A1.1 · 5 of 30
Plural der Nomen
Lesson · 4 rules · about 5 min
German has five ways to make a plural but only one plural article — die — so half the job is already done.
- 1Five endings, one article
- 2The ones that don't change
- 3-s for the newcomers
- 4Read the dictionary notation
Why this matters
English makes a plural by adding -s. German has five ways, and you cannot tell from the singular which one a noun uses — so, like the article, the plural is learnt with the word: der Tisch, die Tische. The good news is that the five endings are few and each has a favourite gender: -e (most masculine: Tische, Hunde, often with an umlaut: Stühle), -(e)n (almost all feminine: Frauen, Lampen, Katzen), -er (many neuter, usually with an umlaut: Kinder, Häuser, Bücher), -s (foreign and short words: Autos, Handys), and no ending at all (masculine and neuter ending in -er, -el, -en: Schlüssel, Fenster, Mädchen — often only the umlaut changes: Brüder, Äpfel). In the plural the article is always die, whatever the gender.
Rule · 1 of 4
Five endings, one article
-e · -(e)n · -er · -s · – (nothing, sometimes with umlaut). And every plural noun takes die: die Tische, die Frauen, die Kinder.
| singular | plural — always die | |
|---|---|---|
| der Tag | ⇄ | die Tage |
| -e (often with an umlaut: die Stühle) | ||
| die Lampe | ⇄ | die Lampen |
| -n / -en: almost every feminine noun | ||
| das Kind | ⇄ | die Kinder |
| -er, with an umlaut where it can: die Bücher | ||
| das Auto | ⇄ | die Autos |
| -s: words from other languages | ||
| der Lehrer | ⇄ | die Lehrer |
| no ending: many words in -er, -el, -en | ||
- der Tisch → die Tische; der Hund → die Hunde -e, the masculine favourite
- die Frau → die Frauen; die Lampe → die Lampen -(e)n, the feminine favourite
- das Kind → die Kinder; das Haus → die Häuser -er (+ umlaut), the neuter favourite
Quick check
Kinder spielen im Park.
Rule · 2 of 4
The ones that don't change
Nouns ending in -er, -el, -en or -chen usually keep their form in the plural: der Schlüssel → die Schlüssel, das Fenster → die Fenster, das Mädchen → die Mädchen. Some add only an umlaut: der Apfel → die Äpfel, der Bruder → die Brüder.
- Ich habe zwei Schlüssel. I have two keys.
- Meine Brüder sind groß. My brothers are tall.
Quick check
In der Schule arbeiten zehn .
Rule · 3 of 4
-s for the newcomers
Words that came from other languages, and short words ending in a vowel, take -s: das Auto → die Autos, das Handy → die Handys, das Café → die Cafés.
- Auf der Straße stehen viele Autos. There are lots of cars in the street.
- Ich habe zwei Handys. I have two mobile phones.
Quick check
In der Stadt gibt es drei .
Watch out · 4 of 4
Read the dictionary notation
Word lists write the plural as an ending after a comma: der Tisch, -e; das Haus, ¨-er (the ¨ means 'add an umlaut'); der Schlüssel, - (no change). This app's tables use the same notation.
- Stuhl+ ¨+ -e = die Stühle der Stuhl, ¨-e
- Frau+ -en = die Frauen die Frau, -en
- Zimmer+ – = die Zimmer das Zimmer, –
- der Apfel, ¨- → die Äpfel umlaut, no ending
- das Buch, ¨-er → die Bücher umlaut plus -er
there is no -s rule to lean on. A noun's plural is part of the noun; guessing with -s (Tischs, Frauas) is the most common beginner's plural error.
Quick check
A word list says: der Stuhl, ¨-e. What is the plural?
In context
Hear it in a real exchange
In meiner Wohnung gibt es zwei Zimmer. Im Wohnzimmer stehen ein Tisch und vier Stühle. An der Wand hängen drei Bilder. Ich habe zwei Katzen und viele Bücher. Die Fenster sind groß, und die Schlüssel liegen immer auf dem Tisch.
In my flat there are two rooms. In the living room there's a table and four chairs. Three pictures hang on the wall. I have two cats and lots of books. The windows are big, and the keys are always on the table.
Spot the mistake
Which one is right?
Spot the mistake
Which one is right?
Spot the mistake
Which one is right?
Cheat sheet
What to take with you
- Five endings, one article
- The ones that don't change
- -s for the newcomers
- Read the dictionary notation
How to remember it
- die is the plural article for everything — 'in the plural, everyone is a die-word'.
- Masculine likes -e, feminine likes -en, neuter likes -er: 'Tische, Frauen, Kinder'.
The full table · 18 rows
| Singular | Plural (die …) |
|---|---|
| der Tisch | Tische |
| der Stuhl | Stühle |
| der Hund | Hunde |
| der Apfel | Äpfel |
| der Mann | Männer |
| der Bruder | Brüder |
| der Schlüssel | Schlüssel |
| die Frau | Frauen |
| die Lampe | Lampen |
| die Tür | Türen |
| die Katze | Katzen |
| die Schwester | Schwestern |
| das Kind | Kinder |
| das Haus | Häuser |
| das Auto | Autos |
| das Buch | Bücher |
| das Fenster | Fenster |
| das Mädchen | Mädchen |
Plural (die …)
Ich sehe zwei . (der Tisch)
I see two tables.
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Exercise
Plural der Nomen · A1.1
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