Template:de-ndecl

The following documentation is located at Template:de-ndecl/documentation.

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Uses Lua:

• Module:de-noun

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.)

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

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

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

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

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

{{de-ndecl|f}}

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

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

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

which produces

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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).

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

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

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.

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.

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

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}}

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}}

which produces

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

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

{{de-ndecl|p}}

which produces

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

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}}

which produces

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,(e)s.sg}}

which produces

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.

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

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.sg}}

which produces

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:

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

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}}

which produces

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 --.

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

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|]<f> ] ] ]}}

which produces

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

{{de-ndecl|]<m> ] ]<m>}}

which produces

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|]<n,(e)s,^er> ] ]}}

which produces

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

{{de-ndecl|]<n.sg> ] ]s}}

which produces

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|]<+> ]<+> ]<n,s:es.sg>}}

which produces

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

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

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|]es<+> ]<n,(e)s,^er>}}

which produces

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|]<+> ]n<p>}}

which produces

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

The headword appears as follows:

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

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.>))}}

which produces

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<+> ]<f>,lüttje ]<f>))}}

which produces

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.