Declension is a change in the form of a noun by person, case and gender. Declension of nouns into German occurs by changing the article and ending of nouns with different numbers, which change according to cases.
language occurs in four cases:
There are three main types of declinations:
strong, weak and feminine
You can also separately distinguish the declension of nouns with a plural form. Moreover, each type of declination has a number of its own features that are necessary for memorization. Let's look at them in order.
1. Strong declination
Some nouns that have a masculine gender, as well as all nouns that have a neuter gender, are declined according to strong inflection. The exception is the word das Herz (heart), which is inflected in a completely separate way.
The table below shows the declension of the nouns der Tisch and das Mädchen.
Nominativ der Tisch das Mädchen
Genitiv des Tiches des Mädchens
Dativ dem Tisch dem Mädchen
Akkusativ den Tisch das Mädchen
The main feature of the strong declension is that all nouns of this declension, being in Genitiv, have a special ending “(e)s”.
Ich habe die Zeitschrift auf das Sofa gelegt..
Das Kleid des Mädchens ist blau.
This declension includes all other masculine nouns, or rather, those animate nouns with a masculine gender that end in “e”. Including a separate group of animate nouns whose nouns are masculine and have lost their "e" vowel. They also include nouns of foreign origin that end in special stressed suffixes: ant, ent, ist, not, log, at, et, etc. 
Das kleine Kind hat Angst vor dem Elefanten.
As can be seen from the table, a feature of the weak declension is “en” in three cases except the nominative case.
3. Feminine declension
As is clear from the name of this declension, only all nouns that have a feminine gender are declined according to it.
Nominativ die Liebe die Tasse
Genitiv der Liebe der Tasse
Dativ der Liebe der Tasse
Akkusativ die Liebe die Tasse
Diese Geschichte spricht die starke Liebe.
The special ease of the feminine declension is that the nouns themselves remain unchanged, and only the article changes.
A fourth type of declension can be distinguished, the so-called mixed declension. The word das Herz (heart), which is an exception to the weak declension group, and some other words presented in the following table are inclined according to it. 
Diese Sache hat keinen Nahmen.
The peculiarity of mixed declination is the presence of signs of strong and weak declination. For nouns of mixed declension, as in the strong declension, “(e)s” appears in the Genitiv, and as in the weak declension, “en” appears in three cases with the exception of the nominative case.
In addition to declensions in the singular, there is also a declination of nouns that are presented in the plural. 
A special feature is the appearance of nouns plural endings “en” in the dative case.
This lesson is devoted to an important part of speech - the noun. As in Russian, German nouns change according to cases - i.e. bow down. Don't forget, there are only four cases in German: Nominative(nominative) , Genitiv(genitive) , Dative(dative) , Akkusativ(accusative).
There are four types of declension in the German language: strong, weak, feminine and mixed. Let's talk about each of them separately.
Strong declination
This type of declension includes all neuter nouns (except das Herz) and most masculine nouns.
No. der Mann das Kind
Gen. des Mannes des Kindes
Dat. dem Mann dem Kind
Akk. den Mann das Kind
As you can see, when a noun is declined, it takes on the ending - (e)s only in the genitive case. The article is declined according to the rule that was described in the lesson “Declination of Articles”.
Foreign words in -us, -ismus, -os, do not receive endings in the genitive case.
For example:
Gen. des Globus des Humanismus des Kosmos
Weak declination
Only masculine nouns denoting animate objects are declined according to the weak type. Here is an example of the declension of the noun der Junge (boy):
No. der Junge
Gen. des Jungen
Dat. dem Jungen
Akk. den Jungen
Please note that in the weak declension the ending -en is added to the noun in all cases except the nominative.
The group of words related to the weak declension is quite extensive and most often causes difficulties for language learners, but do not be afraid: there are not so many of these words, and they can be divided into several groups given below.
So, nouns that are inflected according to the weak declension type include:
- Nouns with the suffix -e (der Russe, der Franzose, etc.), also: der Affe (monkey), der Bursche (guy), der Knabe (boy), der Junge (young man), der Gatte (husband) , der Matrose (sailor), der Bote (courier), der Hase, der Löwe (lion), der Rabe (raven), der Falke (falcon), der Neffe (nephew), etc.
- Nouns that previously had the suffix -e, but lost it during the development of language: der Mensch (man), der Held (hero), der Hirt (shepherd), der Mohr (Moor), der Barber (barbarian), der Christ (Christian) ), der Prinz (prince), der Bauer (peasant), der Fürst (prince), der Graf (count), der Herr (lord), der Narr (fool), der Lump (scoundrel), der Bär (bear), der Spatz (sparrow), der Pfau (peacock), der Ochs (bull), etc.
