Nominalized adjectives

In brief

German can use an adjective as a noun when the person or thing it describes is understood: die Neue means ‘the new woman or new colleague,’ and das Gute means ‘the good thing.’ Such adjectives are capitalized and still take adjective endings.

Form

Determiner or quantity word + capitalized adjective with an appropriate ending: der Neue, die Neue, das Gute, etwas Neues. The ending depends on the word before it, as well as case and gender where relevant.

Usage

• Use a nominalized adjective to refer to a person without repeating a noun, for example die Neue in a workplace.
• Use neuter forms for an abstract idea or an unspecified thing: das Gute, etwas Wichtiges.
• In phrases such as alles Gute, the adjective is capitalized even though no ordinary noun follows it.

Examples

• Die Neue beginnt heute im Büro. — The new colleague starts at the office today.
• Ich habe etwas Wichtiges vergessen. — I forgot something important.
• Wir wünschen dir alles Gute. — We wish you all the best.
• Das Gute daran ist, dass wir Zeit haben. — The good thing about it is that we have time.

Common mistake

❌ Ich habe etwas wichtiges vergessen.

✅ Ich habe etwas Wichtiges vergessen.

Wichtiges stands in for an unspecified thing here, so it is a nominalized adjective and must be capitalized.

Remember

If an adjective takes the place of a noun, capitalize it; its ending still changes with the grammatical context.