Why does the noun Farbe have the article die?

About 90% of nouns ending in -e are feminine.

Examples

die Lampe (lamp), die Schule (school), die Tasche (bag), die Klasse (class), die Straße (street), die Sonne (sun), die Blume (flower)

Exceptions

der Junge (boy), der Löwe (lion), der Affe (monkey), der Name (name), der Käse (cheese), das Ende (end), das Auge (eye)

Declension table for German noun Farbe

How it changes across the four cases.

CaseDefiniteIndefiniteNegative
Nominativdie Farbeeine Farbekeine Farbe
Akkusativdie Farbeeine Farbekeine Farbe
Dativder Farbeeiner Farbekeiner Farbe
Genitivder Farbeeiner Farbekeiner Farbe

Examples in context

Real sentences using Farbe in different cases.

CaseDefiniteIndefiniteNegative
Nominativ
Die rote Farbe ist sehr schön.The red color is very beautiful.
Eine helle Farbe passt gut dazu.A light color goes well with it.
Keine dunkle Farbe gefällt mir hier.No dark color pleases me here.
Akkusativ
Ich wähle die blaue Farbe.I choose the blue color.
Er sucht eine passende Farbe.He is looking for a suitable color.
Wir brauchen keine neue Farbe.We don't need a new color.
Dativ
Ich male mit der grünen Farbe.I am painting with the green color.
Das passt zu einer warmen Farbe.That goes with a warm color.
Mit keiner kalten Farbe geht das nicht.That doesn't work with any cold color.
Genitiv
Der Preis der roten Farbe ist hoch.The price of the red color is high.
Die Wirkung einer hellen Farbe ist toll.The effect of a light color is great.
Trotz keiner passenden Farbe versucht er es.Despite no suitable color, he tries it.

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Frequently asked questions

Everything you might wonder about der, die, das — and the Der Artikel app.

Is it der, die, or das Farbe?

It is die Farbe. In German, every noun has a grammatical gender, and Farbe is feminine. You should always learn the article together with the noun to ensure your German grammar is correct.

What CEFR level is the word Farbe?

The German noun Farbe is categorized as Beginner (A1) vocabulary. It is considered an essential word for learners at this level.

What is the plural of die Farbe?

The plural form of die Farbe is die Farben. In German, regardless of the singular gender, all plural nouns use the definite article “die.”

What does die Farbe mean in English?

The German word die Farbe translates to “color” in English.

How do you decline die Farbe?

Like all German nouns, Farbe changes its article depending on the case. In the singular, the forms are:
  • Nominativ: die Farbe
  • Akkusativ: die Farbe
  • Dativ: der Farbe
  • Genitiv: der Farbe

These changes are necessary because German uses cases to indicate the noun’s role in a sentence (such as the subject or object). Knowing these forms allows you to build grammatically correct sentences.