In English, most nouns add -s to form the plural. German has no similar rule, and there are seven ways of forming the plural. Learning the plural in German is a real problem and many German students wonder if there are any rules to help them master this challenging area.
Most German teachers will tell you that it is best to learn the plural form along with the singular form immediately, and that is excellent advice, but for the vast majority, it is a problem. Let’s see what we can do to make plural learning easier. Maybe you’ll find your winning combination 🙂
CONTENTS
Forming the plural of German nouns
The plural of masculine nouns
The plural of feminine nouns
The plural of neuter nouns
Plurals in -s and other foreign plurals
Exceptions
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Grammar Content
Forming the plural of German nouns
- Plural nouns have the article “die”, or NO article.
- Plural nouns usually get endings, for example:
1. -n / -en, -e, -r/ -er, -s or
2. they don’t get an ending at all, but it can happen that they
3. get Umlaut, two dots on a, o or u = ä,ö,ü.
If they do not get any of the above mentioned, we can distinguish them either by article or by context. The most common plural forms are those ending in -e or -(e)n.
Let’s divide them into groups:
no ending (-) | der Computer das Fenster | die Computer die Fenster |
no ending, with Umlaut ( | der Garten der Bruder | die Gärten die Brüder |
add -e (-e) | der Tag das Jahr | die Tage die Jahre |
add -e with Umlaut ( | der Ball die Hand | die Bälle die Hände |
add – er, with Umlaut if poss. ( | das Mann das Kind | die Männer die Kinder |
add – n or – en (-n)/ (-en) | die Frau die Lampe | die Frauen die Lampen |
add -s (-s) | der Lkw das Auto | die Lkws die Autos |
The plural of masculine nouns
- Most masculine nouns ending in -el, -en, and -er form their plural without adding an ending or Umlaut.
For example:
Singular – Plural
der Zettel – die Zettel (note, piece of paper)
der Spiegel – die Spiegel (mirror)
das Gitter – die Gitter (grid, grate)
der Besen – die Besen (broom)
der Fahrer – die Fahrer (driver)
der Computer – die Computer (computer)
das Kürzel – die Kürzel (abbreviation)
das Schnitzel – die Schnitzel (cutlet)
der Hebel – die Hebel (lever)
âš BUT!!
Die feminine nouns ending in -el form their plural adding an ending -n.
For example:
die Zwiebel -die Zwiebeln
die Kartoffel – die Kartoffeln
die Nudel – die Nudeln
- About twenty nouns ending in -el, -en, and -er add Umlaut in the plural, but no ending.
For example:
Singular – Plural
der Apfel – die Äpfel (apple)
der Bruder – die Brüder (brother)
der Garten – die Gärten (garden) - Most other masculine nouns add -e in the plural.
For example:
Singular – Plural
der Arm – die Arme (arm)
der Schuh – die Schuhe (shoe)
der Tag – die Tage (day)
der Tisch – die Tische (table) - When a noun has one syllable and includes a vowel that can take an Umlaut, it usually adds an Umlaut along with the -e ending — though that’s not the case every time.
For example:
Singular – Plural
der Arzt – die Ärzte (doctor)
der Ball- die Bälle (ball)
der Korb – die Körbe (basket)
der Sohn – die Söhne (son)
der Stuhl – die Stühle (chair) - But quite a lot of common nouns that could have Umlaut don’t.
For example:
Singular – Plural
der Arm – die Arme (arm)
der Besuch – die Besuche (visit)
der Monat – die Monate (month)
der Punkt – die Punkte (point, dot)
der Tag – die Tage (day) - About a dozen masculine nouns add –er/
¨er.
The most common ones are:
Singular – Plural
der Geist – die Geister (spirit)
der Gott – die Götter (God)
der Mann – die Männer (man)
der Wald – die Wälder (forest, woods) - Some masculine nouns add –n/-en.
All masculine nouns of the N-declension.
For example:
Singular – Plural
der Löwe – die Löwen (lion)
der Bär – die Bären (bear)
der Deutsche – die Deutschen (German)
der Junge – die Jungen (boy, offspring)
der Mensch – die Menschen (human)
der Student – die Studenten (student) - A few others ending in –e, have an irregular singular.
For example:
Singular – Plural
der Buchstabe – die Buchstaben (letter, charackter)
der Funke – die Funken (spark, radio)
der Gedanke – die Gedanken (thought)
der Name – die Namen (name) - Some other nouns with a regular singular.
