Fälle

Fälle is the plural form of Fall in German. It denotes grammatical cases and, more generally, instances or occurrences. Like other German nouns, it is capitalized.

In grammar, Fälle refers to the four grammatical cases that determine the function of a noun or pronoun in a sentence: Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ, and Akkusativ. Each case marks a different syntactic role: Nominativ is used for the subject, Genitiv for possession or relation, Dativ for the indirect object, and Akkusativ for the direct object. Examples in the singular: der Fall (Nominativ), des Falls (Genitiv), dem Fall (Dativ), den Fall (Akkusativ). In the plural: die Fälle (Nominativ), der Fälle (Genitiv), den Fällen (Dativ), die Fälle (Akkusativ). Example sentences: Im Nominativ: Der Fall ist kompliziert. Im Akkusativ: Wir lösen den Fall. Im Dativ: Wir helfen dem Fall. Im Genitiv: Die Bedeutung des Falls ist unklar.

Beyond grammar, Fälle also means “cases” or “instances” in other contexts, such as statistics, law, or medicine. Phrases include “Anzahl der Fälle” (number of cases) and “in diesem Fall” (in this case). The term is used to describe particular occurrences or hypothetical situations, and its exact meaning depends on context.