speziellen

Speziellen is the attributive form of the German adjective speziell, meaning "special" or "particular." It is used before nouns to mark a specific subset or characteristic and takes different endings according to number, gender, and case.

In common usage, examples show how the form changes with a determiner and number. Die speziellen Anforderungen erfüllen die Kriterien. Die speziellen Fälle müssen geprüft werden. Mit der speziellen Aufgabe arbeiten wir intensiv. In genitive contexts you will also encounter des speziellen Falls or der speziellen Fälle, for instance in phrases like Die Lösung des speziellen Falls war überraschend or Die Ergebnisse der speziellen Fälle zeigen ähnliche Trends. In the plural nominative or accusative with a definite article, die speziellen Fälle is typical. In singular feminine dative after a definite article one also finds mit der speziellen Aufgabe. These are all instances of the attributive declension of speziell.

Etymology and relation to other terms: speziell derives from Latin specialis, via Old French or directly into German, and is closely related to the noun Spezialität (specialty). The word differs from spezifisch, which tends to be used in technical or distinguishing senses, whereas speziell often signals something tailored to a particular context or item. In everyday language, speziell can also function as an adverb or in predicative position without a strong ending, for example, Die Gründe sind speziell.