die · Feminine (Femininum)B1Feminine DeclensionNature & Animals

die Feder

feather / spring (mechanical)

Nominative Sg.die Feder

Genitive Sg.der Feder

Nominative Plural

die Federn

Dative Pluralden Federn

Gender / Plural CueException: ends in -er but feminine (die Feder)

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

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

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

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

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 "Federn" already ends in -n or -s, so Dative plural stays Federn.

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 Feder ist leicht wie Luft.

The feather is as light as air.

Accusative

Das Kind hat eine bunte Feder gefunden.

The child found a colourful feather.

Dative

Das Kissen ist mit Federn gefüllt.

The pillow is filled with feathers.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Feder" 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 Feder

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

"Feder" takes the feminine definite article "die" (die Feder). Gender cue: Exception: ends in -er but feminine (die Feder).

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

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

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

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