Capitalization of nouns in German

Capitalization of nouns in German

You don’t need to be told that writing in both upper- and lowercase letters (known as case differentiation) is common in many languages and that it serves as a signal for a grammatical rule, like starting a new phrase. Although the constant capitalization in German can seem weird, it’s actually simple to understand because, as said earlier, all nouns are capitalized.

I must emphasize that this includes both proper nouns and gerund nouns in case the word “all” is still causing you to have second thoughts. Gerund nouns are adjectives or verbs that serve as nouns but are not proper nouns. Importantly, they are still capitalized since they are nouns. Every noun!

Examples of proper nouns:

– das Kind (the child)

– der Baum (the tree)

Examples of gerund nouns:

– essen (to eat) – das Essen (the food/the eating).

– rennen (to run) – das Rennen (the race/the running)

The rules are less clear in other languages. Names, places, languages, and titles are all capitalised in English, while other nouns, including seasons, are not. The pronoun “I” and all of its contractions (I’m, I’ll, I’ve, etc.) are capitalised in English, although pronouns like “you,” “she,” and “they” are not. Additionally, possessive nouns like “my” and “my” are not capitalised. Even capitalization might signify a difference in meaning, as in “liberal” or “Liberal.” What is happening there? Maybe spare a thought for the German students of English!

Why nouns are capitalized in German?

There were no established guidelines on when and how to employ capitalization throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. God (Gott) started to appear in capital letters in religious texts, indicating that its importance was being emphasised (clearly). The use of capitalization increased with time. The German Orthography Reform, which was implemented in 1996, aimed to make the German language simpler and simpler to learn. While establishing the relationship between sounds and letters was the primary goal, the capitalization rules also underwent a modest revision:

1) Capitalization became required after a colon.

2)It was still required to capitalise the formal second-person pronouns (You, Your, and Yours).

3) The 1996 amendment mandated that informal pronouns (such as du, dich, dir, dein, ihr, euch, and euer) never be capitalised; nevertheless, in 2006, it was ruled that they could be capitalised in letters, however this decision was not implemented.

Rules for capitalization 

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns, which are usually capitalized, include words for individuals, places, streets, movies, books, etc. Only the initial letter of the word is capitalized if the noun is a compound word made up of many words, such as Haustier rather than HausTier.

Adjectives or Verbs as Nouns

Gerunds are words that serve as nouns but are actually adjectives or verbs rather than proper nouns. They are likewise capitalized in German because they function like nouns.

Capitalization of Pronouns

Pronouns are typically not capitalised. But there are two exceptions. In a formal situation, the capitalised pronoun “Sie” denotes “you” (compare “du”). This is essential because it sets the word apart from the lowercase “sie” (she). It’s customary to capitalise the pronouns “du” (pronounced “du”) and “ihr” (pronounced “ihr”) when addressing someone in writing, but it’s not required. If you don’t do that, you won’t be viewed as impolite!