die · Feminine (Femininum)B1Feminine DeclensionPeople & Family

die Herkunft

origin / heritage

Nominative Sg.die Herkunft

Genitive Sg.der Herkunft

Nominative Plural

Singular only

Dative Plural—

Gender / Plural CueNouns ending in -kunft -> feminine (die)

Full 4-Case Declension Table

Switch determiner types to inspect how articles and noun endings change together.

Definite (der / die / das): Used for specific, already known, or general-category nouns.

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	die Herkunft	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	die Herkunft	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	der Herkunft	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	der Herkunft	— (singular only)

Indefinite (ein / eine): Used when introducing a countable singular noun; has no plural article in German.

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	eine Herkunft	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	eine Herkunft	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	einer Herkunft	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	einer Herkunft	— (singular only)

Negative (kein / keine): Negates nouns with or without an indefinite article; follows ein-words in singular and die in plural.

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	keine Herkunft	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	keine Herkunft	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	keiner Herkunft	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	keiner Herkunft	— (singular only)

Possessive (mein / dein / …): Uses ein-word endings in singular and definite-like endings in plural (mein/dein/sein/ihr/unser/euer/Ihr).

Case (Fall)	Question	Singular	Plural
Nominative Nominativ (Werfall)	Wer oder was?	meine Herkunft	— (singular only)
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	meine Herkunft	— (singular only)
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	meiner Herkunft	— (singular only)
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	meiner Herkunft	— (singular only)

Why These Endings Work

All feminine (die) nouns stay completely unchanged in the singular across Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive.

Feminine nouns never change their own ending in the singular across all four cases.
Uncountable / singular-only noun in standard usage (no common plural table).

Pattern summary: Only the article changes in singular (die / die / der / der); plural takes -n in Dative unless ending in -n or -s.

Example Sentences in Context

Genitive

Hier leben Menschen unterschiedlicher Herkunft zusammen.

People of different origins live together here.

Accusative

Im Gespräch erwähnt sie ihre Herkunft aus Österreich.

In the conversation, she mentions her origin from Austria.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Herkunft" in Der/Die/Das Checker Analyze in Compound Deconstructor Inspect Example in Sentence Analyzer

German Gender & ArticlesPredict der, die, das with high-frequency endings The Four German CasesNominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive roles Noun Plurals & Dative -nPlural patterns and the Dative plural -n rule Dative Case GuideIndirect objects, prepositions, and der + feminine nouns

FAQs: die Herkunft

Is "Herkunft" der, die, or das in German?

"Herkunft" takes the feminine definite article "die" (die Herkunft). Gender cue: Nouns ending in -kunft -> feminine (die).

What is the plural and Dative plural of "die Herkunft"?

"die Herkunft" is normally uncountable (singular-only) in standard German and does not form a common plural table.

How does "die Herkunft" change in the Genitive, Accusative, and Dative?

As a feminine noun, "Herkunft" keeps the exact same stem in all four singular cases; only the article changes (die Herkunft / die Herkunft / der Herkunft / der Herkunft).