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German articles and cases cheat deck

A cheat deck for German grammar: der, die, das, the four cases, article and pronoun tables, case prepositions and gender clues, with an example for each rule.

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The cards, front and back

  1. 1
    Front

    Three genders

    Back

    German nouns are masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das). All plurals use die in the nominative.

    Example: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Buch, die Bücher.

  2. 2
    Front

    Nominative case

    Back

    Used for the subject of a sentence: the person or thing doing the action.

    Articles: der, die, das, die (plural).

    Example: Der Hund schläft. (The dog is sleeping.)

  3. 3
    Front

    Accusative case

    Back

    Used for the direct object. Only the masculine article changes: der becomes den.

    Articles: den, die, das, die.

    Example: Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.)

  4. 4
    Front

    Dative case

    Back

    Used for the indirect object, often the person receiving something.

    Articles: dem, der, dem, den (plural nouns add -n where possible).

    Example: Ich gebe dem Kind einen Apfel. (I give the child an apple.)

  5. 5
    Front

    Genitive case

    Back

    Shows possession, like of or 's in English.

    Articles: des, der, des, der. Most masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es.

    Example: das Auto des Mannes (the man's car)

  6. 6
    Front

    ein, eine: nominative and accusative

    Back

    Nominative: ein (masc), eine (fem), ein (neut).

    Accusative: einen (masc), eine (fem), ein (neut).

    Example: Ich habe einen Bruder. (I have a brother.)

  7. 7
    Front

    ein, eine: dative and genitive

    Back

    Dative: einem (masc), einer (fem), einem (neut).

    Genitive: eines (masc), einer (fem), eines (neut).

    Example: mit einem Freund (with a friend)

  8. 8
    Front

    kein (no, not a)

    Back

    Takes the same endings as ein in the singular, and also has plural forms: keine (nom and acc), keinen (dat), keiner (gen).

    Example: Ich habe keine Zeit. (I have no time.)

  9. 9
    Front

    Accusative prepositions

    Back

    durch, für, gegen, ohne, um (also bis and entlang)

    Example: Das Geschenk ist für den Lehrer. (The present is for the teacher.)

  10. 10
    Front

    Dative prepositions

    Back

    aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu (also gegenüber)

    Example: Ich fahre mit dem Bus. (I go by bus.)

  11. 11
    Front

    Two-way prepositions

    Back

    an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen

    Accusative for movement to a place (wohin?), dative for location (wo?).

    Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.

  12. 12
    Front

    Genitive prepositions

    Back

    während, wegen, trotz, statt (anstatt)

    Example: wegen des Wetters (because of the weather). In everyday speech many people use the dative after these.

  13. 13
    Front

    Common dative verbs

    Back

    helfen, danken, gefallen, gehören, antworten, glauben (a person)

    Example: Ich helfe dir. (I help you.) Das Buch gehört mir. (The book belongs to me.)

  14. 14
    Front

    Personal pronouns: accusative

    Back

    mich, dich, ihn, sie, es, uns, euch, sie / Sie

    Example: Ich kenne ihn. (I know him.)

  15. 15
    Front

    Personal pronouns: dative

    Back

    mir, dir, ihm, ihr, ihm, uns, euch, ihnen / Ihnen

    Example: Kannst du mir helfen? (Can you help me?)

  16. 16
    Front

    Question words by case

    Back

    wer (who, nominative), wen (whom, accusative), wem (to whom, dative), wessen (whose, genitive)

    Example: Wem gehört die Tasche? (Whose bag is it?)

  17. 17
    Front

    Common contractions

    Back

    im = in dem, ins = in das, am = an dem, ans = an das, zum = zu dem, zur = zu der, vom = von dem, beim = bei dem

    Example: Ich gehe zur Schule.

  18. 18
    Front

    Feminine noun endings

    Back

    Nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion and -tät are feminine.

    Example: die Zeitung, die Freiheit, die Universität

  19. 19
    Front

    Neuter noun endings

    Back

    Nouns ending in -chen and -lein are always neuter, and so are most nouns ending in -um and -ment.

    Example: das Mädchen, das Zentrum

  20. 20
    Front

    Masculine noun clues

    Back

    Days, months and seasons are masculine, and so are most nouns ending in -ismus.

    Example: der Montag, der Juli, der Sommer, der Tourismus

  21. 21
    Front

    Compound nouns

    Back

    A compound noun takes the gender of its last part.

    Example: das Haus + die Tür = die Haustür (the front door)

  22. 22
    Front

    Weak masculine nouns (n-nouns)

    Back

    Some masculine nouns add -n or -en in every case except the nominative singular.

    Example: der Junge, den Jungen, dem Jungen; der Student, den Studenten

How to use this template

This is a cheat deck for the part of German grammar learners find hardest: genders, the four cases and the endings they trigger. It sets out the definite and indefinite article tables, the pronoun forms, which prepositions take which case, and the noun endings that give away a word's gender. Each rule comes with a short example sentence. It suits intermediate school students, university learners and anyone stuck on der, die, das. Learn the tables in Learn mode, then use Test mode and spaced repetition until the endings come automatically. Print it double-sided as a desk reference for homework.

Tips

  • Always learn a noun together with its article and plural, for example der Tisch, die Tische.
  • Ask yourself the case question for every noun in a sentence: who does it, who or what receives it, to whom?
  • Learn the preposition groups as rhythmic lists. Saying them aloud like a chant helps them stick.
  • Colour-code your own notes: one colour for masculine, one for feminine and one for neuter nouns.
  • Write two sentences for each two-way preposition, one showing movement and one showing location.

Make it fit

  • Add adjective ending tables once the article tables feel secure.
  • Beginners can start with only the nominative and accusative cards and add dative later.
  • Replace the examples with nouns from your current textbook chapter.
  • Teachers can print the preposition cards for a sorting game into accusative, dative, two-way and genitive groups.

Updated October 28, 2026

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