Grammar

Die vier Fälle

German nouns change their article (and sometimes their ending) depending on the case. Learn the matrix once, then drill it with the words you already know from Essen & Trinken.

The declension table

GenusNomAkkDatGen
der
Maskulin
der
Käse
den
Käse
dem
Käse
des
Käsees
die
Feminin
die
Milch
die
Milch
der
Milch
der
Milch
das
Neutrum
das
Brot
das
Brot
dem
Brot
des
Brotes
die (pl.)
Plural
die
Brote
die
Brote
den
Broten
der
Brote
  • NomSubject — who/what is doing.
  • AkkDirect object — who/what is being acted on.
  • DatIndirect object — to/for whom; many prepositions.
  • GenPossession — of whom/what.

Each case in action — using der Käse

  • Nominativ

    Der Käse ist hier.

  • Akkusativ

    Ich sehe den Käse.

  • Dativ

    Mit dem Käse.

  • Genitiv

    Die Farbe des Käsees.

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Practice with cards

Swipe through the pack words. Each card shows all four case forms with an example sentence and audio.

Open practice→
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Cases test

See an image and a target case, then pick the gender, the matching word, and the right declined article. Auto-graded.

Start test→