German cases are the part of the language that scares most beginners — but the core idea is simple: a case shows the job a noun does in a sentence. Once you know the job, you know which article (der, die, das…) to use. There are only four cases, and this guide walks through each one.
Why German has cases
In English, word order tells you who does what: “The dog bites the man” means something different from “The man bites the dog.” German is more flexible with word order, so instead it changes the article (and sometimes the noun ending) to mark each word’s role. That marking is the case.
1. Nominativ — the subject
The nominative is the “who or what is doing the action” case. It’s the dictionary form.
Der Hund schläft.— The dog sleeps. (der Hundis the subject.)- Articles:
der / die / das / die(m/f/n/pl).
2. Akkusativ — the direct object
The accusative marks the thing directly receiving the action — the “what” or “whom.” Only the masculine article changes.
Ich sehe den Hund.— I see the dog. (der→den.)- Articles:
den / die / das / die. - Common accusative prepositions:
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um.
3. Dativ — the indirect object
The dative marks the recipient — the “to whom” or “for whom” something is done.
Ich gebe dem Hund Wasser.— I give the dog water. (der→dem.)- Articles:
dem / der / dem / den (+n). - Common dative prepositions:
aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu.
4. Genitiv — possession
The genitive shows possession or relationship — the equivalent of English “of” or an apostrophe-s. It’s less common in everyday speech but important in writing.
Das ist das Haus des Mannes.— That is the man’s house.- Articles:
des (+s) / der / des (+s) / der.
A quick trick to spot the case
- Find the verb and ask “who/what is doing it?” → that’s nominative.
- Ask “what is being acted on?” → accusative.
- Ask “to/for whom?” → dative.
- Ask “whose?” → genitive.
Some prepositions (called two-way prepositions, like in, an, auf, über) take accusative when there’s movement toward a place and dative when there’s no movement — “motion vs. location.”
See cases in real sentences
The quickest way to internalize cases is to see them labeled in actual German sentences. Paste a German sentence into our analyzer and it identifies the case of each noun and explains why.
Related: English verb tenses explained.