Der, die or das Ding?
das Ding
- Gender
- neuter
- English
- thing
- Plural
- die Dinge
Why is it das Ding?
No ending or meaning rule gives away the gender of Ding. Like many everyday German nouns, it has to be learned together with its article: das Ding.
For the endings that do predict gender, see the Der-Die-Das rules guide.
Example sentences
- Das Ding liegt im Schrank.The thing is in the cupboard.
- Er kauft viele Dinge im Laden.He buys many things in the shop.
Ding in the four cases
The article changes with the case. The highlighted column shows the forms to use with Ding: definite article first, then the indefinite article.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der / ein | die / eine | das / ein | die |
| Accusative | den / einen | die / eine | das / ein | die |
| Dative | dem / einem | der / einer | dem / einem | den |
| Genitive | des / eines | der / einer | des / eines | der |
Ding is one of about 1,700 common nouns in the free Der-Die-Das trainer. Short daily rounds with spaced repetition make the article stick.