		Erwachsenen
accusative	Erwachsenen		Erwachsene
	weak declension
nominative	der	Erwachsene	die	Erwachsenen
genitive	des	Erwachsenen	der	Erwachsenen
dative	dem	Erwachsenen	den	Erwachsenen
accusative	den	Erwachsenen	die	Erwachsenen
	mixed declension
nominative	ein	Erwachsener	(keine)	Erwachsenen
genitive	eines	Erwachsenen	(keiner)	Erwachsenen
dative	einem	Erwachsenen	(keinen)	Erwachsenen
accusative	einen	Erwachsenen	(keine)	Erwachsenen

The headword appears as follows:

Erwachsener m (adjectival, definite nominative der Erwachsene, genitive (des) Erwachsenen, plural Erwachsene, definite plural die Erwachsenen)

Note how the declension table includes strong (i.e. bare), weak (i.e. definite) and mixed (i.e. indefinite) forms, and the headword includes both bare and definite versions of the nominative singular, genitive singular and nominative plural. For masculine and neuter nouns like this, the bare and definite genitive have the same ending and so the headword inflection combines the two, but for feminine nouns, they will be split. An example is Erwachsene (“female adult”):

{{de-ndecl|+}}

which produces

Declension of Erwachsene [feminine, adjectival]

	singular		plural
feminine gender	strong declension
nominative	Erwachsene		Erwachsene
genitive	Erwachsener		Erwachsener
dative	Erwachsener		Erwachsenen
accusative	Erwachsene		Erwachsene
	weak declension
nominative	die	Erwachsene	die	Erwachsenen
genitive	der	Erwachsenen	der	Erwachsenen
dative	der	Erwachsenen	den	Erwachsenen
accusative	die	Erwachsene	die	Erwachsenen
	mixed declension
nominative	eine	Erwachsene	(keine)	Erwachsenen
genitive	einer	Erwachsenen	(keiner)	Erwachsenen
dative	einer	Erwachsenen	(keinen)	Erwachsenen
accusative	eine	Erwachsene	(keine)	Erwachsenen

The headword appears as follows:

Erwachsene f (adjectival, definite nominative die Erwachsene, genitive Erwachsener, definite genitive der Erwachsenen, plural Erwachsene, definite plural die Erwachsenen)

You can likewise decline adjective-noun combinations using +, e.g. schwarzes Loch (“black hole”):

{{temp|de-ndecl|[[schwarz]]es<+> [[Loch]]<n,(e)s,^er>}}

which produces

Declension of schwarzes Loch [neuter, strong]

	singular		plural
neuter gender	strong declension
nominative	schwarzes Loch		schwarze Löcher
genitive	schwarzen Loches, schwarzen Lochs		schwarzer Löcher
dative	schwarzem Loch, schwarzem Loche1		schwarzen Löchern
accusative	schwarzes Loch		schwarze Löcher
	weak declension
nominative	das	schwarze Loch	die	schwarzen Löcher
genitive	des	schwarzen Loches, schwarzen Lochs	der	schwarzen Löcher
dative	dem	schwarzen Loch, schwarzen Loche1	den	schwarzen Löchern
accusative	das	schwarze Loch	die	schwarzen Löcher
	mixed declension
nominative	ein	schwarzes Loch	(keine)	schwarzen Löcher
genitive	eines	schwarzen Loches, schwarzen Lochs	(keiner)	schwarzen Löcher
dative	einem	schwarzen Loch, schwarzen Loche1	(keinen)	schwarzen Löchern
accusative	ein	schwarzes Loch	(keine)	schwarzen Löcher

¹Now rare, see notes.

The headword appears as follows:

schwarzes Loch n (strong, definite nominative das schwarze Loch, genitive (des) schwarzen Loches or (des) schwarzen Lochs, plural schwarze Löcher, definite plural die schwarzen Löcher)

Here, the alternative notation using angle brackets must be used to indicate the declensions of the individual words. Links must be included in order for there to be links to individual words in the headword.