- as well as borrowed words with suffixes: -ent, -ant, -at, -et, -ot, -ist, -nom, -graf, -soph, -log(e), -ard, -arch, -au (der Student, der Artist, der Aspirant, der Poet, der Soldat, der Patriot, der Optimist, der Agronom, der Fotograf, der Poet, der Philosopher, der PhilologeAnd etc.).
- Some nouns with foreign suffixes denoting inanimate objects: der Diamant (diamond), der Brilliant (diamond), der Automat (machine gun), der Planet (planet), der Komet (comet), der Paragraf (paragraph), der Foliant (folio), der Obelisk (obelisk), der Telegraf (telegraph), der Satellít (satellite).
Feminine declension
Perhaps the feminine declension is one of the most favorite among those who study German. Ask why? It's simple! All feminine nouns are declined according to the type of feminine declension - this is easy to remember. In addition, no endings are added to the word.
Example:
No. die Frau
Gen. der Frau
Dat. der Frau
Akk. die Frau
Mixed declension
In the German language, there are special cases of declension of nouns, which is why there is a fourth type of declension - mixed type declension. Nouns that obey this rule used to change according to the rules of the weak declension, but now, under the influence of the strong declension, they began to take the ending -s in the genitive case.
Thus, for nouns of mixed declension, the ending -ns is added in the genitive case, and the ending -en is added to the dative and accusative cases.
There are few words inflected according to this rule: it includes one neuter noun - das Herz (heart), and several masculine nouns des Buchstabe (letter), der Fels (rock, cliff), der Frieden (peace, harmony), der Name (name), der Funke (spark), der Gedanke (thought, idea), der Glaube (faith, confidence), der Samen (seed), der Wille (will), der Schaden (harm, damage).
Example:
No. der Name das Herz
Gen. des Namens des Herzens
Dat. dem Namen dem Herzen
Akk. den Namen das Herzen
Declension of nouns in the plural
In the plural, during declension, nouns receive the ending -n, except those that already end in -(e)n, or form the plural using the suffixes -(e)n, -s. The ending is added to dative case.
Example:
No. die Tage die Cafés
Gen. der Tage der Cafes
Dat. den Tagen den Cafés
Akk. die Tage die Cafés
Now, to consolidate what you have learned, do a few exercises.
Lesson assignments
Exercise 1. Decline the following nouns using the strong declension:
Der Hund (dog), das Bild (painting), das Heft (notebook), der Stuhl (chair), der Freund (friend)
Exercise 2. Decline the following nouns using the weak declension type:
Der Student, der Hase, der Narr, der Rabe, der Poet.
Exercise 3. Decline the following nouns using mixed declension:
Der Funke, der Wille, der Name
Exercise 4. Decline the following nouns:
Der Hirt, der Fels, die Wohnung, der Gedanke, der Vater, die Kinder (plural)
Answers to exercise 1.
No. der Hund das Bild das Heft der Stuhl der Freund
Gen. des Hundes des Bildes des Heftes des Stuhles des Freundes
Dat. dem Hund dem Bild dem Heft dem Stuhl dem Freund
Akk. den Hund das Bild das Heft den Stuhl den Freund
Answers to exercise 2.
No. der Student der Hase der Narr der Rabe der Poet
Gen. des Studenten des Hasen des Narren des Raben des Poeten
Dat. dem Studenten dem Hasen dem Narren dem Raben dem Poeten
Akk. den Studenten den Hasen den Narren den Raben den Poeten
Answers to exercise 3.
No. der Funke der Wille der Name
Gen. des Funkens des Willens des Namens
Dat. dem Funken dem Willen dem Namen
Akk. den Funken den Willen den Namen
Answers to exercise 4.
No. der Hirt der Fels der Gedanke der Vater die Kinder
Gen. des Hirten des Felsen des Gedankens des Vaters der Kinder
Dat. dem Hirten dem Felsen dem Gedanken dem Vater den Kindern
Akk. den Hirten den Felsen den Gedanken den Vater die Kinder
Today we will look at another “similarity” between the Russian and German languages - declination. We remember that in Russian there are three types of declension: 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There are also three types of declension in German: strong declination(die starke Deklination), weak declination(die schwache Deklination) and feminine declension(die weibliche Deklination).
TO strong type declinations include most nouns are masculine And all neuter nouns, other than a noun das Herz - heart. The main sign of a strong declination is the ending –(e)s in the genitive case:
Nominativeder Vater das Fenster;
Genetivdes Vaters des Fensters;
Dativdem Vater dem Fenster;
Akkusativden Vater das Fenster.
