Plural Nouns
Forming the plural of English nouns follows mostly the same pattern. In most cases you have to add
-s to the end of the noun.
For example:
credit card ⇨ credit card
s
customer ⇨ customer
s
There are some nouns in English that are irregular and do not follow this rule.
For example:
information ⇨ information
tooth ⇨ teeth
In German, on the other hand, are different ways of making a noun plural. Which way to use mainly depends on the gender and the ending of a noun. Let's look at them more closely.
Feminine Nouns
Most feminine nouns add
-n,
-en or
-nen to the singular noun to form their plural.
- Feminine nouns ending in -e just add -n to form their plural.
For example:
die Apotheke ⇨ die Apotheken
- Feminine nouns ending in -in add -nen to form their plural.
For example:
die Kundin ⇨ die Kundinnen
- Most other feminine nouns end in -en in their plural form.
For example:
die Abteilung ⇨ die Abteilungen
Table: Feminine Nouns ending in -n, -en and -nen:
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
die Kasse |
die Kassen |
die Bäckerei |
die Bäckereien |
die Kreditkarte |
die Kreditkarten |
die Buchhandlung |
die Buchhandlungen |
die Tüte |
die Tüten |
die Rechnung |
die Rechnungen |
die Umkleidekabine |
die Umkleidekabinen |
die Verkäuferin |
die Verkäuferinnen |
- There are only a few feminine nouns that have an umlaut ä, ö or ü in their plural. These nouns often have one syllable only.
For example:
die Kuh (cow) ⇨ die Kühe
die Hand (hand) ⇨ die Hände
Tip |
The rule of thumb for feminine nouns is that they mostly end in -en in their plural form (Apotheken, Rechungen, Kundinnen). An umlaut ä, ö or ü appears very rarely in the plural form. |
Masculine and Neuter Nouns
- Many masculine and neuter nouns follow the same pattern and add an -e to the singular noun to form their plural.
For example:
der Preis ⇨ die Preise
das Geschäft ⇨ die Geschäfte
Table: Masculine and Neuter Nouns ending in -e:
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
der Gutschein |
die Gutscheine |
das Sonderangebot |
die Sonderangebote |
der Schein |
die Scheine |
das Schuhgeschäft |
die Schuhgeschäfte |
- Quite a few nouns also add an umlaut above the first vowel a, o or u to form the plural noun. In this case masculine plural nouns often keep the -e ending in the plural form while neuter nouns often end in -er. Nouns in this group often have one syllable.
For example:
der Markt ⇨ die Märkte
das Haus ⇨ die Häuser
The same rule applies to compound nouns. A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more words.
For example:
der Supermarkt ⇨ die Supermärkte
das Kaufhaus ⇨ die Kaufhäuser
Table: Masculine and Neuter Nouns adding an Umlaut:
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
der Markt |
die Märkte |
das Haus |
die Häuser |
der Einkaufskorb |
die Einkaufskörbe |
das Land |
die Länder |
- Some other masculine and neuter nouns don't change in their plural form. These are mostly nouns ending in -en, -er and -el.
For example:
der Schalter ⇨ die Schalter
das Schaufenster ⇨ die Schaufenster
Table: Masculine and Neuter Nouns with no Ending in the Plural:
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
der Einkaufswagen |
die Einkaufswagen |
das Schnäppchen |
die Schnäppchen |
der Geldbeutel |
die Geldbeutel |
das Kabel |
die Kabel |
Some of these masculine nouns can have an umlaut above the first vowel.
For example:
der Laden ⇨ die Läden
- A few masculine nouns form their plural by adding -en or -n to their singular form while some neuter nouns add -er to the singular noun to form their plural.
For example:
der Geldautomat ⇨ die Geldautomaten
der Kunde ⇨ die Kunden
das Kind ⇨ die Kinder
Tip Masculine and Neuter Nouns |
The rule of thumb for masculine and neuter nouns is that they mostly end in either -e or have no ending at all in their plural form (Kioske, Aufzüge, Optiker, Schaufenster). An umlaut ä, ö or ü appears fairly often in the plural form when the noun has only one syllable. |
Some Exceptions
There is a group of words out there that doesn't follow any of the above rules. These are exceptions and you just have to remember them. Many of these words come from other languages and mostly end in
-s in their plural form.
For example:
das Café ⇨ die Café
s
das Souvenir ⇨ die Souvenir
s
Table: Plural Nouns with Unusual Endings:
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
Singular Noun |
Plural Noun |
das Büro |
die Büros |
das Restaurant |
die Restaurants |
das Einkaufszentrum |
die Einkaufszentren |
das Reisebüro |
die Reisebüros |