Want to review the endings and articles you’ll need for neuter nouns? Check out our posts on German definite articles, German indefinite articles, and the German case system! Luckily, with these kinds of nouns you won’t need to use the plural!
German Articles
How to turn German words into nouns?
By: Babsi Cabrera Thu Jun 05 2025
GermanNouns
In German, there are several different ways to nominalize verbsNo definition set for verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and adjectivesNo definition set for adjectivesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., 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.
The child couldn’t refrain from laughing.
→ The noun Lachen(laughing) comes from the verb lachen(to laugh)Der Kleine lachte so laut, dass er sich fast in die Hose pinkelte.
The little one was laughing so hard, he almost peed his pants.
→ The noun Kleine(little one) comes from the adjective klein(small)
So what are the rules for turning other words into nouns? Keep reading to discover more!
Table of Contents
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(laughter)
Create a compound nounNo definition set for compound nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. from a verb + object, e.g. das Musikhören(listening to music)
Nominalize a participleNo definition set for participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. by adding -e at the end, e.g. der Wartende(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 articleNo definition set for definite articleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. is das(the), and as with all nouns in German, they should be capitalized. They are declinedNo definition set for declinedLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. just like any regular neuter noun.
lachen
to laugh
→das Lachen
laughter, laughing
weinen
to cry
→das Weinen
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.”
Tip
Here are a few examples of nouns like these being used in sentences:
Das Lachen des Kindes war sehr ansteckend.
The laughter of the child was very contagious.
Weil der Film so traurig war, konnte ich das Weinen nicht unterdrücken.
Because the movie was so sad, I wasn’t able to suppress the crying.
Die Lautstärke des Schluchzens war unüberhörbar.
The volume of the sob was unmistakable.
Tobias gab dem Weinen nach.
Tobias caved in to the crying.
Lachen ist gesund!
Laughing is healthy!
Tip
You can use nouns like these to discuss an action that happened at the same time as the main action by using beim(in the process of) + nominalized verb.
verbnominalized verb
Sabine singt beim Autofahren.
Sabine sings while driving a car.
Die Freunde trinken Eistee beim Grillen.
The friends are drinking iced tea while barbecuing.
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:
objectverb
hören → das Musikhören
to hear → listening to music
lit. to hear → the music-hearing
Here are some examples of how you might use such nouns in a sentence:
objectverb
Das Musikhören nach einem stressigen Arbeitstag entspannt viele Menschen.
Listening to music after a stressful day of work relaxes many people.
Wegen des zu lauten Musikhörens sind viele Menschen aber jetzt schwerhörig.
Because of listening to music too loud, many people are now hard of hearing.
Wegen des zu lauten Musikhörens sind viele Menschen aber jetzt schwerhörig.
Because of listening to music too loud, many people are now hard of hearing.
Die Technik macht das Autofahren heutzutage sicherer.
Technology makes driving a car safer nowadays.
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:
warten
to wait
→wartend
waiting
→der wartende
the waiting one
Der Wartende wurden mit der Zeit sehr ungeduldig.
The one waiting was getting very impatient over time.
Past participle + -e/-en represents the noun the action is done to:
stranden
to strand
→gestrandet
stranded
→die Gestrandeten
the stranded (ones)
Die Gestrandeten suchten sofort nach Wasser und Unterschlupf.
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(the stuff lying around) or das Getane(the things done).
Important
Technically, nominalized participles follow all the same rules as adjectives nominalized with -e (which isn’t surprising, because a participle is an adjective). This means that:
The gender of the noun will match the gender of the thing it represents:
der Gestrandete
a male stranded person
die Gestrandete
a female stranded person
The noun itself is declined like a regular adjective, rather than like a noun. This means that even though they act like nouns, they take adjective endings.
Check out our section on adjectives nominalized with -e below for more discussion of these grammar rules!
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:
werben
to advertise
→die Werbung
advertisement
You may also see the suffix -schaft, which also produces feminine nouns, but this is a bit less commonly used to create new nominalizations:
erben
to inherit
→das Erbschaft
inheritance
In some cases, you can add -er to create nouns for professions:
fahren
to drive
→der Fahrer
driver
lehren
to teach
→der Lehrer
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.
