Plural of German nouns
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Lesson outline
Hide- 1.What is the plural of the nouns in German?
- 2.German plural without change of the endings
- 2.1.German plural without change and without Umlaut (")
- 2.2.German plural without change but with Umlaut
- 3.Plural ending -e in German
- 3.1.Plural ending -e without Umlaut
- 3.2.Plural ending -e with Umlaut
- 4.Plural ending -er in German
- 4.1.Plural ending -er without Umlaut
- 4.2.Plural ending -er with Umlaut
- 5.Plural ending -n or -en in German
- 6.Plural ending -s in German
- 7.Which nouns in German have no plural?
- 8.Which German nouns do just exist in plural?
- 9.Nouns with different meanings according to the plural
- 10.Exercises
- 10.1.Exercise of German plurals
- 10.2.Exercise about plurals with mutated vowels
- 10.3.Singular form = plural form
- 10.4.Plural form of German nouns
What is the plural of the nouns in German?
German nouns in the plural are preceded by the definite article die, or by no article because in German there is no indefinite article in plural.
This table below shows some examples:
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| das Auto | die Autos | car - cars |
| das Bild | die Bilder | picture - pictures |
| die Frau | die Frauen | woman - women |
Unlike in English, the plural in German is very irregular. Although it is essential to learn the form of the plural by learning vocabulary words, there are some tips for recognizing the plural form of certain words.
We distinguish between five different endings to form the plural.
- no change of the ending with and without Umlaut
- -e and -e + Umlaut
- -er and -er + Umlaut
- -n and -en
- -s
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German plural without change of the endings
Some nouns do not have any plural endings. Among this category, some radicals remain unchanged, while others take a mutated vowel (Umlaut ä,ö,ü). Most of these names have an ending in -er, -el, -en.
German plural without change and without Umlaut (")
This table shows the type of nouns that are not changed in the plural and have no mutated vowel.
| What type of nouns? | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | All the nouns with the endings -el, -er and -en |
|
| Feminine | no female noun follows this pattern | |
| Neuter | some neuter nouns with the endings -el, -en and -en
German diminutives, ending on -chen or -lein |
|
German plural without change but with Umlaut
There are nouns in German whose endings do not change in the plural but they have an Umlaut on the vowel of their radical.
| What type of noun? | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | nouns with the endings -en, -el and -en |
|
| Feminine | there are two nouns with an Umlaut in plural |
|
| Neuter | there is one noun with an Umlaut in plural |
|
Plural ending -e in German
Many German nouns form their plural by adding an -e at the end of the noun. Some of them use an Umlaut, others have their radical unchanged.
Plural ending -e without Umlaut
The radical of some nouns remain unchanged in the plural but they take the suffix -e. Most of them are in masculine, rarely in feminine or neuter.
| What type of noun? | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Most of the masculine nouns and some nouns with the endings -ling, -ig and -eur |
|
| Feminine | Nouns with the ending -nis. In this case the s is doubled (-nisse) |
|
| Neuter | Most of the neuter noun and nouns with the endings -nis or -sal. For the neuter nouns with the ending -nis the is doubled (-nisse) |
|
Plural ending -e with Umlaut
The plural of certain nouns is formed with the suffix -e and an Umlaut on the vowel of the radical. Among these names are the majority of male names and some feminine and neutral nouns.
| What type of noun? | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | The plural of most of the masculine nouns are formed like this |
|
| Feminine | Most of the monosyllabic female nouns use this rule |
|
| Neuter | It exists one neuter noun for this rule |
|
Plural ending -er in German
Some German nouns use the suffix -er to form the plural. The radical can sometimes take an umlaut on the vowel. Among these names, we find the majority of neutral names and some male names.
Plural ending -er without Umlaut
This table shows the plural of some nouns, where the radical stays unchanged and the suffix -er is used.
| What type of noun? | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | the are not so many masculine nouns that adopt this rule |
|
| Feminine | there is no feminine noun that uses this plural ending rule | |
| Neuter | Most of the neuter nouns use this rule. Nouns that do not take Umlaut are those whose radical does not contain a vowel capable of carrying an umlaut. |
|
Plural ending -er with Umlaut
The plural of certain nouns is formed with the suffix -er and an Umlaut on the vowel of the radical.
| What type of noun? | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Some masculine nouns, usually monosyllabic
Some masculine nouns, that end on -tum |
|
| Feminine | there no feminine nouns whose plural is formed like this | |
| Neuter | most of the neuter nouns this rule |
|
Plural ending -n or -en in German
Some names have the -n or -en in the plural. The radical never takes an Umlaut. Most of these nouns are feminine, but there are also some masculine and neuter nouns that use this ending in their plural.
| What type of noun? | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | weak and mixed masculine nouns
other masculine nouns |
|
| Feminine | nouns ending with -e
feminine nouns ending with a consonant or a double vowel (-au)
nouns ending with -in (mostly nouns formed out of masculine nouns), the -n is then doubled (-nnen) |
|
| Neuter | nouns ending with -um or -ma
other neuter nouns |
|
Plural ending -s in German
There are some German nouns that take a -s in their plural form. Here the radical can not be changed, which means that there is no Umlaut in the plural forms of the nouns.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Masculine |
|
| Feminine |
|
| Neuter |
|
Which nouns in German have no plural?
