In German, there are several different ways to nominalize verbs and adjectives, or turn them into In this post we’ll look at some of the most common ones. Here are a couple examples of German nominalizations:
- Das kleine Kind konnte sich das Lachen nicht verkneifen.Translation: The child couldn’t refrain from laughing.The noun Lachen meaning laughing comes from the verb lachen meaning to laugh
- Der Kleine lachte so laut, dass er sich fast in die Hose pinkelte.Translation: The little one was laughing so hard, he almost peed his pants.The noun Kleine meaning little one comes from the adjective klein meaning small
So what are the rules for turning other words into nouns? Keep reading to discover more!
How to nominalize German verbs?
Let’s start off this article by giving you some good news. Nominalizing German verbs is actually quite simple! You can…
Use the infinitive as a noun, e.g. das Lachen meaning laughter
Create a compound noun from a verb + object, e.g. das Musikhören meaning listening to music
Nominalize a participle by adding -e at the end, e.g. der Wartende meaning the waiting person
Let’s take a closer look at each type of nominalization and the meanings of the of nouns each one produces:
Nominalization with infinitive verbs
In German you can convert any infinitive verb as a noun — just add an article before it and you’re good to go! Such nouns are always neuter, so the definite article is das meaning the, and as with all nouns in German, they should be capitalized. They are declined just like any regular neuter noun.
- lachenTranslation: to laughdas LachenTranslation: laughter, laughing
- weinenTranslation: to crydas WeinenTranslation: crying
The English equivalents of verbs that are nominalized this way will most often end with “-ing” and broadly represent the “act of doing the verb.”
Here are a few examples of nouns like these being used in sentences:
- Das Lachen des Kindes war sehr ansteckend.Translation: The laughter of the child was very contagious.
- Weil der Film so traurig war, konnte ich das Weinen nicht unterdrücken.Translation: Because the movie was so sad, I wasn’t able to suppress the crying.
- Die Lautstärke des Schluchzens war unüberhörbar.Translation: The volume of the sob was unmistakable.
- Tobias gab dem Weinen nach.Translation: Tobias caved in to the crying.
- Lachen ist gesund!Translation: Laughing is healthy!
Creating a compound noun via nominalization (verb + noun)
Another form of nominalization combines the verb you are nominalizing with its object into a compound noun. Just as above, you use the infinitive verb and the noun you create is neuter, but in this case the word will start with the object noun. For example:
Here are some examples of how you might use such nouns in a sentence:
Nominalizing participles with ‘-e’ and ‘-en’
You can also create nouns by adding -e (singular) or -en (plural) to the from the participle form of a verb.
In German, there are two types of participles: present participles and past participles. Both kinds can be turned into nouns, but the resulting meaning is a bit different:
Present participle + -e/-en represents the person doing the action:
- wartenTranslation: to waitwartendTranslation: waitingder wartendeTranslation: the waiting one
- Der Wartende wurden mit der Zeit sehr ungeduldig.Translation: The one waiting was getting very impatient over time.
Past participle + -e/-en represents the noun the action is done to:
- strandenTranslation: to strandgestrandetTranslation: strandeddie GestrandetenTranslation: the stranded (ones)
- Die Gestrandeten suchten sofort nach Wasser und Unterschlupf.Translation: The ones stranded were looking for water and shelter immediately.
Nominalized participles in German are most commonly used to describe people, not objects, but they can be used for objects in cases, as with das Herumliegende meaning the stuff lying around or das Getane meaning the things done.
Other ways to nominalize German verbs
There are a few suffixes that can be used to nominalize German verbs. These are generally formed by removing the infinitive -en and adding another suffix.
In modern German, -ung, is the most prominent and modern. This produces feminine nouns:
werbenTranslation: to advertisedie WerbungTranslation: advertisementYou may also see the suffix -schaft, which also produces feminine nouns, but this is a bit less commonly used to create new nominalizations:
erbenTranslation: to inheritdas ErbschaftTranslation: inheritanceIn some cases, you can add -er to create nouns for professions:
- fahrenTranslation: to driveder FahrerTranslation: driver
- lehrenTranslation: to teachder LehrerTranslation: teacher
But be careful! This ending is not as “active” in German as it is in English. It can only be used with some verbs.
