klassen

Klassen is the plural form of the German noun Klasse and the Dutch noun klas. In both languages it denotes a group or category and appears in contexts such as education, science, and programming.

In German, Klasse means a class in school (eine Klasse) or a quality or category of things. The plural Klassen is used for multiple such groups. The term also occurs in compounds like Klassenkampf (class struggle) and Klassenbildung (formation of classes). In biology, Klasse is the taxonomic rank “class” and the plural Klassen refers to several such ranks. In programming, Klasse is the term for a class in object-oriented languages; the plural Klassen refers to multiple classes.

In Dutch, klas means a class of students or a classroom; the plural is klassen for multiple classes. The term also appears in taxonomy, where klasse is the Dutch word for “class” and klassen the plural.

Klassen is also used as a surname in Dutch- and German-speaking areas.