Lebende

Lebende is a German noun derived from leben (to live). In standard usage, it refers to persons who are alive. When used as a noun, Lebende is capitalized; the plural form is die Lebenden. The singular masculine form is der Lebende, and the singular feminine form is die Lebende. In many contexts, especially in modern prose, the living are described with the common noun phrase die Lebenden or with the adjective lebendig, rather than with a dedicated noun.

As a present participle used as an adjective, lebend(e) describes something that is alive. The form lebende appears as the attributive adjective before a plural noun: die lebenden Menschen, die lebenden Tiere. Declension follows standard strong and weak inflection rules: die lebenden Menschen, eines lebenden Tieres. The noun Lebende is more typical in religious, legal, or literary styles, for example in contrastive pairs like die Lebenden und die Toten.

Origin and related terms: Lebende comes from leben, and is closely connected to Leben (life). Related terms include lebendig (alive), Lebendigkeit (vitality), and the abstract noun Leben. The usage and nuance vary by register, but Lebende consistently marks the status of being biologically alive rather than dead, and appears in contexts that contrast the living with the dead.