The plural of nouns
German has five ways to build a plural instead of one: learn the patterns, the clues that help you guess, and the single plural article die.
Nouns and articles · Beginner · 20 min · 40 exercises · Goethe A1, High school, College
In English you add -s and you are almost always right: one book, two books. German has five plural patterns, and some nouns also change their vowel to an umlaut (ä, ö, ü, äu). That sounds like a lot, but there are two pieces of good news: the plural article is the same for every noun, and reliable clues let you guess many plurals.
One plural article: die
In the plural, gender disappears. Every noun takes die, whatever its article in the singular: der Tisch becomes die Tische, die Lampe becomes die Lampen, das Buch becomes die Bücher. The accusative is also die. Do not forget that the verb goes into the plural too: Das Kind spielt, die Kinder spielen.
Singular
- der Tisch
- die Lampe
- das Buch
Plural: always die
- die Tische
- die Lampen
- die Bücher
The five plural patterns
| Pattern | Singular | Plural | Typical nouns |
|---|---|---|---|
| -e (often with umlaut) | der Tisch, der Stuhl, die Stadt | die Tische, die Stühle, die Städte | many masculine nouns, short feminine nouns |
| -er (umlaut on a, o, u, au) | das Kind, das Buch, das Haus, der Mann | die Kinder, die Bücher, die Häuser, die Männer | many short neuter nouns |
| -n / -en | die Lampe, die Frau, die Zeitung | die Lampen, die Frauen, die Zeitungen | most feminine nouns |
| -s | das Auto, das Hotel, das Handy | die Autos, die Hotels, die Handys | foreign words, words ending in a, i, o, u, y |
| no ending (sometimes umlaut) | der Lehrer, das Zimmer, der Bruder, der Apfel | die Lehrer, die Zimmer, die Brüder, die Äpfel | masculine and neuter nouns in -er, -el, -en |
Plurals in sentences
- Die Kinder spielen Fußball.The children are playing soccer.das Kind, die Kinder; the verb is plural too
- Ich habe zwei Brüder und eine Schwester.I have two brothers and one sister.der Bruder, die Brüder: only the umlaut shows the plural
- Die Bücher sind interessant.The books are interesting.das Buch, die Bücher
- Wir brauchen drei Stühle.We need three chairs.der Stuhl, die Stühle
- Die Autos sind neu.The cars are new.das Auto, die Autos
- Hier wohnen zwei Lehrerinnen.Two (female) teachers live here.die Lehrerin, die Lehrerinnen: -in becomes -innen
Useful clues
You cannot always predict the plural, but these clues work almost every time. Feminine nouns ending in -e add -n: die Blume, die Blumen. Nouns ending in -ung, -heit or -keit add -en: die Wohnung, die Wohnungen. Nouns ending in -chen do not change: das Mädchen, die Mädchen. Foreign words, often from English, add -s: das Hotel, die Hotels.
Clues at a glance
| If the noun... | the plural is... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| is feminine and ends in -e | -n | die Katze, die Katzen |
| ends in -ung, -heit, -keit | -en | die Krankheit, die Krankheiten |
| is feminine and ends in -in | -nen | die Schülerin, die Schülerinnen |
| ends in -chen | no change | das Brötchen, die Brötchen |
| is masculine or neuter and ends in -er, -el, -en | no ending, sometimes an umlaut | das Fenster, die Fenster; der Vater, die Väter |
| is a foreign word or ends in a, i, o, u, y | -s | das Foto, die Fotos |
No plural of ein, but keine
Ein means one, so it has no plural. A plural noun without the simply stands alone: Das ist ein Apfel becomes Das sind Äpfel. Ich kaufe eine Blume becomes Ich kaufe Blumen. The negative does have a plural: keine. Ich habe keine Geschwister. Hier gibt es keine Hotels.
Singular
- ein Apfel
- eine Blume
- kein Hotel
Plural
- Äpfel (no article)
- Blumen (no article)
- keine Hotels
Learn every noun as a set of three: article, singular, plural. Not just Stuhl, but der Stuhl, die Stühle. Say both forms aloud each time you meet a new noun. Dictionaries and word lists always give the plural right after the noun for this reason.
Do not add -s by reflex as in English. Two teachers is zwei Lehrer, never zwei Lehrers; two tables is zwei Tische, never zwei Tischs. The ending -s is only for foreign words and words ending in a vowel other than e. Watch the umlaut too: it can be the only sign of the plural, as in der Bruder, die Brüder.
The exercises of this lesson
40 corrected exercises in three sessions (discovery, practice, challenge): multiple choice (5), fill in the gap (11), find the mistake (5), word order (1), rewrite (5), translation (6), gap text (3), matching (2), sorting (2). Every answer is corrected immediately, with the rule that applies.