Adjectival nouns
A word used to describe a person or thing. can also be turned into nouns in German. In fact, we sometimes do the same in English too, usually to denote a collective group of people:
- good (adj) > the good (noun)
- bad (adj) > the bad (noun)
- ugly (adj) > the ugly (noun)
Adjectival nouns work just like adjectives, and the endings change according to gender, case and the article used with it.
| Adjective | Noun (m) | Noun (f) |
| alt – old | der Alte – the old man | die Alte – the old lady |
| bekannt – acquainted | der Bekannte – the male acquaintance | die Bekannte – the female acquaintance |
| deutsch – German | der Deutsche – the German man | die Deutsche – the German lady |
| verwandt – related | der Verwandte – the male relative | die Verwandte – the female relative |
| Adjective | alt – old |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Alte – the old man |
| Noun (f) | die Alte – the old lady |
| Adjective | bekannt – acquainted |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Bekannte – the male acquaintance |
| Noun (f) | die Bekannte – the female acquaintance |
| Adjective | deutsch – German |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Deutsche – the German man |
| Noun (f) | die Deutsche – the German lady |
| Adjective | verwandt – related |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Verwandte – the male relative |
| Noun (f) | die Verwandte – the female relative |
If you are referring to something more A thought, concept or idea that doesn't have a physical or concrete existence., the gender will be neuter:
| Adjective | Noun |
| best – best | das Beste – the best |
| ganze – whole | das Ganze – the whole |
| wichtig – important | das Wichtige – the important (thing) |
| Adjective | best – best |
|---|---|
| Noun | das Beste – the best |
| Adjective | ganze – whole |
|---|---|
| Noun | das Ganze – the whole |
| Adjective | wichtig – important |
|---|---|
| Noun | das Wichtige – the important (thing) |
The plurals of adjectival nouns are simple – you add -n to the end and change the definite article to die.
Question
Complete the table with the masculine, feminine and plural noun forms using the adjectives given.
Look at the first example if you need some help.
| Adjective | Noun (m) | Noun (f) | Noun (pl) |
| reich – rich | der Reiche – the rich man | die Reiche – the rich lady | die Reichen – the rich (people) |
| arm – poor | |||
| alt – old | |||
| neu – new | |||
| erwachsen – adult | |||
| fremd – strange | |||
| obdachlos – homeless | |||
| verlobt – engaged | |||
| angestellt – employed |
| Adjective | reich – rich |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Reiche – the rich man |
| Noun (f) | die Reiche – the rich lady |
| Noun (pl) | die Reichen – the rich (people) |
| Adjective | arm – poor |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | alt – old |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | neu – new |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | erwachsen – adult |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | fremd – strange |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | obdachlos – homeless |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | verlobt – engaged |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | angestellt – employed |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | |
| Noun (f) | |
| Noun (pl) |
| Adjective | Noun (m) | Noun (f) | Noun (pl) |
| reich – rich | der Reiche – the rich man | die Reiche – the rich lady | die Reichen – the rich (people) |
| arm – poor | der Arme – the poor man | die Arme – the poor lady | die Armen – the poor (people) |
| alt – old | der Alte – the old man | die Alte – the old woman | die Alten – the old people/the elderly |
| neu – new | der Neue – the new man/boy | die Neue – the new woman/girl | die Neuen – the new people/ones |
| erwachsen – adult | der Erwachsene – the (male) adult | die Erwachsene – the (female) adult | die Erwachsenen – the adults |
| fremd – strange | der Fremde – the (male) stranger | die Fremde – the (female) stranger | die Fremden – the strangers |
| obdachlos – homeless | der Obdachlose – the homeless man | die Obdachlose – the homeless lady | die Obdachlosen – the homeless (people) |
| verlobt – engaged | der Verlobte – fiancé | die Verlobte – fiancée | die Verlobten – the engaged couple |
| angestellt – employed | der Angestellte – the (male) employee | die Angestellte – the (female) employee | die Angestellten – the employees |
| Adjective | reich – rich |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Reiche – the rich man |
| Noun (f) | die Reiche – the rich lady |
| Noun (pl) | die Reichen – the rich (people) |
| Adjective | arm – poor |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Arme – the poor man |
| Noun (f) | die Arme – the poor lady |
| Noun (pl) | die Armen – the poor (people) |
| Adjective | alt – old |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Alte – the old man |
| Noun (f) | die Alte – the old woman |
| Noun (pl) | die Alten – the old people/the elderly |
| Adjective | neu – new |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Neue – the new man/boy |
| Noun (f) | die Neue – the new woman/girl |
| Noun (pl) | die Neuen – the new people/ones |
| Adjective | erwachsen – adult |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Erwachsene – the (male) adult |
| Noun (f) | die Erwachsene – the (female) adult |
| Noun (pl) | die Erwachsenen – the adults |
| Adjective | fremd – strange |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Fremde – the (male) stranger |
| Noun (f) | die Fremde – the (female) stranger |
| Noun (pl) | die Fremden – the strangers |
| Adjective | obdachlos – homeless |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Obdachlose – the homeless man |
| Noun (f) | die Obdachlose – the homeless lady |
| Noun (pl) | die Obdachlosen – the homeless (people) |
| Adjective | verlobt – engaged |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Verlobte – fiancé |
| Noun (f) | die Verlobte – fiancée |
| Noun (pl) | die Verlobten – the engaged couple |
| Adjective | angestellt – employed |
|---|---|
| Noun (m) | der Angestellte – the (male) employee |
| Noun (f) | die Angestellte – the (female) employee |
| Noun (pl) | die Angestellten – the employees |
Es hat keinen Zweck, Altes mit Altem zu ersetzen. – There's no point in replacing old with old.
Did you know?
August II der Starke – Augustus the Strong – was the Elector of Saxony in 1694 before becoming King of Poland twice, the first time from 1697-1706 and the second time from 1709 until his death in 1733.
He was born in Dresden and shaped the architecture of the city by building magnificent palaces, including his extravagant castle known as the Dresdner Residenzschloss.
He successfully transformed Dresden into a cultural mecca, establishing what is believed to the world's first ever public museum – the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault). His vast art collection can still be admired today in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Gallery).
He is known as der Starke – the strong one – because of his feats of strength. He once broke an iron horseshoe with his bare hands, but some people maintain that the metal was already very brittle before he broke it. Maybe he wasn't so stark after all...
