irgendwelchen
Irgendwelchen is a form of the German indefinite determiner irgend- used before a plural noun in the dative case. It conveys an unspecified or non-specific set of items or people, similar to “any” or “some” in English, depending on context. It is common in everyday language and often signals vagueness rather than a concrete reference.
Grammatically, irgend- words decline like other indefinite determiners. The base form before a plural noun is:
- Nominative/Accusative plural: irgendwelche
- Dative plural: irgendwelchen
- Genitive plural: irgendwelcher
Irgendwelchen appears specifically in the dative plural, for example with a plural noun in the dative: mit
Irgendwelchen emphasizes that the exact items are not identified or do not matter for the statement. It
- Ich kenne irgendwelche Leute. (I know some people.)
- Wir kämpfen mit irgendwelchen Problemen. (We’re dealing with some problems.)
- Hast du irgendwelche Ideen? (Do you have any ideas?)
Some contexts use the plural form without a following noun, especially in questions or exclamations (irgendwelche?),
See also: irgen- forms, indefinite determiners, and related expressions for vagueness in German.