Ending –s in the genitive case it is typical for polysyllabic nouns:
Nominative Genetiv
der Garten - garden des Gartens - garden
das Messer - knife des Messers - knife
Ending –es acquire monosyllabic nouns:
Nominative Genetiv
der Hund - dog des Hundes - dogs
das Buch - book des Buches - books
and nouns ending in -s, -ß, -x, -z, -tz:
Nominative Genetiv
das Glas - glass des Glases - glass
der Fluß - river des Flußes - rivers
der Suffix - suffix des Suffixes - suffix
der Schmerz - pain des Schmerzes - pain
das Gesetz - law des Gesetzes - law
TO weak declension apply only animate nouns, masculine gender. The main sign of a weak declination is the ending –(e)n in all indirect cases:
A) nouns with endings –e 
der Knabe-boy, der Affe- monkey, der Neffe- nephew, der Hase- hare;
b) monosyllabic nouns
der Bär- bear, der Furst- prince, der Herr- sir, der Ochs- bull, der Spatz- sparrow, der Zar - tsar;
V) nouns of foreign origin with drums suffixes –ant, -at, -ent, -et, -graph(-graf), -ist, -it, -ot
der Aspirsnt-graduate student, der Diplomant-diplomat, der Student- student, der Atlet– athlete, der Fotograf- photographer, der Pianist– pianist, der Favorit– favorite, der Patriot– patriot.
Feminine declension speaks for itself: everyone belongs to this type of declension feminine nouns. The main feature of this type of declension is lack of ending in all cases:
Nominativedie Tür die Frau die Schulbank;
Genetiv
Dativder Tür der Frau der Schulbank;
Akkusativdie Tür die Frau die Schulbank.
And the last thing - mixed type of declension. This type of declension includes eight masculine nouns And singular neuter noun das Herz. This type of declination is characterized by the ending –es in the genitive case (strong declension) and –en in the dative and accusative cases (weak declension):
der Name- Name der Buchstabe– letter
der Same– seed der Friede- world
der Wille– will der Funke– spark
der Gedanke- thought der Fels– rock
das Herz– hearts
Nominativeder Name das Herz
Genetivdes Namens des Herzens
Dativdem Namen dem Herzen
Akkusativden Namen das Herz
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German, like any other language, cannot do without such a part of speech as a noun (noun). When constructing sentences, nouns are, of course, declined. Declension of nouns in German is not some kind of wisdom, but you need to work with it.
Skl. noun in German it occurs according to three main examples: feminine declension, strong cl. and weak inflection. There is also a special group of nouns that do not belong to any of the listed examples and are inflected according to their own pattern.
According to the female school all beings bow down. female. A sign of this type of cl. is the absence of endings (final) in all cases: N. die Frau (woman) die Tasche (bag)
G. der Frau (women) der Tasche (bags)
D. der Frau (woman) der Tasche (bag)
A. die Frau (woman) die Tasche (bag)
By strong slope most nouns are inclined. masculine and all nouns. neuter (exception - das Herz). A sign of this type of cl. is final –(e)s in Genetiv. Full form endings –es take noun. on –s (-nis → -nisses), -ß, -x, -sch, -z, as well as many monosyllabic nouns: des Hauses - at home, des Tisches - table, des Freundes - friend, des Kampfes - struggle.
N. der Mann (man) das Buch (book) der Lehrer (teacher)
G. des Mannes (men) des Buches (books) des Lehrers (teachers)
D. dem Mann (man) dem Buch (book) dem Lehrer (teacher)
A. den Mann (man) den Buch (book) den Lehrer (teacher)
Monosyllabic nouns may have an ending in the dative case. -e, most often in stable phrases: zu Hause (at home), nach Hause (home), auf dem Lande (in the village).
According to the weak type, only nouns are inclined. masculine, which denote primarily creatures. A sign of a weak type of skl. is final –(e)n in all cases except the nominative:
N. der Junge (guy) der Student (student) der Planet (planet)
G. des Jungen (guy) des Studenten (student) des Planeten (planets)
D. dem Jungen (guy) dem Studenten (student) dem Planeten (planet)
A. den Jungen (guy) den Studenten (student) den Planeten (planet)
The weak type also tends to:
- nouns that end in –e: Junge (guy), Löwe (lion), Biologe (biologist);
- monosyllabic nouns that end with a consonant: Mensch (man), Hirt (shepherd), Herr (lord), Spatz (sparrow);
- noun with suffixes –ent, -ant, -and, -ist, -et, -at, -graf, -log, -nom, -soph, -arch, -it, -ot, -an: Präsident - president, Aspirant - graduate student, Doktorand - doctoral student, Optimist - optimist, Poet - sings, Soldat - soldier, Fotograf - photographer, Philologe - philosopher, Astronom - astronomer, Philosoph - philosopher, Monarch - monarch, Pilot - pilot, Veteran - veteran, also: Bauer - peasant, Nachbar - neighbor, Chirurg - surgeon, Katholik - Catholic.
