What does the German genitive case express?

The genitive shows possession or belonging , similar to English 's or of . For example, das Auto des Chefs means “the boss’s car.”

How do articles and noun endings change in the genitive case?

In the genitive, masculine and neuter nouns use des or eines and usually add -s or -es to the noun. Feminine and plural nouns do not add a special noun ending, e.g. der Frau , der Kinder .

When do I use -s, -es, or an apostrophe in genitive forms?

Usually, one-syllable masculine/neuter nouns take -es ( des Mannes ), while multi-syllable nouns take -s ( des Lehrers ). In German, possessive names normally get no apostrophe ( Marias Auto ), except names ending in s, z, or x , like Hans’ Auto .

Genitive Case — Possession 💍🧐

The Genitive case shows possession or belonging, translating to 'of the' or an apostrophe-s ('s). Masculine and neuter articles change to des/eines (and the noun gets an -s or -es suffix). Feminine and plural articles change to der/einer.

Infographic explaining the German Genitive Case for possession, including the -s or -es noun ending.

Welcome to the Nobility of cases. The Genitive shows Possession or Belonging.
It corresponds to the English 's ("The man's car") or of ("The car of the man").

The Changes (Des ...-s) 🎩

Here, the Masculine and Neuter articles change to des, and they force the noun to wear a tail (-s or -es).

Gender	Definite (The)	Indefinite (A/An)	Noun Ending
Masculine	des Mannes	eines Mannes	+(e)s
Feminine	der Frau	einer Frau	-
Neuter	des Kindes	eines Kindes	+(e)s
Plural	der Kinder	- Kinder	-

[!NOTE]
Masculine/Neuter Noun Endings:

One syllable words get -es (der Mann ➔ des Mannes).

Multi-syllable words just get -s (der Lehrer ➔ des Lehrers).

When do I use it?

1. Possession

Das Auto des Chefs. (The boss's car).
Die Tasche der Frau. (The woman's bag).

2. Genitive Prepositions

Certain fancy prepositions demand the Genitive.

Wegen des Wetters (Because of the weather).
Trotz des Regens (Despite the rain).
Während des Films (During the movie).
Anstatt des Geldes (Instead of the money).

[!TIP]
Mnemonic: "We Trotted Warily Around" (Wegen, Trotz, Während, Anstatt). Okay, that's weak. Just remember them as the "Logic Prepositions" (Reason, Counter-argument, Time, Alternative).

Is the Genitive Dying? 💀

You might hear: "Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod" (The Dative is the death of the Genitive).
In spoken German (especially in the south), people often replace Genitive with von + Dative.

Official: Das Auto des Mannes.
Street: Das Auto von dem Mann.

Both are understood. But if you want to sound smart, use Genitive!

What about the Apostrophe? ❜

In English, we say "Maria's Car".
In German, we just add the s directly!

Marias Auto. (No apostrophe!).
Deutschland*s Zukunft.* (Germany's future).

Exception: If the name ends in s, z, x (like Hans or Max), we add an apostrophe to show possession.

Hans' Auto. (Because Hanss Auto would look silly).