die · Feminine (Femininum)A2Feminine DeclensionNature & Animals

die Erde

earth / soil

Nominative Sg.die Erde

Genitive Sg.der Erde

Nominative Plural

Singular only

Dative Plural—

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 Erde	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	die Erde	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	der Erde	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	der Erde	— (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?	eine Erde	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	eine Erde	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	einer Erde	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	einer Erde	— (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?	keine Erde	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	keine Erde	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	keiner Erde	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	keiner Erde	— (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?	meine Erde	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	meine Erde	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	meiner Erde	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	meiner Erde	— (singular only)

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

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 Erde dreht sich um die Sonne.

The Earth revolves around the sun.

Accusative

Für die Blumen kaufe ich frische Erde.

I am buying fresh soil for the flowers.

Dative

Auf der Erde leben acht Milliarden Menschen.

Eight billion people live on Earth.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Erde" 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 Erde

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

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

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

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

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

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