How to nominalize adjectives in German?
Let’s continue the good news, shall we? The nominalization of adjectives is also quite simple. And again, there are a handful of rules and methods you can follow.
Add -e to the adjective
With etwas meaning something or nichts meaning nothing
Add a suffix like -heit, -keit, or -tät
Let’s look more closely at each of these methods!
Nominalizing German adjectives with ‘-e’
The easiest way to convert a German adjective into a noun is to just add an -e to the end of the word. This creates a nominative singular noun.
- rundTranslation: rounddas RundeTranslation: the round (one)
- dirigierenTranslation: to conductdas GeradeTranslation: the straight (one)
But though this basic rule is quite simple, when you use nouns like these in a sentence, there are some special grammar rules you’ll need to keep in mind:
The gender of the nominalized adjective depends on the gender of the thing you are representing with the noun.
For example, let’s say we’re talking about a group of dogs (der Hund, masculine). We might treat our nominalized adjective as masculine and say:
masculine nounDer Große kam direkt auf das Kind zu.Translation: The big one was coming directly towards the child.If, on the other hand, we were talking about a group of cats (die Katze, feminine), or a group of cars (das Auto, neuter) the gender of Große would be different:
- feminine nounDie Große war besonders verschmust.Translation: The big one was particularly cuddly.
- neuter nounDas Große gefiel dem Mann am Besten.Translation: The man liked the big one best.Literally: The big one pleased the man the most.
The nominalized adjective takes regular adjective endings, not the endings you’d use for a normal noun.
Declining regular adjectives in German can get a little complicated, but you’ll most commonly use these after a definite article, and if this is the case there are just three rules to remember:
Use -e for the nominative singular
Use -e for the accusative singular of feminine or neuter adjectives
Use -en everywhere else.
Remember though, that after an indefinite article, or if no article is used, the rules are different! Check out our post on declining German adjectives to review all the details.
When to leave the ‘-e’ off a nominalized adjective?
Some types of adjectives can be turned into nouns without adding an -e. You’ll mostly see these in genitive constructions. These include:
Colors, when they stand for “the color X”
Adjective Noun English rotdas rotred
gründas Grüngreen
blaudas Blaublue
Das Blau des Himmels ist wunderschön heute.Translation: The blue of the sky is beautiful today.If you want to use them to mean “the red one” or “the blue one” you’ll still need the -e!
Languages, when they refer to someone’s language skills or a subject in school (not the language in general)
- Peters Deutsch ist sehr gut.Translation: Peter’s German is very good.
- Seit der 5. Klasse hatte Peter Deutsch.Translation: Peter has had German (class) since 5th grade.
If you want to talk about a language in general, though, you do need to add an -e:
Peter übersetzt jeden Tag englische Literatur ins Deutsche.Translation: Peter translates English literature into German every day.
Using other suffixes to nominalize adjectives
There are also some suffixes, like -heit, -keit and -tät, that are used to turn German adjectives into nouns. These are mostly used to form nouns that represent “the state of being X.” In English, you might use “-ness” to achieve these kinds of meanings (e.g. “happiness,” “tiredness,”...).
| Adjective | Noun |
|---|---|
klar Translation: clear | die Klarheit Translation: clarity |
heiter Translation: cheerful | die Heiterkeit Translation: cheerfulness |
absurd Translation: absurd | die Absurdität Translation: absurdity |
I know what your next question is: How do I know when to use -heit vs. -keit vs. -tät? Luckily, there are rules you can follow!
