Although I originally only planned to update the main post, seeing that my fellow readers are also learning German made me suddenly decide to continue updating here as well.
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This may not have been clear enough. Adjective endings change based on the preceding article and the noun’s case and number, resulting in 3 \times 3 \times 2 \times 4 = 72 possible endings. Using rot (red) as an example, here’s the breakdown:
| No article Strong declension |
Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | roter | rotes | rote | rote |
| Accusative | roten | rotes | rote | rote |
| Dative | rotem | rotem | roter | roten |
| Genitive | roten | roten | roter | roter |
| Definite article Weak declension |
Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der rote | das rote | die rote | die roten |
| Accusative | den roten | das rote | die rote | die roten |
| Dative | dem roten | dem roten | der roten | den roten |
| Genitive | des roten | des roten | der roten | der roten |
| Indefinite article Mixed declension |
Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein roter | ein rotes | eine rote | keine rote |
| Accusative | einen roten | ein rotes | eine rote | keine roten |
| Dative | einem roten | einem roten | einer roten | keinen roten |
| Genitive | eines roten | eines roten | einer roten | keiner roten |
In reality, you only need to memorize the bolded endings. Mixed declension is indeed mixed, meaning memorizing strong declension is sufficient. The article changes are simpler, as these tables also demonstrate.
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I’m curious about the meanings of nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive cases
(Isn’t the final week of term way more fun than studying for exams?)
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Great response time! I’ll write it down after I finish checking my ticket 
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Are you going home? 
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Just caught the subway (and) skived off
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Sure, here is the translation:
“Absolutely, I can’t wait any longer—even carrying my luggage to the exam hall today!”
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xm is over 
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What I found confusing is that the article and adjective seem to be related, which contradicts my understanding.
My understanding of adjectives is that they should modify nouns, and articles directly precede nouns. This seems different from German grammar.
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Let’s start with an example sentence:
Ich kaufe meiner Freunde viele Brote.
No matter how long the sentence is, the verb is always at the core. Here, the verb kaufen (to buy) requires three complements (action elements) and several modifiers (state elements). Think of it like a carbon atom in methane needing to bond with four hydrogen atoms, while surrounding water molecules can form a molecular cage. Just as a carbon atom bonds differently with different atoms, verbs also pair with different complements:
If this makes sense, we can introduce cases: cases act like markers that map deep semantic roles (agent, patient, beneficiary, etc.) to surface forms (inflections). With case markers, the relationship between nouns and the verb core becomes clear. If you don’t get it, let’s break down the sentence:
- ich
- viele Brote
- meiner Freunde
Given the verb kaufe (buy), we know the sentence should follow the pattern: “(Someone) buys (something) (for someone).” But if you don’t recognize the nouns (even if you do), there are six possible combinations—so which one is correct? Let’s look at the core verb’s required complements:
- Nominative complement (agent, who is “buying”)
- Accusative complement (patient, what is being “bought”)
- Dative complement (beneficiary, for whom it is “bought”)
Matching the numbers, we deduce:
- Ich is the one buying.
- Viele Brote is what is being bought.
- Meiner Freunde is the recipient of the purchase.
This example might not be perfect, and the explanation might not be great. Here’s the conclusion:
- Cases are forms, emphasizing morphological changes to show syntactic-semantic relationships with the core word (primarily verbs).
- Complements are functions, emphasizing semantic roles, fulfilling specific roles in the sentence.
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When there are no adjectives, this is indeed the case; but when there are adjectives, the article and noun form a sandwich with the adjective in between—let’s call this whole unit a noun (phrase) group for now.
Earlier, we mentioned that complements require different case markers depending on their role—so where exactly does the case marker go on the noun phrase? And how can we mark it so that even if someone misses part of it, the overall meaning isn’t affected? This requires internal agreement within the noun phrase.
- Definite articles already have many inflected endings, so they rarely require adjective endings (weak inflection: m. N., n./f. N./A. for the five -e forms; the rest -en).
- Zero articles (no article) are invisible and unheard, so adjectives must undergo strong inflection.
- Indefinite articles also carry some case markers, so adjectives follow mixed inflection.
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I’m confused 
Does German have adjectives that follow the noun?
In French, apart from a few simple cases (like nouvelle belle), most adjectives must follow the noun.
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Deutsch hat zwar Adjektive nach dem Substantiv, aber die meisten dieser Fälle sind französische Lehnwörter ().
Keine Sorge, die Aussage ist nicht ganz präzise – im Deutschen gibt es tatsächlich drei Hauptkategorien:
- Französische Lehnwörter (häufigste Ausnahme, meist unveränderlich)
- Adjektive nach bestimmten Pronomen in substantivierter Form (z. B. etwas Interessantes, viel Wichtiges, wenig Gutes – ähnlich wie im Englischen something interesting)
- Fälle wie Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD) oder Friedrich der Große, die zwar typisch deutsch wirken, aber tatsächlich eine französisch inspirierte Wortstellung aufweisen – vermutlich unter lateinischem Einfluss.
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[quote=“
, post:458, topic:14436, username:周末”]
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
[/quote]
I remember when I first studied German, the first lesson was on personal pronouns (of course, the zero lesson was about letter pronunciation and orthography, which is even more fundamental).
