die · Feminine (Femininum)A2Feminine DeclensionBody & Health

die Schulter

shoulder

Nominative Sg.die Schulter

Genitive Sg.der Schulter

Nominative Plural

die Schultern

Dative Pluralden Schultern

Gender / Plural CueException: ends in -er but feminine (die Schulter)

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 Schulter	die Schultern
Accusative Akkusativ (Wenfall)	Wen oder was?	die Schulter	die Schultern
Dative Dativ (Wemfall)	Wem?	der Schulter	den Schultern
Genitive Genitiv (Wesfall)	Wessen?	der Schulter	der Schultern

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

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

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

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

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 Schulter tut mir seit gestern weh.

My shoulder has been hurting since yesterday.

Accusative

Er legt die Hand auf ihre Schulter.

He puts his hand on her shoulder.

Dative

Sie trägt die Tasche auf der Schulter.

She carries the bag on her shoulder.

Interactive Tools & Related Guides

Check "Schulter" 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 Schulter

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

"Schulter" takes the feminine definite article "die" (die Schulter). Gender cue: Exception: ends in -er but feminine (die Schulter).

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

The Nominative plural of die Schulter is "die Schultern" (pattern: -n). In the Dative plural it becomes "den Schultern".

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

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