If the accusative case is about what an action is done to, the dative case (der Dativ) is mostly about who receives something or who benefits from it. You give a book to someone, you help someone, a jacket fits you. German marks that person with dative endings, and it also uses the dative after a fixed set of very common prepositions.
The dative shows up early, at A1 and A2, and you’ll need it for basic sentences like Wie geht es dir? (How are you?) and Ich fahre mit dem Bus (I’m taking the bus). Here’s how it works, with tables you can come back to.
Dative articles and endings
Start with the articles. Compare them with the nominative forms you already know.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der / ein | die / eine | das / ein | die / (no article) |
| Dative | dem / einem | der / einer | dem / einem | den / (no article) |
| Negative (dative) | keinem | keiner | keinem | keinen |
Two patterns make this easier to remember. Masculine and neuter look the same in the dative, both ending in -m. Feminine switches from die to der, which can be confusing at first because der is also the masculine nominative.
The plural has one extra rule: the noun itself adds -n in the dative plural if it doesn’t already end in -n or -s.
- die Kinder becomes mit den Kindern (with the children)
- die Freunde becomes mit meinen Freunden (with my friends)
- die Autos stays mit den Autos (with the cars), because it ends in -s
Possessive words like mein, dein and unser take the same endings as ein and kein: meinem Bruder, meiner Schwester, meinen Eltern.
Dative pronouns
You’ll use dative pronouns constantly, so they’re worth memorizing as a set.
| Nominative | Dative | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mir | (to) me |
| du | dir | (to) you |
| er | ihm | (to) him |
| sie | ihr | (to) her |
| es | ihm | (to) it |
| wir | uns | (to) us |
| ihr | euch | (to) you (plural) |
| sie | ihnen | (to) them |
| Sie | Ihnen | (to) you (formal) |
The question word for the dative is wem? (to whom?): Wem gehört das Handy? (Whose phone is this? Literally: To whom does the phone belong?)
Use 1: the indirect object
The classic job of the dative is the indirect object, the person who receives something. Verbs like geben (to give), schenken (to give as a gift), zeigen (to show), schicken (to send) and erklären (to explain) often have both an accusative thing and a dative person.
- Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. (I give the man the book.)
- Sie schenkt ihrer Schwester eine Kette. (She gives her sister a necklace.)
- Kannst du mir das Salz geben? (Can you pass me the salt?)
- Der Lehrer erklärt den Schülern die Regel. (The teacher explains the rule to the students.)
Word order follows a simple rule. When both objects are nouns, the dative comes first: Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. When the thing is a pronoun, it moves in front: Ich gebe es dem Mann. Ich gebe es ihm.
Use 2: verbs that always take the dative
Some verbs take a dative object even though English uses a direct object. There’s no way around learning these, but the list for beginners is short.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| helfen | to help | Ich helfe meinem Nachbarn. (I help my neighbor.) |
| danken | to thank | Ich danke dir. (Thank you.) |
| gehören | to belong to | Das Buch gehört mir. (The book belongs to me.) |
| gefallen | to please, to be liked | Die Jacke gefällt mir. (I like the jacket.) |
| schmecken | to taste (good) | Schmeckt dir die Suppe? (Do you like the soup?) |
| passen | to fit, to suit | Die Schuhe passen mir nicht. (The shoes don’t fit me.) |
| antworten | to answer | Bitte antworte mir bald. (Please answer me soon.) |
| gratulieren | to congratulate | Ich gratuliere dir zum Geburtstag. (Happy birthday to you.) |
| folgen | to follow | Folgen Sie mir, bitte. (Please follow me.) |
Watch gefallen closely. The thing you like is the subject, and you are in the dative. Die Jacke gefällt mir literally means “The jacket pleases me.”
The dative also appears in a few everyday expressions about how you feel:
- Wie geht es dir? (How are you?) Mir geht es gut. (I’m fine.)
- Mir ist kalt. (I’m cold.)
- Mir tut der Kopf weh. (My head hurts.)
Use 3: prepositions that always take the dative
Nine common prepositions are always followed by the dative. Many learners remember them as a group: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber.
- aus (from, out of): Ich komme aus der Schweiz. (I’m from Switzerland.)
- außer (except): Alle außer meinem Bruder sind da. (Everyone except my brother is here.)
- bei (at, with): Ich wohne bei meinen Eltern. (I live with my parents.)
- mit (with, by): Ich fahre mit dem Fahrrad zur Arbeit. (I ride my bike to work.)
- nach (after): Nach dem Essen trinken wir Kaffee. (After the meal we have coffee.)
- seit (since, for): Ich lerne seit einem Jahr Deutsch. (I’ve been learning German for a year.)
- von (from, of): Das Geschenk ist von meiner Oma. (The present is from my grandma.)
- zu (to): Ich gehe morgen zum Arzt. (I’m going to the doctor tomorrow.)
- gegenüber (opposite): Die Apotheke ist gegenüber dem Bahnhof. (The pharmacy is opposite the train station.)
Several of these merge with the article: zu dem becomes zum, zu der becomes zur, bei dem becomes beim, and von dem becomes vom.
The seit example is worth a second look. German uses the present tense with seit for something that started in the past and is still going on: Ich wohne seit drei Jahren in Berlin (I’ve been living in Berlin for three years).
Use 4: two-way prepositions for location
Nine more prepositions can take either the dative or the accusative: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen. The rule is about location versus movement.
- Location, answering wo? (where?), takes the dative.
- Movement toward a place, answering wohin? (where to?), takes the accusative.
Compare these pairs:
- Die Katze sitzt auf dem Sofa. (The cat is sitting on the sofa.) Dative, location.
- Die Katze springt auf das Sofa. (The cat jumps onto the sofa.) Accusative, movement.
- Ich bin in der Küche. (I’m in the kitchen.) Dative.
- Ich gehe in die Küche. (I’m going into the kitchen.) Accusative.
Look around any room and you can practice the dative:
- Die Lampe steht neben dem Sofa. (The lamp is next to the sofa.)
- Der Teppich liegt unter dem Tisch. (The rug is under the table.)
- Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book is on the table.)
- Das Bild hängt an der Wand. (The picture is hanging on the wall.)
Here too, in dem shortens to im and an dem to am: im Park, am Fenster.
Common mistakes
- Ich helfe dich is wrong. Helfen takes the dative: Ich helfe dir.
- Forgetting the plural -n: it’s mit den Kindern, not mit den Kinder.
- Using the accusative after mit: it’s mit meinem Freund, not mit meinen Freund.
- Translating “I like” word for word with gefallen: Ich gefalle die Jacke means nothing sensible. Say Die Jacke gefällt mir.
Key takeaways
- The dative marks the receiver of an action and answers the question wem?
- Masculine and neuter articles end in -m (dem, einem), feminine becomes der, einer, and the plural is den plus -n on the noun.
- aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber always take the dative.
- Two-way prepositions take the dative for location (wo?) and the accusative for movement (wohin?).
FAQ
How do I know whether to use the dative or the accusative?
Ask what the word is doing. The thing directly affected by the verb is accusative. The person receiving or benefiting is dative. After a preposition, the preposition decides, and for two-way prepositions it depends on location versus movement.
Is the dative used in spoken German?
Yes, all the time. It’s far more common in speech than the genitive. Phrases like Wie geht es dir?, mit dem Auto and Das gefällt mir come up in almost every conversation.
What does “wem” mean?
Wem is the dative form of wer (who). It means “to whom” or “whom”: Wem hast du geholfen? (Who did you help?)
