Dunkles

Dunkles is the attributive form of the German adjective dunkel, meaning dark. It is not a standalone noun in standard usage. Dunkles most often appears before a neuter noun without an article, as in dunkles Licht or dunkles Brot. When the adjective is used with a definite article or other determiner, the form changes (das dunkle Licht; die dunklen Farben). In literary or philosophical contexts, a capitalized form such as Das Dunkle can function as a noun, referring to “the dark,” and it may appear in plural as Die Dunklen in poetic usage.

In everyday German, dunkles is used across many color and material descriptors, for example dunkles Wasser (dark water), dunkle Kleidung (dark clothing), and dunkles Brot (dark bread). The word is common in product labeling and menus, where it describes darkness in color or style.

Dunkles also appears in reference to beer. In beer culture, dunkles often designates dark beers, notably the Bavarian Dunkel or dunkel lager. These beers are typically malty, with caramel or bread-like flavors, and a color range roughly from light to deep amber. Typical strength is in the general beer range, with ABV commonly around 4.5–5.5%. The label Dunkles or Dunkel is widely used in German-speaking markets; outside those markets, the term is sometimes used more loosely to indicate a dark beer.

Etymology traces dunkel to Old High German dunkal, from Proto-Germanic roots meaning dim or dark. The form dunkles reflects standard German adjective declension before neuter nouns. See also: Dunkel, Dunkelheit, German grammar.