This table shows when the German nouns do not have a plural form.
| Type of noun | Example |
|---|---|
| materials/ substances |
|
| collective terms |
|
| abstract terms |
|
The plural of money das Geld exists: die Gelder , but it can be translated into funds in English.
Which German nouns do just exist in plural?
Conversely, some German nouns have no singular and they are just used in plural. Here are some examples:
- die Eltern - parents
- die Ferien - holiday
- die Geschwister - siblings
- die Leute - people
Nouns with different meanings according to the plural
Some nouns in German use the same singular with different meaning, just the building of their plural varies. This table shows you some examples.
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Although, there are rules of the German plural, it is easier to learn the plurals of the nouns by heart. Check your knowledge of this topic with our free exercises. If you are not sure about the plural of a noun, you can request the information through http://www.duden.de . And don't worry, even the Germans themselves exercise this website.
Some names have the suffix -n or -en in the plural. The radical never takes umlaut. Most of these names are female names, but there are some masculine and neutral names.
Exercises
- Exercise of German plurals
- Exercise about plurals with mutated vowels
- Singular form = plural form
- Plural form of German nouns
Exercise of German plurals
Solution
der Opa (the grandpa)
die Opas
das Fleisch (the meat)
no plural form
das Foto (the foto)
die Fotos
die Farbe (the colour)
die Farben
die Kuh (the cow)
die Kühe
das Mädchen (the girl)
die Mädchen
das Wasser (the water)
no plural form
die Liebe (the love)
no plural form
der Apfel (the apple)
die Äpfel
die Frau (the woman)
die Frauen
der Mann (the man)
die Männer
Exercise about plurals with mutated vowels
Recap:
gender of the noun plural ending example
masculine nouns with one syllable mutated vowel + -e der Block - die Blöcke
feminine nouns with one syllable mutated vowel + -e die Kuh - die Kühe
neuter nouns with one syllable mutated vowel + -er das Blatt - die Blätter
The plural form of the definite articles "die" stays always the same in the nominative case. It is independent of the gender of the noun
masculine der -> die
feminine die -> die
neuter das -> die
der Topf -
der Schrank -
das Haus -
der Block -
das Dach -
die Hand -
die Kuh -
das Blatt -
das Tal -
Singular form = plural form
Look at the cards and improve your knowledge about the plurals in German.
Learn this vocabulary by heart. Turn the cards and you will see the singular and plural form of the noun.
girl
room
Plural form of German nouns
Read the text for a first time. Decide which nouns are in their plural form. Mark them and their article.
In der Schule gibt es viele Kinder. Sie haben viele Stifte und Papier. Jedes Kind braucht einen Stuhl. Daher hat der Raum viele Stühle. Es gibt zwei Fenster und eine Tür. Die Fenster liegen gegenüber der Tür. Die Schüler haben eine Lehrerin. Aber es gibt viele Lehrerinnen an der Schule. Außerdem gibt es in dem Klassenzimmer drei Schränke und ein Waschbecken. Eine Tafel ist am anderen Ende des Zimmers. Insgesamt gibt es mehrere Schulen in dieser Stadt, aber diese ist die Schönste.
Correct!
Incorrect!
Missed!
Exercises
- Exercise of German plurals
- Exercise about plurals with mutated vowels
- Singular form = plural form
- Plural form of German nouns
Exercise of German plurals
Solution
der Opa (the grandpa)
die Opas
das Fleisch (the meat)
no plural form
das Foto (the foto)
die Fotos
die Farbe (the colour)
die Farben
die Kuh (the cow)
die Kühe
das Mädchen (the girl)
die Mädchen
das Wasser (the water)
no plural form
die Liebe (the love)
no plural form
der Apfel (the apple)
die Äpfel
die Frau (the woman)
die Frauen
der Mann (the man)
die Männer
Exercise about plurals with mutated vowels
Recap:
gender of the noun plural ending example
masculine nouns with one syllable mutated vowel + -e der Block - die Blöcke
feminine nouns with one syllable mutated vowel + -e die Kuh - die Kühe
neuter nouns with one syllable mutated vowel + -er das Blatt - die Blätter
The plural form of the definite articles "die" stays always the same in the nominative case. It is independent of the gender of the noun
masculine der -> die
feminine die -> die
neuter das -> die
der Topf -
der Schrank -
das Haus -
der Block -
das Dach -
die Hand -
die Kuh -
das Blatt -
das Tal -
Singular form = plural form
Look at the cards and improve your knowledge about the plurals in German.
Learn this vocabulary by heart. Turn the cards and you will see the singular and plural form of the noun.
girl
room
Plural form of German nouns
Read the text for a first time. Decide which nouns are in their plural form. Mark them and their article.
In der Schule gibt es viele Kinder. Sie haben viele Stifte und Papier. Jedes Kind braucht einen Stuhl. Daher hat der Raum viele Stühle. Es gibt zwei Fenster und eine Tür. Die Fenster liegen gegenüber der Tür. Die Schüler haben eine Lehrerin. Aber es gibt viele Lehrerinnen an der Schule. Außerdem gibt es in dem Klassenzimmer drei Schränke und ein Waschbecken. Eine Tafel ist am anderen Ende des Zimmers. Insgesamt gibt es mehrere Schulen in dieser Stadt, aber diese ist die Schönste.
Correct!
Incorrect!
Missed!
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