die · Feminine (Femininum)B1Feminine DeclensionStudy & Grammar

die Kompetenz

competence / proficiency

Nominative Sg.die Kompetenz

Genitive Sg.der Kompetenz

Nominative Plural

die Kompetenzen

Dative Pluralden Kompetenzen

Gender / Plural CueSuffix -enz -> ALWAYS 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 Kompetenz	die Kompetenzen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	die Kompetenz	die Kompetenzen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	der Kompetenz	den Kompetenzen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	der Kompetenz	der Kompetenzen

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 Kompetenz	Kompetenzen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	eine Kompetenz	Kompetenzen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	einer Kompetenz	Kompetenzen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	einer Kompetenz	Kompetenzen

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 Kompetenz	keine Kompetenzen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	keine Kompetenz	keine Kompetenzen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	keiner Kompetenz	keinen Kompetenzen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	keiner Kompetenz	keiner Kompetenzen

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 Kompetenz	meine Kompetenzen
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	meine Kompetenz	meine Kompetenzen
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	meiner Kompetenz	meinen Kompetenzen
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	meiner Kompetenz	meiner Kompetenzen

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.
Plural "Kompetenzen" already ends in -n or -s, so Dative plural stays Kompetenzen.

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

Nominative

Ihre kommunikative Kompetenz hat sich vertieft.

Your communicative competence has deepened.

Dative

Mit dieser Kompetenz finden Sie leicht eine Stelle.

With this skill, you'll easily find a job.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Kompetenz" 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 Kompetenz

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

"Kompetenz" takes the feminine definite article "die" (die Kompetenz). Gender cue: Suffix -enz -> ALWAYS feminine (die).

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

The Nominative plural of die Kompetenz is "die Kompetenzen" (pattern: -en). In the Dative plural it becomes "den Kompetenzen".

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

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