der · Masculine (Maskulinum)B1Mixed DeclensionCulture & Ideas

der Gedanke

thought / idea

Nominative Sg.der Gedanke

Genitive Sg.des Gedankens

Nominative Plural

die Gedanken

Dative Pluralden Gedanken

Gender / Plural CueMixed declension (-e stem): den/dem Gedanken, Gen des Gedankens

Full 4-Case Declension Table

Switch determiner types to inspect how articles and noun endings change together.

Definite (der / die / das): Used for specific, already known, or general-category nouns.

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	der Gedanke	die Gedanken
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	den Gedanken	die Gedanken
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	dem Gedanken	den Gedanken
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	des Gedankens	der Gedanken

Indefinite (ein / eine): Used when introducing a countable singular noun; has no plural article in German.

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	ein Gedanke	Gedanken
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	einen Gedanken	Gedanken
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	einem Gedanken	Gedanken
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	eines Gedankens	Gedanken

Negative (kein / keine): Negates nouns with or without an indefinite article; follows ein-words in singular and die in plural.

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	kein Gedanke	keine Gedanken
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	keinen Gedanken	keine Gedanken
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	keinem Gedanken	keinen Gedanken
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	keines Gedankens	keiner Gedanken

Possessive (mein / dein / …): Uses ein-word endings in singular and definite-like endings in plural (mein/dein/sein/ihr/unser/euer/Ihr).

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	mein Gedanke	meine Gedanken
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	meinen Gedanken	meine Gedanken
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	meinem Gedanken	meinen Gedanken
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	meines Gedankens	meiner Gedanken

Why These Endings Work

Small group of nouns combining weak -(e)n endings with strong genitive -ns (e.g. der Name, der Gedanke, das Herz).

Mixed masculine declension: takes -n in Accusative/Dative singular and -ns in Genitive singular.
Plural "Gedanken" already ends in -n or -s, so Dative plural stays Gedanken.

Pattern summary: Masculine mixed: Akk/Dat -n, Gen -ns; das Herz keeps Akk = Herz, Dat Herzen, Gen Herzens.

Example Sentences in Context

Nominative

Der Gedanke an eine Weltreise gefällt mir sehr.

I really like the thought of a trip around the world.

Genitive

Der Kern des Gedankens ist ganz einfach.

The core of the idea is quite simple.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Gedanke" in Der/Die/Das Checker Analyze in Compound Deconstructor Inspect Example in Sentence Analyzer

German Gender & ArticlesPredict der, die, das with high-frequency endings The Four German CasesNominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive roles Noun Plurals & Dative -nPlural patterns and the Dative plural -n rule Genitive Case GuideHow "des Gedankens" expresses possession

FAQs: der Gedanke

Is "Gedanke" der, die, or das in German?

"Gedanke" takes the masculine definite article "der" (der Gedanke). Gender cue: Mixed declension (-e stem): den/dem Gedanken, Gen des Gedankens.

What is the plural and Dative plural of "der Gedanke"?

The Nominative plural of der Gedanke is "die Gedanken" (pattern: -n). In the Dative plural it becomes "den Gedanken".

How does "der Gedanke" change in the Genitive, Accusative, and Dative?

"Gedanke" belongs to the small mixed declension class: Nominative "der Gedanke", Accusative "den Gedanken", Dative "dem Gedanken", and Genitive "des Gedankens".