Important
Many nominalized verbs have become “fossilized” in German. So though you might be able to see the connection between a verb and a related noun, you can’t necessarily predict the relationship. Here are some examples:
kochen
to cook
→der Koch / die Köchin
cook (male / female)
dirigieren
to conduct
→der Dirigent / die Dirigentin
conductor (male / female)
So while these less common nominalization patterns can help you remember new words, it’s best not to extend them to create your own nouns from scratch.
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(something) or nichts(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.
rund
round
→das Runde
the round (one)
dirigieren
to conduct
→das Gerade
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.
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 noun
Die Große war besonders verschmust.
The big one was particularly cuddly.
- neuter noun
Das Große gefiel dem Mann am Besten.
The man liked the big one best.
lit. 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.
Tip
The best way to know what ending and article a nominalized adjective should take is just to pretend the noun is there, right after it. Then you just need to remove the noun and capitalize the adjective. Compare:
- adjectivenominalized adjective
Der große Mann kauft eine neue Hose ein.
Der Große kauft eine neue Hose ein.The tall (man/one) is buying a new pair of pants.
- adjectivenominalized adjective
Große Männer kaufen Pullis ein.
Große kaufen Pullis ein.Tall (men/ones) are buying sweaters.
→ Notice that even though the adjective/noun is plural, the ending is -e, not -en. This is because the adjective isn’t preceded by a definite article, so the endings are different. You can review the indefinite endings in our post on German adjective endings!
Important
To translate phrases like “something scary” or “nothing blue” into German, you’ll want to use a nominalized adjective after etwas(something) or nichts(nothing). However, since these nominalized adjectives are never preceded by an article, we use the strong neuter adjective ending -es instead of -e.
Ich sehe etwas Großes am Horizont.
I’m seeing something big on the horizon.
Morgen möchte ich nichts Schwarzes anziehen.
Tomorrow, I would like to wear nothing black.
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”
AdjectiveNounEnglishrot
das rot
red
grün
das Grün
green
blau
das Blau
blue
Das Blau des Himmels ist wunderschön heute.
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.
Peter’s German is very good.
Seit der 5. Klasse hatte Peter Deutsch.
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.
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 clear | die Klarheit clarity |
heiter cheerful | die Heiterkeit cheerfulness |
absurd absurd | die Absurdität 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:
AdjectiveNounTranslationfertig
die Fertigkeit
ready → skill
strebsam
die Strebsamkeit
ambitious → ambition
freundlich
die Freundlichkeit
friendly → friendliness
Use -igkeit if the source adjective ends in -los or -haft:
AdjectiveNounTranslationlustlos
die Lustlosigkeit
listless → listlessness
arbeitslos
die Arbeitslosigkeit
unemployed → unemployment
Use -heit for most other native German adjectives, especially those that are past participles.
AdjectiveNounTranslationverliebt
die Verliebtheit
in love → infatuation
beliebt
die Beliebtheit
popular → popularity
frei
die Freiheit
free → 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:
AdjectiveNounHeaderreal
die Realität
real → reality
naiv
die Naivität
naive → naivety
frei
die Freiheit
free → freedom
rar
die Rarität
rare → rarity
aktiv
die Aktivität
active → 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 Universität
university
die Qualität
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(other), beide(both), manche(some) or viele(many) just by capitalizing them and adding an appropriate article, usually the plural one die(the). You then have to decline them like any other noun.
Gestern sah eine Gruppe Studenten den Film “Das Leben der Anderen”
Yesterday a group of students watched the film “The life of others”
Viele fanden den Film super.
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(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.
Tim has three nephews. He gave the three [nephews] chocolates for Easter.
Sie bekamen je zehn Schokoeier. Die Zehn wurden sofort gegessen.
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.
To each his own.
→ from sein(his)Adverbs
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.
Tina lives in the here and now.
→ From the adverbs hier(here) and jetzt(now)Von mir aus gesehen ist dein Links mein Rechts.
From my perspective your left is my right.
→ from the adverbs links(left) and rechts(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:
schlafen
to sleep
→das Schlafen
sleeping
However, 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!