My notes were already quite complete, and I was surprised to have taken them so quickly—I usually wait until the end of the term for the professor to distribute the course materials 
.
Number, plural
Case, nominative
Person, third person
If we must add another one:
Gender, neuter (since there are no specific markers, it’s generally not mentioned)
But according to this definition, it’s about verbs, so we won’t consider pronouns for this.
Because grammatical categories are manifested through inflectional changes to some extent, but different personal pronouns aren’t considered different forms of the same word.
However, they assign person to verbs.
I read in Language: A Linguistic Introduction that gender is an inherent property of nouns, while adjectives and articles change based on the noun’s gender. I assumed this was established from the beginning, without any logical connection.
Speaking of this, the group just started discussing pronouns and gender, number, case, and person.
| Nominative | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First | ich | wir |
| Second | du | ihr |
| Third | masculine er neuter es feminine sie |
sie |
These are all basics. The interesting part is how speakers refer to the listener, namely Siezen, duzen, ihrzen, and erzen:
- Siezen: Using Sie as a formal address, the standard polite form in modern German, conjugated like the third-person plural. It applies to most formal situations and strangers, indicating politeness and distance.
- Duzen: Using du for friends, acquaintances, or equal relationships. If a senior or superior person initiates using du, it’s a sign of wanting to close the gap. In written language, capitalized Du can balance intimacy with formal respect. Teacher-student relationships commonly use du, primarily due to its spread after the 1968 student movement.
- Ihrzen: Using Ihr as a singular address, historically a polite form (similar to English’s “you” replacing “thou”), now obsolete in standard German but preserved in some Southern German and Austrian dialects. However, ihr as the second-person plural (“you all”) remains widely used in daily speech.
- Erzen/Siezen: Using Er or Sie (singular) as a formal address, historically the highest level of respect by placing the other person outside the conversation with third-person singular, now completely outdated and perceived as condescending.
The evolution of second-person honorifics over time follows roughly this timeline:
- Old High German (c. 750–1050): Person was mainly indicated through verb conjugation, and pronouns were rarely used. Under Roman influence, plural pronouns like Ihr began to be used as honorifics around 870 (e.g., Luther switched to Ihr when addressing his son after he passed his master’s exams as a sign of recognition).
- Middle High German (c. 1050–1350): Medieval usage was complex and stratified by social hierarchy: family members used du, parents addressed children with du, children addressed fathers with Ihr (mother’s usage varied by region), and spouses often used Ihr (since marriage was often a social arrangement). Friends and companions used du.
- Early Modern Period (17th–18th century):
- After the Thirty Years’ War and the Protestant Reformation, the bourgeoisie rose, reducing the prestige of Ihr.
- The upper class reintroduced the highest honorific Er/Sie (third-person singular) to reassert distance, forming a du – Ihr – Er/Sie system. However, due to its association with gossip, this form quickly gained a derogatory tone and was short-lived.
- Modernization (18th–19th century):
- Influenced by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution’s egalitarian ideals, du gained traction.
- Prussia implemented official reforms in 1764, gradually phasing out du and banning Ihr by around 1810. Meanwhile, the more neutral and abstract third-person plural Sie emerged as the standard honorific.
- This established the modern German du/Sie binary system.
- The GDR attempted to enforce Kameradschafts-Du (comrade du), and early East Germany promoted Genossen-Du (comrade du), but both failed due to the unnatural imposition of intimacy.
- Today, companies like Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) and IKEA widely use du, marking a new trend.
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Interesting content!
Suddenly started wondering about the difference between these two words—both seem to mean “comrade”?
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In short: The Chinese term “同志” is closer to “Comrade” (Genossen), while another interpretation is closer to “Fellow” or “Buddy” (“partner” or “companion” depending on context).
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It seems I never shared why I decided to learn German, so here’s a casual write-up:
「To learn a foreign language」?
Many people, when asked what they want to learn, assume it’s about “learning” (learn) rather than “acquiring” (acquire). The difference, as I see it, is:
It’s like how we learn Chinese to communicate with people around us rather than for tests, whereas learning English is often the opposite in most cases.
For a long time, I’ve been deeply interested in German military honors and medals, to the point where:
Additionally, tired of studying English purely for exams, I chose German—similar to English but with a strong connection to the rich and systematic German military honors system (which also played a role ).
Since high school, I’ve always been introverted with odd interests, with almost no friends or social life—my interactions with classmates were only because I held a position in the class. While my overall grades were likely top-tier, my English scores were always among the best in the school, so my English teacher and homeroom advisor turned a blind eye when I started learning German.
In my first year, I began with Lesson Zero—letters, pronunciation, and spelling. At the time, I was obsessed with Sütterlin script that I even wrote English homework in it 
.
Of course, I still write Latin letters like this ().
As for pronunciation, I already knew IPA at the time—looking at phonetic symbols was easy. The only tricky part was /r/, which I first learned as [ɾ] before mastering [r]. Later, I also learned [ʁ] and [ʀ], though I don’t intentionally use them.
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In high school, besides being a homeroom monitor in my freshman year, I was basically unemployed
I want to see the German writing by pipa teacher.
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