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Lesson 2 - Plural of Nouns

Plural of nouns in the German language is much different than in English. In English, plurals are formed simply by adding '-s' to the end of the noun. In German, it's not that simple however; as there are several different ways of forming them. Thus, it's always recommended to learn a new word along with its plural.

This lesson will provide some common patterns for typical endings of nouns' plural based on the gender of the noun. However, these patterns should only be considered as guidelines rather than rules; as irregularities may always exist.

Masculine Nouns

Adding an '-e'

Most of the German masculine nouns form their plurals by simply adding an '-e' at their end.

Masculine plurals: -e
der Beruf	die Berufe	professions
der Schuh	die Schuhe	shoes
der Stift	die Stifte	pencils
der Hund	die Hunde	dogs

Adding an umlaut and '-e'

Sometimes when the stem of a masculine noun contains an 'a', 'o', or 'u', an umlaut is added to it, in addition to the '-e' at the end.

Masculine plurals: ¨-e
der Zahn	die Zähne	teeth
der Kopf	die Köpfe	heads
der Zug	die Züge	trains

Nouns ending in '-er', '-el', or '-en'

Nouns ending in '-er', '-el', or '-en' are either left unchanged, or have an umlaut added to their stem.

Masculine plurals: -er, -el, -en endings
der Dichter	die Dichter	poets
der Mantel	die Mäntel	coats
der Laden	die Läden	shops/stores

Feminine Nouns

Adding a '-n' or an '-en'

Most of the German feminine nouns form their plural by simply adding '-n' or '-en' at their end.

Feminine plurals: -n or -en
die Blume	die Blumen	flowers
die Stirn	die Stirnen	foreheads
die Nase	die Nasen	noses
die Wohnung	die Wohnungen	apartments

Adding an umlaut and '-e'

Sometimes when the stem of a feminine noun contains an 'a', 'o', or 'u', an umlaut is added to it, in addition to an '-e' at the end.

Feminine plurals: ¨-e
die Wand	die Wände	walls
die Kuh	die Kühe	cows
die Hand	die Hände	hands

Neuter Nouns

Adding an '-e'

Most of the German neuter nouns form their plural by simply adding an '-e' at their end.

Neuter plurals: -e
das Regal	die Regale	shelves
das Haar	die Haare	hair
das Schaf	die Schafe	sheep

Adding an umlaut and '-er'

Sometimes when the stem of a neuter noun contains an 'a', 'o', or 'u', an umlaut is added to it, in addition to an '-er' at the end.

Neuter plurals: ¨-er
das Buch	die Bücher	books
das Huhn	die Hühner	chicken
das Loch	die Löcher	holes

Nouns ending in '-chen'

Neuter nouns ending in '-chen' are kept unchanged in their plural forms.

Neuter plurals: -chen ending
das Mädchen	die Mädchen	girls
das Zeichen	die Zeichen	characters

That ends the most common patterns found in all three genders. Remember though, that these are just guidelines, and not strict language rules; thus exceptions exist.

To avoid any confusion, it's always recommended for new German language students to study each noun along with its gender and its plural. By time, you should develop a good sense of the language, and be able to form plurals without having to study them by heart.