persönlichen

Persönlichen is the inflected form of the German adjective persönlich, meaning personal or private. It is not a noun itself but a word that describes a noun. Like other German adjectives, its ending depends on gender, number, and case, as well as whether a determiner precedes the noun. In attributive position after a definite determiner, the form with the ending -en is common, especially in plural or certain singular cases.

In practical use, die persönlichen Daten illustrates the plural attributive form after a definite article: die persönlichen Daten (nominative or accusative plural). Other common plural forms include den persönlichen Gegenständen in the dative plural. Singular forms vary by gender and case: der persönliche Kontakt (masculine nominative) vs dem persönlichen Kontakt (masculine neuter in other cases). Das persönliche Datum shows the neuter singular with the -e ending in nominative, while dem persönlichen Datum shows the -en ending in dative. These examples reflect the weak declension pattern that occurs after definite determiners.

Persönlich kann außerdem als Prädikativum auftreten, in which case the adjective is used with a linking verb and typically carries no attributive ending. For example, Die Daten sind persönlich. In addition, persönlich functions as an adverb meaning “personally” in phrases like Ich habe ihn persönlich getroffen.

Etymologically, persönlich derives from Person with the German suffix -lich, forming an adjective meaning relating to a person or private in nature. The term is widely used in contexts such as data protection, privacy, social interaction, and evaluation of private attributes.