die · Feminine (Femininum)A1Feminine DeclensionFood & Drink

die Birne

pear / light bulb

Nominative Sg.die Birne

Genitive Sg.der Birne

Nominative Plural

die Birnen

Dative Pluralden Birnen

Gender / Plural CueEnding -e -> usually feminine (die)

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?	die Birne	die Birnen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	die Birne	die Birnen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	der Birne	den Birnen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	der Birne	der Birnen

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?	eine Birne	Birnen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	eine Birne	Birnen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	einer Birne	Birnen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	einer Birne	Birnen

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?	keine Birne	keine Birnen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	keine Birne	keine Birnen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	keiner Birne	keinen Birnen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	keiner Birne	keiner Birnen

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?	meine Birne	meine Birnen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	meine Birne	meine Birnen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	meiner Birne	meinen Birnen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	meiner Birne	meiner Birnen

Why These Endings Work

All feminine (die) nouns stay completely unchanged in the singular across Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive.

Feminine nouns never change their own ending in the singular across all four cases.
Plural "Birnen" already ends in -n or -s, so Dative plural stays Birnen.

Pattern summary: Only the article changes in singular (die / die / der / der); plural takes -n in Dative unless ending in -n or -s.

Example Sentences in Context

Nominative

Die Birne ist reif und süß.

The pear is ripe and sweet.

Accusative

Ich esse eine Birne als Snack.

I eat a pear as a snack.

Dative

Den Kuchen backe ich mit Birnen.

I bake the cake with pears.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Birne" 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 Dative Case GuideIndirect objects, prepositions, and der + feminine nouns

FAQs: die Birne

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

"Birne" takes the feminine definite article "die" (die Birne). Gender cue: Ending -e -> usually feminine (die).

What is the plural and Dative plural of "die Birne"?

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

How does "die Birne" change in the Genitive, Accusative, and Dative?

As a feminine noun, "Birne" keeps the exact same stem in all four singular cases; only the article changes (die Birne / die Birne / der Birne / der Birne).