Frohes neues Jahr! In the past, we have looked at vocabulary related to New Year's Eve and New Year's resolutions in these lessons. The new year is certainly a time when many people make plans, and this is where the noun das Vorhaben and the verb etwas vorhaben also come into play. 

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When expressing having an intention or a plan to do something, the separable verb etwas vorhaben is used. 

Und auch sonst hat Angelique Kerber in diesem Jahr noch einiges vor.

And otherwise, Angelique Kerber also has some more plans for this year.

Caption 26, Angelique Kerber: Fotoshooting mit Porsche

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Was hast du vor?

What are you planning?

Caption 32, Nicos Weg B1: Mein Gehalt?

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Ich schlage also vor, wir schließen Bekanntschaft mit diesen Fremden, und dann sehen wir ja, was sie wirklich vorhaben.

So, I suggest we get acquainted with these strangers, and then we'll see what their intentions really are.

Captions 25-26, Es war einmal... der Weltraum: Die Saurier

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Ich hatte schon lange vor, mal ein Video über die Modalverben zu machen.

For a long time, I've been meaning to make a video about the modal verbs.

Captions 2-3, Deutsch mit Eylin: Modalverben

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The noun das Vorhaben has numerous possible translations, including "the plan," "the intention," "the project," "the undertaking." While etwas vorhaben is truly used in everyday conversation, das Vorhaben is a relatively formal noun used, for example, in business or political contexts.

Und das ist eigentlich jetzt die Aufgabe: die Partner jetzt auch so zu strukturieren, dass wir an einem ganz großen Vorhaben gemeinsam arbeiten können.

And that is actually the task now: to structure the partners in such a way that we can work collectively on one very large project.

Captions 17-19, Rhein-Main-TV: 200 Jahre Senckenberg

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Die beiden älteren lachten nur und waren sicher, dass es sein Vorhaben schon bald aufgeben würde.

The two elder [brothers] just laughed and were sure that he would already soon abandon his plans.

Captions 22-23, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die drei kleinen Schweinchen

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Further Learning
Try creating your own sentences to express your plans for 2026! You'll also find many examples of das Vorhaben and etwas vorhaben used in context on Yabla German. 

In a previous lesson, we discussed N declensions in German that use nouns having to do with titles, professions, and objects. To review, the term "N declension" means that there are certain masculine nouns (with a single neuter exception—see below!) that have an "-n" or "-en" added to the end in all singular grammatical cases except the nominative case. This week we will take a look at some other N declensions that are exceptions to the rule.

There are certain masculine nouns that take the N declension, but also add the genitive "s" to the N declension "en" in the genitive case only:

Ich möchte euch sagen, dass wir aus einer anderen Welt kommen, aber wir sind Botschafter des Friedens.

I want to tell you, uh... that we come from another world, but we are ambassadors of peace.

Captions 68-69, Es war einmal... der Weltraum: Die Saurier

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Fisch ist ein Symbol des christlichen Glaubens und fällt nicht unter das Abstinenzverbot.

Fish is a symbol of the Christian faith and does not fall under the abstinence prohibition.

Captions 66-67, Cettina und Sabine: Ostern

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Thus the masculine nouns der Friede and der Glaube become respectively des Friedens and des Glaubens in the genitive case. Other examples of N declension nouns that end with "-ens" in the genitive case include der Buchstabe ("the letter"), der Funke ("the spark"), der Gedanke ("the thought"), der Name ("the name"), and der Wille ("the will").

And now, the biggest exception of all the words taking the N-declension:

Und so ritt der Prinz schließlich schweren Herzens zurück nach Hause. Allein.

And so the Prince finally rode with a heavy heart back home. Alone.

Caption 32, Märchen - Sagenhaft Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse

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All of the nouns that take the N declension are masculine, with the single exception: das Herz. As you see above, the nominative das Herz becomes the genitive des Herzens. It's doubly exceptional for the fact that it also takes the additional "s" in the genitive case.

Further Learning
This wraps up the last part of our series on N declensions in German. We've included a list below of 132 words that take the N declension. While the list is not complete, they're the words you're most likely to come across in everyday use. Go through the list below (being sure to look up any words you don't know in a translation dictionary!) and then go to Yabla German and find some of the words in their N declension form as used in a real-world context.

List of Common N declension Words (all masculine nouns unless noted) Words marked with asterisks* take an extra "s" in the genitive case.