Schlafende

Schlafende is a German word formed from schlafen (to sleep) with the present participle suffix -ende. It mainly functions as an adjective meaning "sleeping" and is used to describe someone or something that is asleep. The form inflects for gender, number, and case, for example: der schlafende Mann (the sleeping man), die schlafende Frau (the sleeping woman), das schlafende Kind (the sleeping child). In plural: die schlafenden Kinder (the sleeping children). With indefinite articles: ein schlafender Mann, eine schlafende Frau, ein schlafendes Kind.

As an attributive adjective, schlafenende forms follow the standard German declension patterns, so the ending changes to reflect case and article. The feminine singular nominative uses die schlafende Frau, while the neuter singular nominative uses das schlafende Kind. Plural nominative with a definite article is die schlafenden Kinder.

Schlafende can also be used as a noun (substantiviertes Partizip), capitalized as Schlafende, to mean “the sleepers” or “the sleeping ones.” In this nominal use it refers to people who are asleep and is more common in literary or stylistic contexts. The corresponding singular forms are der Schlafende (the sleeper, masculine) and die Schlafende (the sleeping woman, feminine), with plural die Schlafenden.

Etymology and related forms: Schlafende derives from schlafen with the present participle suffix -ende. Related forms include schlafend (the present participle in its non-nominal use) and related compounds such as Schlafwandeln (sleepwalking) or sleep-related terms.

In summary, Schlafende is a versatile German term tied to the notion of sleep, functioning as an adjective in everyday use and as a capitalized noun in literary contexts.