frohen

Frohen is a form of the German adjective froh, meaning joyful or glad. It is not a standalone noun but an inflected form that occurs in certain grammatical contexts. In modern German, froh describes a state of happiness and can modify nouns in various inflected endings depending on case, number, and gender.

Etymology and related forms: The adjective froh originates from Old High German froh, with cognates across the Germanic language family. The form frohen appears in the declined adjective system after definite determiners and in plural usage, reflecting standard German adjective endings rather than a separate lexical item.

Usage and grammar: Frohen is most commonly encountered as a weak inflection after definite articles or other determiners, producing endings such as -en in certain cases. It appears in plural and in dative singular across genders. Examples include: Die frohen Nachrichten trafen uns heute. (nominative plural) Dem frohen Mann wünsche ich alles Gute. (dative singular masculine) Die frohen Frauen wurden eingeladen. (nominative plural) Den frohen Kindern wurden Geschenke gegeben. (dative plural). The coordinating factor is that frohen marks a specific, definite set of joyful things or people, rather than a nonspecific instance.

Usage notes: In everyday speech, speakers may opt for other forms of the adjective depending on the article or determiner used and the intended emphasis. The base adjective froh remains more common in positive descriptors, while frohen is selected to align with grammatical structure in plural or dative constructions.

See also: froh, German adjective inflection, German grammar.