der · Masculine (Maskulinum)B1Mixed DeclensionCulture & Ideas

der Wille

will / willpower

Nominative Sg.der Wille

Genitive Sg.des Willens

Nominative Plural

Singular only

Dative Plural—

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

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 Wille	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	den Willen	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	dem Willen	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	des Willens	— (singular only)

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 Wille	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	einen Willen	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	einem Willen	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	eines Willens	— (singular only)

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 Wille	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	keinen Willen	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	keinem Willen	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	keines Willens	— (singular only)

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 Wille	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	meinen Willen	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	meinem Willen	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	meines Willens	— (singular only)

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.
Uncountable / singular-only noun in standard usage (no common plural table).

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

Example Sentences in Context

Nominative

Der Wille ist oft wichtiger als das Talent.

Willpower is often more important than talent.

Genitive

Trotz seines starken Willens schafft er den Marathon nicht.

Despite his strong willpower, he doesn't manage to finish the marathon.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Wille" 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 Willens" expresses possession

FAQs: der Wille

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

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

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

"der Wille" is normally uncountable (singular-only) in standard German and does not form a common plural table.

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

"Wille" belongs to the small mixed declension class: Nominative "der Wille", Accusative "den Willen", Dative "dem Willen", and Genitive "des Willens".