The most common are:
Singular – Plural
der Nerv – die Nerven (nerve)
der Pantoffel – die Pantoffeln (slipper)
der Schmerz – die Schmerzen (pain, ache)
der Strahl – die Strahlen (beam)
der Typ – die Typen (type)
der Zeh – die Zehen (toe)
The plural of feminine nouns
- Most feminine nouns add –n/-en in the plural.
For example:
Singular – Plural
die Arbeit – die Arbeiten (work)
die Bühne – die Bühnen (stage)
die Eule – die Eulen (owl)
die Frau – die Frauen (woman)
die Last – die Lasten (load)
die Regel – die Regeln (rule)
âš BUT!!
Feminine nouns that denote the profession are given the ending –nen:
die Lehrerin – die Lehrerinnen
die Ärztin – die Ärztinnen
die Studentin – die Studentinnen
• About 30 feminine nouns have a Plural in –e with Umlaut. Some of these are very common.
For example:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
die Bank* – die Bänke (bench) die Hand – die Hände (hand) die Kuh – die Kühe (cow) die Luft – die Lüfte (air) die Macht – die Mächte (power) | die Maus – die Mäuse (mouse) die Nacht – die Nächte (night) die Stadt – die Städte (city) die Wand – die Wände (wall) die Wurst – die Würste (sausage) |
*Bank here means bench. The plural of Bank meaning bank is die Banken.B
- Two common feminine nouns add Umlaut in the plural, with NO ending.
For example:
Singular – Plural
die Mutter – die Mütter (mother)
die Tochter – die Töchter (daugther)
The plural of neuter nouns
- Most neuter nouns ending in –el, -en, and –er, and –chen or –lein form their plural WITHOUT adding an ending or Umlaut.
For example:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
das Segel – die Segel (sails) das Kissen – die Kissen (cushion, pillows) das Messer – die Messer (knife) | das Mädchen – die Mädchen (girl) das Brötchen – die Brötchen (rolls) das Büchlein – die Büchlein (booklet) |
- Most other neuter nouns add –e in the plural.
For example:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
das Bein – die Beine (leg) das Boot – die Boote (boat) das Jahr – die Jahre (year) | das Klavier – die Klaviere (piano) das Schaf – die Schafe (sheep) das Verbot – die Verbote (prohibition, ban) |
- About a dozen neuter nouns add –n/-en in the plural.
The most common are:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
das Auge – die Augen (eye) das Bett – die Betten (bed) das Hemd – die Hemden (shirt) | das Herz – die Herzen (heart) das Interesse – die Interessen (interest) das Ohr – die Ohren (ear) |
- Around 50 neuter nouns consisting of only one syllable form their plural –er/ ‘’-er.
For example:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
das Blatt – die Blätter (leaf, sheet) das Dach – die Dächer (roof) das Dorf – die Dörfer (village) das Ei – die Eier (egg) das Haus – die Häuser (house) | das Kind – die Kinder (child) das Rad – die Räder (wheel) das Schloss – die Schlösser (castle) das Tal – die Täler (valley) das Wort – die Wörter (word) |
A few neuter nouns of more than one syllable also have this ending, notably das Gehalt, das Geschlecht, das Gesicht, das Gespenst.
Plurals in -s and other foreign plurals
- Many words from French and English add –s in the plural.
For example:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
das Baby – die Babys das Balkon – die Balkons das Hotel – die Hotels | das Park – die Parks das Skateboard – die Skateboards das Team – die Teams |
- Words ending in a full vowel and abbreviations also add –s in the plural.
For example:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
das Auto – die Autos das Azubi – die Azubis das Kino – die Kinos | das LKW – die LKWs das Uhu – die Uhus das Uni – die Unis |
- Many foreign words ending in -us, -a, or -um replace this with -en in the plural.
For example:
Singular – Plural | Singular – Plural |
das Rhytmus – die Rhytmen das Virus – die Viren das Drama – die Dramen das Firma – die Firmen | das Thema – die Themen das Villa – die Villen das Museum – die Museen das Zentrum – die Zentren |
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Grammar Content
Exeptions
Most nouns can be used in both the singular and the plural. But some are only used in the singular or only in the plural.
- The following nouns are ONLY used in the singular: das Wasser (water), die Milch (milk), das Geld (money), die Zeit(time), das Glück(luck, happiness), das Pech(bad luck), das Alter(age), das Obst(fruit), das Gemüse(vegetable), die Musik(music), …
- The following nouns are ONLY used in the plural: die Eltern (parents), die Leute (people), die Lebensmittel (foods), die Ferien (holidays), die Geschwister (siblings), die Schreibwaren (stationery), …
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