Relativpronomen: A Quick and Easy Guide to German Relative Pronouns

A relative clause adds information about a person or thing. German relative pronouns are called Relativpronomen. In Das ist der Mann, der nebenan wohnt. (“That is the man who lives next door”), the second der refers back to der Mann and introduces the relative clause.

How to choose a relative pronoun

Use two separate decisions: take the gender and number from the noun being described, but take the case from the pronoun’s role inside the relative clause. The noun’s case in the main clause does not decide the relative pronoun’s case.

Ich kenne den Mann, der nebenan wohnt. — I know the man who lives next door. Den Mann is accusative in the main clause, but der is nominative because the man is the subject of wohnt.

Der, die and das: the full table

These forms resemble definite articles, but they are not identical: compare dative plural denen with article den, and genitive dessen/deren with articles des/der. Depending on context, English translations include “who,” “whom,” “which,” “that” and “whose.” They are not ordinary subject pronouns meaning “he,” “she” or “it.”

Masculine nouns

der Mann (man), der Computer (computer), der Käse (cheese) and der Hund (dog) use der, den, dem or dessen, depending on the case in the relative clause. For a masculine singular possessor, use dessen, not deren.

Feminine nouns and plurals

die Frau (woman), die Katze (cat), die Blume (flower) and die Kleidung (clothing) use the feminine column. Plural nouns use the plural column regardless of their singular gender: der Mann → die Männer. Feminine dative is der; plural dative is denen.

Neuter nouns

das Mädchen (girl), das Hemd (shirt), das Kleid (dress) and das Haar (hair) use das, das, dem and dessen. Grammatical gender is not the same as a person’s gender.

Examples of all four cases

Nominative: subject of the relative clause

Die Kinder, die Fußball spielen, wohnen dort drüben. — The children who play football live over there. Die is plural and is the subject of spielen.

Emil, der ein schwarzes Hemd trägt, ist mein Freund. — Emil, who wears a black shirt, is my friend/boyfriend. Der is the subject of trägt.

Accusative: direct object, or required by a preposition

Der Berg, den ich besteigen will, ist der Mount Everest. — The mountain that I want to climb is Mount Everest. Ich is the subject; den is the object of besteigen. Only masculine singular changes from the nominative form in this table.

Sarah, die ich gestern getroffen habe, wohnt nebenan. — Sarah, whom I met yesterday, lives next door. Here die is accusative, even though it looks like nominative feminine.

Dative: required by a verb or preposition

Dative is not limited to indirect objects. It can be required by a verb such as helfen or by a preposition such as mit.

Wo ist der Kellner, dem ich ein Trinkgeld geben will? — Where is the waiter whom I want to tip? The waiter is the recipient of geben.

Das sind meine Freunde, mit denen ich Skat spiele. — Those are my friends with whom I play Skat. Mit takes dative, and Freunde is plural, so use denen.

Genitive: possession

Wo ist die Lehrerin, deren Kinder so gut lesen können? — Where is the teacher whose children can read so well? Deren refers to the feminine singular Lehrerin, not to Kinder.

Laura, deren Wohnung sehr schön ist, lebt in Berlin. — Laura, whose apartment is very beautiful, lives in Berlin.

Ich habe einen Neffen, dessen Lieblingsfarbe pink ist. — I have a nephew whose favorite color is pink. The conjugated verb ist goes to the end of the relative clause.

Compare ordinary genitive noun phrases: Ich lese das Buch dieses Autors. — I’m reading this author’s book. Das ist das Auto meines Vaters. — That is my father’s car. The relative pronouns use their own genitive forms, dessen and deren.

Welcher, welche and welches

Welcher can also introduce a relative clause. It is often more formal or literary than der/die/das; it is not automatically a better choice. Both Das ist die Köchin, die die beste Suppe macht. and Das ist die Köchin, welche die beste Suppe macht. mean “That is the cook who makes the best soup.” The repeated die in the first sentence is correct.

For possessive “whose,” use dessen/deren, rather than presenting these as inflected forms of welcher. Nominative welcher does not mean English “whom”; its translation depends on the clause.

• Wo ist der Anzug, welchen Sie anprobieren wollten? — Where is the suit you wanted to try on?
• Wo ist der Hund, welchem wir den Ball geben wollten? — Where is the dog to which we wanted to give the ball?
• Wo sind die Schuhe, mit welchen ich joggen wollte? — Where are the shoes I wanted to jog in?

Word order and commas

A relative clause is separated by commas. In the standard examples here, the conjugated verb is at the end of that clause, not necessarily at the end of the whole sentence.

Kennen Sie die Bäckerei? Die Bäckerei liegt an der Straßenecke. becomes Kennen Sie die Bäckerei, die an der Straßenecke liegt? — Do you know the bakery that is on the street corner?

Ich habe einen Freund, der Fußball spielt. — I have a friend who plays football. Das ist der Mann, der Tischler ist. — That is the man who is a carpenter.

Put a necessary preposition before the pronoun: Das sind die Freunde, von denen ich dir erzählt habe. — Those are the friends I told you about. Von takes dative; habe is the conjugated verb.

Was, wer and wo

Was can introduce a free relative clause: Was er mir gesagt hat, war nicht richtig. — What he told me was not correct. Use dative mir for the person being told something. Was also follows expressions such as alles: Alles, was du sagst, ist wichtig. — Everything you say is important.

Wer can introduce a free relative clause about a person: Wer regelmäßig übt, lernt dazu. — Whoever practices regularly learns more.

Wo is a relative adverb of place, not a case-inflected relative pronoun: Berlin, wo ich wohne, ist eine große Stadt. — Berlin, where I live, is a large city. By contrast, Weiß er, wo die Post ist? (“Does he know where the post office is?”) contains an indirect question, not a relative clause.

Quick recap and practice

Choose gender and number from the noun being described; choose case from the relative clause. Remember the special denen, dessen and deren forms, and separate relative clauses with commas.

1. Das ist der Hund, ___ hier wohnt.
2. Das ist der Hund, ___ ich gestern gesehen habe.
3. Das sind die Leute, mit ___ ich spreche.
4. Das ist die Frau, ___ Sohn in Berlin lebt.

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