The idea
Use die Seife for the nominative singular, die Seife for the accusative, der Seife for the dative, and der Seife for the genitive. In the dative plural use den Seifen.
| Kasus | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | die Seife | die Seifen |
| Akkusativ | die Seife | die Seifen |
| Dativ | der Seife | den Seifen |
| Genitiv | der Seife | der Seifen |
Meaning and useful combinations
Seife is often used without a plural when talking about the substance. Seifen can refer to different products or varieties.
Useful combinations: flüssige Seife; ein Stück Seife; sich mit Seife waschen. Practise each as a complete phrase; the article belongs to the noun even when an adjective comes between them.
Article check: nominative singular
das Seifedie SeifeThis check asks for the nominative singular: die Seife. In the meaning taught here, Seife is feminine. The nominative plural is die Seifen. Learn both forms together; an English translation does not determine German gender.
Examples
- Die Seife am Waschbecken duftet nach Zitrone.The soap by the sink smells of lemon.
- Ich kaufe eine Seife ohne starken Duft.I buy a soap without a strong fragrance.
- Mit dieser Seife bekomme ich die Farbe ab.I can remove the paint with this soap.
- Die Verpackung der Seife besteht aus Papier.The soap's packaging is made of paper.
- Der Laden verkauft handgemachte Seifen.The shop sells handmade soaps.
- Bei diesen Seifen sind die Zutaten deutlich angegeben.The ingredients are clearly listed for these soaps.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not transfer the gender of a translated word into German. The basic learning pair is die Seife — die Seifen. Seife is often used without a plural when talking about the substance. Seifen can refer to different products or varieties.
Try it yourself
___ Seife (der / die / das)
Show answer or example answer
die
die: Seife is feminine.
Plural: die Seife → die ___
Show answer or example answer
Seifen
Seifen: the plural has the article die in the nominative and accusative.
Dativ Singular: mit ___ Seife (dem / der)
Show answer or example answer
der
der: mit takes the dative, giving mit der Seife.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
___ Seife (der / die / das)
Plural: die Seife → die ___
Dativ Singular: mit ___ Seife (dem / der)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Read the six situations, identify Seife and its forms, then complete the article, plural and dative checks without looking at the table.