German Plural Nouns

Learn how to form plural nouns in German

     

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German Plural Nouns

Plural nouns in German are unpredictable, so it's best to memorize the plural form with the singular.  However, here are some rules that can help:

1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en.  Nouns that end in -in (such as the female equivalents of masculine nouns) add -nen.

eine Lampe	zwei Lampen
eine Tür	zwei Türen
eine Studentin	zwei Studentinnen
eine Gabel	zwei Gabeln

2. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -e or -er.  Many masculine plural nouns ending in -e add an umlaut as well, but neuter plural nouns ending in -e don't.  Plurals that end in -er add an umlaut when the stem vowel is a, o , u or au.

Masculine		Neuter
ein Rock	zwei Röcke	ein Heft	zwei Hefte
ein Mann	zwei Männer	ein Buch	zwei Bücher

3. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -er either add an umlaut or change nothing at all.  Many nouns with a stem vowel of a, o, u or au add an umlaut. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -el also add nothing at all (with three exceptions: Pantoffel, Stachel, Muskel).

Masculine		Neuter
ein Bruder	zwei Brüder	ein Fenster	zwei Fenster
ein Kegel	zwei Kegel	ein Mittel	zwei Mittel

4. Nouns that end in a vowel other than an unstressed -e and nouns of foreign origin add -s.

ein Hobby	zwei Hobbys
ein Hotel	zwei Hotels

 

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