To correctly agree German adjectives, the case, number and gender of the nominal phrase must be considered along with the article of the noun.

Like articles, adjectives use the same plural endings for all three genders. This article discusses the grammar of the German language, focussing on Standard German. ...

"Ein lauter Krach" (a loud noise)

"Der laute Krach" (the loud noise)

"Der große, schöne Mond" (the big, beautiful moon)

Participles may be used as adjectives and are treated in the same way.

In contrast to Romance languages, adjectives are only declined in the attributive position (that is, when used in nominal phrases to describe a noun directly). Predicative adjectives, separated from the noun by "to be", for example, are not declined and are indistinguishable from adverbs. The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages or New Latin languages, are a subset of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Latin dialects spoken by the common people in what is known as Latin Europe (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish Europa latina, Catalan Europa llatina, French Europe latine, Romanian Europa... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. ... An adverb is a part of speech. ...

NOT: "Die Musik ist laute" BUT "Die Musik ist laut" ((the) music is loud)

There are three degrees of comparison: positive form, comparative form and superlative form. In contrast to Latin or Italian, there is no grammatical feature for the absolute superlative (elative). In grammar the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another. ... In grammar, the superlative of an adjective or adverb indicates that a member of a set transcends the other members in some way. ...

Strong inflection

 Masculine Neuter Feminine Plural Nominative -er -es -e -e Accusative -en -es -e -e Dative -em -em -er -en Genitive -en -en -er -er 

• Compare this table with the definite article endings table. The only difference is the masculine and neuter genitive -en.

Strong inflection is used:

• When no article is used
• After etwas (some; somewhat), mehr (more)
• After wenig- (few), mehrer- (several; many), all- (all), which also have strong adjective inflection.
• After personal pronouns other than mir, dir, ihm
• After number adjectives with no endings

Weak inflection

 Masculine Neuter Feminine Plural Nominative -e -e -e -en Accusative -en -e -e -en Dative -en -en -en -en Genitive -en -en -en -en 

Weak inflection is used:

• After the definite article
• After derselb- (the same), derjenig- (the one)
• After dies- (this), jen- (that), jeglich- (any), jed- (every), which have definite article declination.
• After manch- (some), solch- (such), viel- (much; many), welch- (which), which have definite article declination.
• After mir, dir, ihm
• After arm (meagre), alt (old), all (all)

Mixed inflection

The mixed inflection is used after ein-, kein-, and the possessive articles.

 Masculine Neuter Feminine Plural Nominative -er -es -e -en Accusative -en -es -e -en Dative -en -en -en -en Genitive -en -en -en -en 

Criteria for Inflection

German adjectives take different sets of endings in different circumstances. Essentially, the adjectives must provide case, gender and number information only if the articles do not. This is among the more confusing aspects of German grammar for those learning the language. However, the adjective endings nearly always adhere to the following rules:

Strong Inflection

The strong inflection is used when there is no article at all, or if the noun is preceded by a non-inflectable word or phrase such as "ein bißchen", "etwas" or "viel" (a little, some, a lot of/much). It is also used when the adjective is preceded merely by another regular (i.e non-article) adjective.

Mixed Inflection

The mixed inflection is used when the adjective is preceded by an indefinite word (ein-, kein-, and the possessive pronouns).

Note: The prevailing view is that the mixed inflection is not a true inflection in its own right, but merely the weak inflection with a few additions to compensate for the lack of the masculine nominative and neuter nominative and accusative endings.

Weak inflection

The weak inflection is used when there is a definite word in place (der, die, das, den, dem, des, jed-, jen-, manch-, dies-, solch- and welch-). The definite word has provided most of the necessary information, so the adjective endings are simpler.

The endings are applicable to every degree of comparison (positive, comparative, and superlative).

The positive form

The uninflected basic positive form is equal to the root of the adjective. So the positive form of the adjective is quite simple to build, you take the stem of the adjective and attach the corresponding ending to it.

"schön" (basic positive form)

"Das schöne Lied" (The beautiful song)

The comparative form

The basic comparative form consists of the stem and the suffix "-er". Inflected, the corresponding adjective ending is attached. In grammar the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another. ...

"schöner" (basic comparative form)

"Das schönere Lied" (The more beautiful song)

The superlative form

A predicate form of the superlative is actually a prepositional phrase. You attach the suffixes "-st" and the adjective ending "-en" to the root, and the word "am" is put before it. In linguistics and logic, a predicate is an expression that can be true of something. ... In grammar, the superlative of an adjective or adverb indicates that a member of a set transcends the other members in some way. ... A prepositional phrase is a linguistic term for a phrase whose head is a preposition. ... Suffix has meanings in linguistics, nomenclature and computer science. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually describing it or making its meaning more specific. ... The root is the primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. ...

"am schönsten" (the most beautiful) Ich finde dieses Haus am schönsten. (I find this house the most beautiful.)

The attributive superlative form adds the "st" to the comparative root and then the conventional adjective ending. An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. ...

"Das schönste Lied"

This form can also be placed in a predicate position with the appropriate adjective ending:

"Dieses Haus ist das schönste" (This house is the most beautiful.)

See also

• German grammar