betreffenden

Betreffenden is a inflected form of the German adjective betreffend, meaning "concerning" or "regarding." It is used to describe nouns that refer to the matter, person, or items in question and is most common in formal or official language.

Etymology and meaning

- betraffend comes from the verb betreffen (to concern, relate to) and appears as the present participle/adjective betreffend.

- As an attributive adjective, it denotes relevance to a specific matter or group.

Grammatical use and endings

- Betreffenden is the plural weak ending after a definite article in several cases (nominative, accusative, or dative). It also appears in the dative singular feminine or masculine in some forms with the definite article.

- In standard usage with a definite article, the plural form is betroffenen (die betreffenden Personen).

- Singular forms (after a definite article) include der betreffende Mann (masc), die betreffende Frau (fem), das betreffende Kind (neut).

Typical endings by case and number (overview)

- Singular: der betreffende Mann; die betreffende Frau; das betreffende Kind (nominative)

- Plural: die betreffenden Personen (nominative/accusative)

- Dative plural: den betreffenden Personen

- Genitive plural: der betreffenden Personen

Usage notes

- Betreffenden is almost always an adjective in front of a noun; it is not normally capitalized unless used as a noun.

- In legal, administrative, and formal writing, betreffend is common to indicate the subjects or documents to which something relates.

- A closely related synonym is bezüglich, which can be used in similar contexts but with slightly different nuance.

Related terms

- Betroffener/Betroffene: noun forms meaning “the person(s) affected,” often preferred in everyday language over the adjectival form when used substantively.