- some nouns with the above suffixes that denote inanimate objects: Konsonant - consonant, Diamant - diamond, Automat - machine gun, Planet - planet, Komet - comet, Paragraf - paragraph, Foliant - folio, Obelisk - obelisk, Telegraf - telegraph, Satellit - satellite.
The following nouns belong to a special group: der Name - name, der Friede - calm, der Buchtstabe - letter, der Gedanke - thought, der Glaube - faith, der Haufe - heap, der Wille - will, der Same - embryo, der Schade - annoyance, der Funke - spark, der Fels - rock, und das Herz - heart. A sign of this type of cl. is final –ns in Genetiv and –n in other indirect cases. (The noun das Herz ends in –ens in the genitive case and –en in the dative case.)
N. der Name - name das Herz - heart
G. des Namens - named after des Herzens - hearts
D. dem Namen - name dem Herzen - heart
A. den Namen - name den Herzen - heart.
So, if we talk about the declension of nouns in the German language, then we should first talk about the features of the language itself. And in this case there are a lot of them.
Cases, masculine and feminine declensions
In this language of the Romano-Germanic group, there are four types of declensions of these independent parts of speech. They are divided into mixed (special), female, weak and, accordingly, strong. The main task is to determine the pattern in the process of declension in each of the cases, of which there are four in the German language. The nominative (translated as Nominativ) answers questions such as “wer?” and “was?” Genitive, which is translated as Genetiv, - to the question “wessen?”. It is followed by the dative, Dativ, - “wem?”, “wo?”, and also the accusative, Akkusativ, - “wen?”, “was?”, “wohin?”. The strong declension is determined by the ending “s”; this case includes most nouns that are masculine, as well as all those belonging to the neuter gender. The exception is “heart” - Das Herz. If we talk about the weak declension of nouns in the German language, then in this case the sign will be the ending e(n) - it applies to all cases. The exception is m.p. nouns that define living beings. The situation is simplest with the feminine declension - there are no endings there.
Special type and plural
It was said that the German language differs in some ways. previously mentioned mixed type, is one of those. Only a few words stand out here; you should list them and remember them! Das Herz (translated as "heart"), der Schaden ("damage"), der Frieden (translation - "World", although there is a synonym Welt, changing according to all the rules), der Wille ("Will"), der Same (" seed"), der Glaube ("faith"), der Gedanke (translated as "thought", but can be replaced by the synonym idea), der Funke ("spark"), der Buchstabe ("letter"), der Name ("name" ). The listed words have the following declension of nouns in German: they end with e(ns) in the genitive case, and with e(n) in the dative and accusative case. It's a little easier to decline in the plural. Everything here follows one rule: in Dativ it ends in n, with only one exception. If a noun is converted from singular. h., then it receives the suffixes s or n.
About the strength of declination
So, in this language, unlike Russian, there are only four cases. If we talk about declension, then there are three types according to which words change. This is a strong declination, weak and mixed. If in German, then s-Deklination, n-Deklination and gemischte Deklination. Many nouns do not have endings; only the article changes in the word. Almost all words end in n, the same goes for female nouns. Although there is a peculiarity here. Nouns f. R. and change according to feminine declination. All singular forms are exactly the same as and plural words in any case end in en.
The strong type has its own characteristics. The fact is that words of the neuter and also masculine gender are declined according to this type. It should be noted here that the listed words in Nominativ have either -er, -e. The weak declension has a distinctive feature in the form of the ending -en. It appears in every form except Nominativ. The weak type changes masculine names ending in -loge, -ant, -e, -and, -ist, -af, etc. These are mainly words denoting professions, nationality and living beings.
How to remember
Declension of nouns in German is a complex topic. And very important, because in order to speak normally, so that native speakers can understand the speaker, you need to be able to change words according to declensions. Exercises will help you master the topic “Declination of nouns.” The German language is very rich, so it will be easy to train. To do this, you can create diagrams or tables with endings and cases. In this way, two types of memory will work: visual and auditory, and the memorization process will be much more productive The table can be compiled in this form (for example, the words “person”, “mister”, “student”, “name” are taken):
N: der: Mensch, Herr, Student, Name.
A: den: Mensch(en), Herr(n), Student(en), Name(n).
D: dem: Mensch(en), Herr(n), Student(en), Name(n).
G: des: Mensch(en), Herr(n), Student(en), Name(ns).
Even based on such a simple example, you can see that learning and memorizing using such a table is quite simple. The most important thing, as in any other language, is to find a pattern in which the memorization process will look logical and consistent.