Use -keitif the source adjective has one of the suffixes: -ig, -lich, -sam, -bar:
Adjective Noun Translation fertigdie Fertigkeitready → skill
strebsamdie Strebsamkeitambitious → ambition
freundlichdie Freundlichkeitfriendly → friendliness
Use -igkeit if the source adjective ends in -los or -haft:
Adjective Noun Translation lustlosdie Lustlosigkeitlistless → listlessness
arbeitslosdie Arbeitslosigkeitunemployed → unemployment
Use -heit for most other native German adjectives, especially those that are past participles.
Adjective Noun Translation verliebtdie Verliebtheitin love → infatuation
beliebtdie Beliebtheitpopular → popularity
freidie Freiheitfree → freedom
Use -tät mostly with adjectives that come from languages other than German, especially Latin or Greek. Sometimes you have to add an i between the base and the suffix to make it easier to pronounce:
Adjective Noun Header realdie Realitätreal → reality
naivdie Naivitätnaive → naivety
freidie Freiheitfree → freedom
rardie Raritätrare → rarity
aktivdie Aktivitätactive → activity
Many of these are words that end with “-ity” in English, because English borrowed them from the same source. In fact, just like in English, sometimes German borrowed the noun form but not the adjective form, so there isn’t a corresponding adjective, as with:
- die UniversitätTranslation: university
- die QualitätTranslation: quality
How to nominalize other kinds of German words?
A few other types of words can be turned into nouns as well. Let’s have a look at a few!
Indefinite pronouns
You can nominalize German indefinite pronouns like andere meaning other, beide meaning both, manche meaning some or viele meaning many just by capitalizing them and adding an appropriate article, usually the plural one die meaning the. You then have to decline them like any other noun.
- Gestern sah eine Gruppe Studenten den Film “Das Leben der Anderen”Translation: Yesterday a group of students watched the film “The life of others”
- Viele fanden den Film super.Translation: Many thought the movie was great.
Numbers
Numbers can also be nominalized in German. You do this by capitalizing the number and adding a definite plural article die meaning the. They are an exception in a way, as they do not have to be declined in different cases.
- Tim hat drei Neffen. Er hat den Drei zu Ostern Schokolade geschenkt.Translation: Tim has three nephews. He gave the three [nephews] chocolates for Easter.
- Sie bekamen je zehn Schokoeier. Die Zehn wurden sofort gegessen.Translation: They got ten chocolate eggs each. All ten were eaten at once.
Possessive adjectives
German possessive adjectives can also be nominalized just like you would nominalize an adjective: capitalize, then add an -e (singular) or -en (plural). Then decline like you would any other noun. These nominalized pronouns sound quite old-fashioned and poetic are not as common in modern German.
Jedem das Seine.Translation: To each his own.from sein meaning hisAdverbs
Adverbs of location, time, and more can also become nouns in some instances, though it is rare. Nouns that come from adverbs look just like the original adverb, except that they are capitalized. Such nouns also decline and therefore do not change their endings.
- Tina lebt im Hier und Jetzt.Translation: Tina lives in the here and now.From the adverbs hier meaning here and jetzt meaning now
- Von mir aus gesehen ist dein Links mein Rechts.Translation: From my perspective your left is my right.from the adverbs links meaning left and rechts meaning right
Summary
In this article we went over the nominalization of verbs and adjectives. Here are the main takeaways:
Verbs are mostly nominalized by just using the infinitive form as a neuter noun:
schlafenTranslation: to sleepdas SchlafenTranslation: sleepingHowever, you can also nominalize a participle, like you would nominalize any other adjective, to create a noun for “one who does the action” or “one who undergoes the action”
Adjectives are mostly nominalized by adding -e to the adjective, which represent “one who is X”. Remember these two main points:
Such nouns take the gender of the thing they represent.
Such nouns take adjective endings, rather than noun ones.
You can also create nouns meaning “the state of being X” by adding endings like -heit, -keit and -tät to some adjectives. The adjective’s ending gives you a hint on which suffix to use!
We also saw that indefinite pronouns, numbers, pronouns and some adverbs can also be nominalized in German.
And now, it’s time to practice! Head over to our German nominalization activities! Happy learning!
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