Deklination (Declension: The Four Cases at a Glance)
German articles change with the case of the noun, and some nouns change their ending too. This change is called declension (Deklination). There are four cases, and each has its own page. This page puts them side by side.
- Nominativ (nominative): the subject. Question: Wer? Was?
- Akkusativ (accusative): the direct object, and after some prepositions. Question: Wen? Was?
- Dativ (dative): the indirect object, and after some prepositions and verbs. Question: Wem?
- Genitiv (genitive): the owner. Question: Wessen?
The definite article: der, die, das
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der Mann | die Frau | das Kind | die Kinder |
| Akkusativ | den Mann | die Frau | das Kind | die Kinder |
| Dativ | dem Mann | der Frau | dem Kind | den Kindern |
| Genitiv | des Mannes | der Frau | des Kindes | der Kinder |
The indefinite article: ein, eine
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural (kein) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | ein Mann | eine Frau | ein Kind | keine Kinder |
| Akkusativ | einen Mann | eine Frau | ein Kind | keine Kinder |
| Dativ | einem Mann | einer Frau | einem Kind | keinen Kindern |
| Genitiv | eines Mannes | einer Frau | eines Kindes | keiner Kinder |
ein has no plural: ein Kind → Kinder. kein and the possessives such as mein take the same endings as ein in the singular, and the endings in the last column in the plural.
Patterns worth knowing
- Feminine, neuter and plural are the same in the nominative and accusative. Only the masculine changes: der → den.
- In the dative, masculine and neuter take dem, feminine takes der and the plural takes den.
- In the dative plural the noun adds -n, unless it already ends in -n or -s: den Kindern, but den Frauen, den Autos.
- In the genitive, masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es: des Mannes, des Kindes (except n-nouns, see below).
- der has four jobs: masculine nominative, feminine dative, feminine genitive and plural genitive.
Common mistake
Ich sehe der Mann. is wrong; correct: Ich sehe den Mann.
English the never changes, but German masculine articles do. der Mann is the direct object here, so it is in the accusative: den Mann.
Common mistake
Ich gebe den Kinder Schokolade. is wrong; correct: Ich gebe den Kindern Schokolade.
In the dative plural the noun itself adds -n. The article den alone is not enough.
n-nouns (weak nouns): der Mensch, der Junge
A group of masculine nouns adds -n or -en in every case except the nominative singular. Most of them refer to people or animals, such as der Mensch, der Junge, der Student, der Kollege, der Nachbar, der Löwe.
| Case | der Mensch | der Junge |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der Mensch | der Junge |
| Akkusativ | den Menschen | den Jungen |
| Dativ | dem Menschen | dem Jungen |
| Genitiv | des Menschen | des Jungen |
Check yourself
Written by: Fatih Ün, German teacher · Last updated: