die · Feminine (Femininum)A1Feminine DeclensionBody & Health

die Krankheit

illness / disease

Nominative Sg.die Krankheit

Genitive Sg.der Krankheit

Nominative Plural

die Krankheiten

Dative Pluralden Krankheiten

Gender / Plural CueSuffix -heit -> 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 Krankheit	die Krankheiten
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	die Krankheit	die Krankheiten
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	der Krankheit	den Krankheiten
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	der Krankheit	der Krankheiten

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

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

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

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

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

Die Krankheit ist nicht schlimm.

The illness is not serious.

Dative

Nach der Krankheit fühle ich mich noch etwas schwach.

After the illness I still feel a bit weak.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Krankheit" 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 Krankheit

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

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

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

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

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

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