die Spinne
spider
A small animal with eight legs that usually builds a web to catch prey.
EXAMPLE
Eine Spinne sitzt in der Ecke neben dem Fenster.
A spider is sitting in the corner next to the window.
die Spinne
spider
die Spinne, die Spinnen
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Spinne, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Spinnen |
| genitive | der Spinne |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Spinne | die Spinnen |
| accusative | die Spinne | die Spinnen |
| dative | der Spinne | den Spinnen |
| genitive | der Spinne | der Spinnen |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Compound nouns
'Spinne' (spider) appears in many compound words. As the second part, it names types of spiders, such as 'Kreuzspinne' (cross spider) or 'Vogelspinne' (tarantula); as the first part, it usually appears as 'Spinnen-', for example in 'Spinnennetz' (spider web) or 'Spinnenbein' (spider leg).
EXAMPLE
Im Keller hängt ein großes Spinnennetz.
There is a large spider web hanging in the basement.
Im Zoo haben wir eine riesige Vogelspinne gesehen.
At the zoo, we saw a huge tarantula.
Typical collocations
When referring to the animal, 'Spinne' (spider) often appears with verbs such as 'entdecken' (to discover), 'fangen' (to catch), and 'beobachten' (to observe). The phrase 'Angst vor Spinnen haben' (to be afraid of spiders) is also very common.
EXAMPLE
Wir haben eine große Spinne unter dem Schrank entdeckt.
We discovered a large spider under the cupboard.
In real life
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