Note that the gender does not need to be specified in conjunction with +, because it can automatically be inferred from the ending. When used in conjunction with a noun, the plural status of the adjective does not need to be given either, as with Kanarische Inseln:

{{temp|de-ndecl|[[kanarisch|Kanarische]]<+> [[Insel]]n<p>}}

which produces

Declension of Kanarische Inseln [pl-only]

	plural
	strong declension
nominative	Kanarische Inseln
genitive	Kanarischer Inseln
dative	Kanarischen Inseln
accusative	Kanarische Inseln
	weak declension
nominative	die	Kanarischen Inseln
genitive	der	Kanarischen Inseln
dative	den	Kanarischen Inseln
accusative	die	Kanarischen Inseln
	mixed declension
nominative	(keine)	Kanarischen Inseln
genitive	(keiner)	Kanarischen Inseln
dative	(keinen)	Kanarischen Inseln
accusative	(keine)	Kanarischen Inseln

The headword appears as follows:

Kanarische Inseln pl (plural only, definite plural die Kanarischen Inseln)

However, this won't work for a plural-only adjectival noun, because the -e ending will be inferred as feminine singular. If for some reason you need to specify such a noun, use p+ or +p, e.g. for Miese:

{{de-ndecl|p+}}

which produces

Declension of Miese [pl-only, adjectival]

	plural
	strong declension
nominative	Miese
genitive	Mieser
dative	Miesen
accusative	Miese
	weak declension
nominative	die	Miesen
genitive	der	Miesen
dative	den	Miesen
accusative	die	Miesen
	mixed declension
nominative	(keine)	Miesen
genitive	(keiner)	Miesen
dative	(keinen)	Miesen
accusative	(keine)	Miesen

The headword appears as follows:

Miese pl (adjectival, plural only, definite plural die Miesen)

Alternants

Sometimes a given expression has multiple possible declensions, in a way that can't easily be specified using the available possibilities for specifying multiple genders or alternative genitive or plural endings. For example, some nouns can be declined either strong or weak, and in some multiword expressions, one word may or may not be declined. An example is Hirsch, normally strong but sometimes weak (especially in Southern Germany and Austria). To indicate this, use a syntax like this: ((ALTERNANT1,ALTERNANT2,...)) where each alternant must have angle brackets in it:

{{de-ndecl|((<m,(e)s>,<m.weak.[also in Southern Germany and Austria]>))}}

which produces

Declension of Hirsch [masculine, strong // weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Hirsch	die	Hirsche, Hirschen1
genitive	eines	des	Hirsches, Hirschs, Hirschen1	der	Hirsche, Hirschen1
dative	einem	dem	Hirsch, Hirsche2, Hirschen1	den	Hirschen
accusative	einen	den	Hirsch, Hirschen1	die	Hirsche, Hirschen1

¹Also in Southern Germany and Austria.
²Now rare, see notes.

Here the first alternant is strong while the second is weak and includes an entire-declension footnote (see Footnotes above). The headword appears as follows:

Hirsch m (strong or weak, genitive Hirsches or Hirschs or (also in Southern Germany and Austria) Hirschen, plural Hirsche or (also in Southern Germany and Austria) Hirschen)

Another example is lüttje Lage (“a beer with a shot of Korn”), where lüttje (a Low German word) may or may not be inflected as a normal adjective:

{{de-ndecl|((lüttje<+> [[Lage]]<f>,lüttje [[Lage]]<f>))}}

which produces

Declension of lüttje Lage [feminine]

	singular		plural
feminine gender	strong declension
nominative	lüttje Lage		lüttje Lagen
genitive	lüttjer Lage, lüttje Lage		lüttjer Lagen, lüttje Lagen
dative	lüttjer Lage, lüttje Lage		lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
accusative	lüttje Lage		lüttje Lagen
	weak declension
nominative	die	lüttje Lage	die	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
genitive	der	lüttjen Lage, lüttje Lage	der	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
dative	der	lüttjen Lage, lüttje Lage	den	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
accusative	die	lüttje Lage	die	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
	mixed declension
nominative	eine	lüttje Lage	(keine)	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
genitive	einer	lüttjen Lage, lüttje Lage	(keiner)	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
dative	einer	lüttjen Lage, lüttje Lage	(keinen)	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen
accusative	eine	lüttje Lage	(keine)	lüttjen Lagen, lüttje Lagen

The headword appears as follows:

lüttje Lage f (definite nominative die lüttje Lage, genitive lüttjer Lage or lüttje Lage, definite genitive der lüttjen Lage or der lüttje Lage, plural lüttje Lagen, definite plural die lüttjen Lagen or die lüttje Lagen)

Note that both the declension and headword use the adjectival form even though only one of the two alternants has an adjective in it. This is also an example where we purposely avoid linking one of the components, since lüttje by itself is not a German word.