German articles – every form in one table
The German article has only six forms: der, die, das, den, dem, des. Which one fits depends on two things: the gender of the noun and the case it is in. The case can be worked out from the sentence. The gender cannot – it has to be learned with every word.
The definite article (the)
| masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativwer?nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Akkusativwen?accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dativwem?dative | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitivwessen?genitive | des | der | des | der |
The indefinite article (a, an)
| masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativwer?nominative | ein | eine | ein | keine |
| Akkusativwen?accusative | einen | eine | ein | keine |
| Dativwem?dative | einem | einer | einem | keinen |
| Genitivwessen?genitive | eines | einer | eines | keiner |
“Ein” has no plural. You simply say “Hunde” without an article, or use “keine Hunde” for “no dogs”. In the singular, “kein” takes the same endings as “ein”.
What really matters
- In the accusative only the masculine changes: der becomes den. Die, das and the plural stay the same.
- In the dative plural almost every noun adds an -n: mit den Kindern.
- So if you don’t know that it is der Hund, you can’t know that it is “ich sehe den Hund” either. Gender comes first, case second.
One word through all four cases
- Nominativ
- Der Hund schläft.
- Akkusativ
- Ich sehe den Hund.
- Dativ
- mit dem Hund
- Genitiv
- der Name des Hundes
- Nominativ
- Die Katze schläft.
- Akkusativ
- Ich sehe die Katze.
- Dativ
- mit der Katze
- Genitiv
- der Name der Katze
- Nominativ
- Das Buch liegt da.
- Akkusativ
- Ich lese das Buch.
- Dativ
- mit dem Buch
- Genitiv
- der Titel des Buches
- Nominativ
- Die Kinder spielen.
- Akkusativ
- Ich sehe die Kinder.
- Dativ
- mit den Kindern
- Genitiv
- die Namen der Kinder
Accusative or dative?
Usually the verb or the preposition in front decides.
- Always accusativedurch, für, gegen, ohne, umfür den Hund
- Always dativeaus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zumit dem Hund
- Either onean, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischenHere the question helps:Wohin? (where to?) → accusativeDie Katze springt auf den Tisch.Wo? (where?) → dativeDie Katze sitzt auf dem Tisch.
The genitive is mostly used in writing. In speech people often say “der Name von dem Hund” instead of “der Name des Hundes”.
Practise the gender
Panderdiedas practises exactly the first step: der, die or das. The game does not practise the cases. Over 2300 words, read aloud, free.
Frequent questions
What is the difference between the definite and the indefinite article?
“Der Hund” means a particular dog that is already known – the dog. “Ein Hund” means any dog, or one mentioned for the first time – a dog.
Why is it “mit dem Hund” but “für den Hund”?
“Mit” is always followed by the dative, “für” always by the accusative. These prepositions have to be learned as a list – you will find them above on this page.
Why is it “der Frau” when the word is feminine?
For feminine nouns “der” is the dative and genitive form: mit der Frau, das Auto der Frau. The same six forms appear in different rows of the table.
How can I tell whether a noun is der, die or das?
Often by its ending: nouns in -ung are always feminine, diminutives in -chen always neuter. The rules page shows which rules exist and how reliable each one is – every one counted against the word list.