Der, die or das Schlüssel?
der Schlüssel
- Gender
- masculine
- English
- key
- Plural
- die Schlüssel
Why is it der Schlüssel?
No ending or meaning rule gives away the gender of Schlüssel. Like many everyday German nouns, it has to be learned together with its article: der Schlüssel.
For the endings that do predict gender, see the Der-Die-Das rules guide.
Example sentences
- Der Schlüssel liegt auf dem Tisch.The key is on the table.
- Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Rucksack.I am looking for my keys in the backpack.
Schlüssel in the four cases
The article changes with the case. The highlighted column shows the forms to use with Schlüssel: 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 |
Schlüssel 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.