denselben

Denselben is a German form of the demonstrative determiner and pronoun derselbe, meaning “the same” or “the very same.” It is used to refer to the same person or thing as previously mentioned, emphasizing sameness or identity in the referenced object. The form shown here is the masculine singular accusative (for masculine nouns in that case).

In everyday use, denselben appears when the noun it modifies is masculine and in the accusative: for example, Ich habe denselben Fehler gemacht. Ich sah denselben Mann wie gestern. It signals that the speaker is referring to the exact same item or person previously discussed. For other genders and numbers, related forms exist (dieselbe for feminine, dasselbe for neuter, dieselben for plural), though their precise spelling varies with case and article.

Etymology and usage notes: denselben is built from der (the) and selbe (self/same) forming a compound meaning “the same.” It is common in both spoken and written German and can add emphasis in comparisons or re-referential statements. It is one of several forms in the family of derselbe/dieselbe/dasselbe used to express sameness.

See also: derselbe, dieselbe, dasselbe.