lebendes

Lebendes is a German word form tied to the verb leben, meaning to live. In normal usage it functions as the attributive form of the adjective referring to living beings, for example ein lebendes Wesen or das lebende Tier. After an indefinite article, the form is lebendes (neuter singular), while after a definite article the attributive form is lebende (das lebende Tier). The noun form das Lebende can also occur, meaning “the living” as a broader concept.

Etymology and grammar: Lebendes derives from leben, with the adjective stem leb- combined with grammatical endings. When the word precedes a noun, its ending agrees with gender and case. The capitalized noun Lebende (often written as Das Lebende) is used in some contexts to denote living beings as a category, similar to “the living” in English. The plural Lebende(n) refers to living beings collectively. Distinctions exist between the adjective forms and the noun form, which affects capitalization and article choice.

Usage and context: In everyday language, lebendes appears in phrases describing living things, such as ein lebendes Tier or ein lebendes Wesen. In scientific and philosophical writing, the term can function as a broader category for living systems, contrasted with non-living or dead matter (das Tote, das Nicht-Lebende). The term is closely related to, but distinct from, Lebensformen (life forms), Leben (life), and lebendig or lebendigkeits-bezogene Eigenschaften (living properties).

See also: Leben, Lebende, Lebenskraft, Lebensformen, das Tote.

---