die · Feminine (Femininum)B2Feminine DeclensionStudy & Grammar

die Metapher

metaphor

Nominative Sg.die Metapher

Genitive Sg.der Metapher

Nominative Plural

die Metaphern

Dative Pluralden Metaphern

Gender / Plural CueLexical gender — memorize together with its article

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kraftvolle Metaphern bereichern die Erzählung.

Powerful metaphors enrich the narrative.

Dative

Mit dieser Metapher beschreibt der Dichter die Liebe.

With this metaphor, the poet describes love.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Metapher" 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 Metapher

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

"Metapher" takes the feminine definite article "die" (die Metapher). Gender cue: Lexical gender — memorize together with its article.

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

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

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

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