Why does the noun Leute 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 Leute
How it changes across the four cases.
| Case | Definite | Indefinite | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | die Leute | Leute | keine Leute |
| Akkusativ | die Leute | Leute | keine Leute |
| Dativ | den Leuten | Leuten | keinen Leuten |
| Genitiv | der Leute | Leute | keiner Leute |
Examples in context
Real sentences using Leute in different cases.
| Case | Definite | Indefinite | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | Die neuen Leute sind nett.The new people are nice. | Viele Leute warten draußen.Many people are waiting outside. | Keine bösen Leute sind hier.No mean people are here. |
| Akkusativ | Ich rufe die neuen Leute.I am calling the new people. | Sie trifft nette Leute.She meets nice people. | Ich mag keine bösen Leute.I like no mean people. |
| Dativ | Er spricht mit den neuen Leuten.He speaks with the new people. | Wir danken vielen Leuten.We thank many people. | Ich antworte keinen bösen Leuten.I answer no mean people. |
| Genitiv | Das Leben der armen Leute ist schwer.The life of the poor people is difficult. | Wegen vieler Leute ist es laut.Because of many people, it is loud. | Das sind die Rechte keiner fremden Leute.Those are the rights of no foreign people. |
GET THE APP
Practice die Leute in the app
Master die Leute (and 5,000+ other German nouns) with quizzes, smart review, and instant grammar tips.
- 5,000+ nouns with translations in 11 languages
- Quizzes by level, category, or your weakest words
- Snap a photo of any German text — extract nouns instantly
Frequently asked questions
Everything you might wonder about der, die, das — and the Der Artikel app.
Is it der, die, or das Leute?
What CEFR level is the word Leute?
What is the plural of die Leute?
What does die Leute mean in English?
How do you decline die Leute?
- Nominativ: die Leute
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.