Why does the noun See 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 See
How it changes across the four cases.
| Case | Definite | Indefinite | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der See | ein See | kein See |
| Akkusativ | den See | einen See | keinen See |
| Dativ | dem See | einem See | keinem See |
| Genitiv | des Sees | eines Sees | keines Sees |
| Nominativ | die Seen | Seen | keine Seen |
| Akkusativ | die Seen | Seen | keine Seen |
| Dativ | den Seen | Seen | keinen Seen |
| Genitiv | der Seen | Seen | keiner Seen |
Examples in context
Real sentences using See in different cases.
| Case | Definite | Indefinite | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | Der große See ist tief.The big lake is deep. | Hier ist ein schöner See.Here is a beautiful lake. | Das ist kein kleiner See.That is not a small lake. |
| Akkusativ | Ich sehe den großen See.I see the big lake. | Wir besuchen einen schönen See.We are visiting a beautiful lake. | Er mag keinen kalten See.He doesn't like a cold lake. |
| Dativ | Wir schwimmen in dem tiefen See.We are swimming in the deep lake. | Das Boot ist auf einem kleinen See.The boat is on a small lake. | Ich bin bei keinem See.I am not at any lake. |
| Genitiv | Die Farbe des Sees ist blau.The color of the lake is blue. | Das Ufer eines großen Sees ist schön.The shore of a big lake is beautiful. | Das ist das Wasser keines Sees.This is the water of no lake. |
| Nominativ | Die blauen Seen sind kalt.The blue lakes are cold. | In Bayern gibt es viele Seen.In Bavaria there are many lakes. | Das sind keine tiefen Seen.Those are not deep lakes. |
| Akkusativ | Wir lieben die bayerischen Seen.We love the Bavarian lakes. | Sie fotografiert schöne Seen.She photographs beautiful lakes. | Ich kenne keine guten Seen hier.I don't know any good lakes here. |
| Dativ | Fische leben in den tiefen Seen.Fish live in the deep lakes. | Wir wandern zu schönen Seen.We hike to beautiful lakes. | Wir waren an keinen Seen.We were at no lakes. |
| Genitiv | Die Namen der Seen sind bekannt.The names of the lakes are known. | Die Lage schöner Seen ist wichtig.The location of beautiful lakes is important. | Die Namen keiner Seen sind auf der Karte.The names of no lakes are on the map. |
GET THE APP
Practice die See in the app
Master die See (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 See?
What CEFR level is the word See?
What is the plural of die See?
What does die See mean in English?
How do you decline die See?
- Nominativ: der See
- Akkusativ: den See
- Dativ: dem See
- Genitiv: des Sees
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.