How Do You Make German Nouns Plural?

Tackling German noun plurals can feel like navigating a maze! And just when you think you’ve figured it out, there’s debate over how many plural forms even exist. How do you make German nouns plural, you ask?

In this guide, we’ll dive deep into the world of German plurals, equipping you with nifty shortcuts and easy-to-remember tricks. We’ll also shine a light on those tricky exceptions.

Ready to become a master of German plurals and predict them with confidence? Let’s embark on this journey together!

Forming Plural Nouns in German

In English, forming plurals can often be as simple as tacking on an “-s” to the end of a word. Think “dog” turning into “dogs” or “cat” into “cats”. There are, of course, exceptions like “man” to “men” or “mouse” to “mice”. However, when it comes to German, things aren’t quite as straightforward. Instead of one dominant pattern, the language offers a variety of plural constructions. As a result, when learning a new German noun, it’s a good idea to learn its plural form right alongside.

But here’s a silver lining: No matter the plural ending, all plural nouns in German adopt the article “die”.

For a clearer picture, let’s examine some of the prevalent patterns for plural formation in German, as presented in Table 1.1:

Formation of Plural	Singular	Plural
– (no ending)	der Lehrer teacher	die Lehrer teachers
.. (no ending, with Umlaut)	der Vogel bird	die Vögel birds
-e	der Arm arm	die Arme arms
..e (add -e, with Umlaut)	der Stuhl chair	die Stühle chairs
-er	das Kind child	die Kinder children
.. er (add -er, with Umlaut)	das Tal valley	die Täler valleys
-en	die Frau woman	die Frauen women
-n	die Wiese meadow	die Wiesen meadows
-nen	die Lehrerin (woman) teacher	die Lehrerinnen teachers
-s	das Auto car	die Autos cars

In German, the key to swiftly determining a noun’s plural form often lies in its grammatical gender. Indeed, this gender provides valuable hints towards its pluralization patterns, which we’ve detailed in Table 1.2:

%	Masculune	Feminine	Masculine
Common	-e ..e –	-en -n -nen	-e –
Less	-en -n ..	..e	-er ..er

Key Takeaways from Table 1.2:

• A vast majority, 80% of masculine nouns prefer the ‘-e’ plural ending.
• Feminine nouns overwhelmingly, at 90%, adopt the ‘-(e)n’ plural.
• Dive deeper, and you’ll find 25% of single-syllable feminine nouns taking the ‘..e’ plural twist.
• And not to be left behind, 75% of neuter nouns also favour the ‘-e’ plural.

Regardless of a noun’s gender, certain suffixes consistently dictate the plural form. For a closer look at these unwavering endings, refer to Table 1.3.

SUFFIX	Plural form
-nis, -ling, -ig, -ich	-e
-tum	.. er
-chen, -lein	–
-er, -el, -en	–
-e	(e)n

Masculine Noun Plurals

⭐ Most masculine nouns have a plural in “-e” or “Umlaut” + “-e”:

Words	Singular	Plural
arm	der Arm	die Arme
dog	der Hund	die Hunde
foot	der Fuß	die Füße
chair	der Stuhl	die Stühle
attempt	der Versuch	die Versuche

⭐ Most masculine nouns ending in “-el”, “-en”, and “-er” form their plural without an ending or just Umlaut:

Words	Singular	Plural
uncle	der Onkel	die Onkel
baker	der Bäcker	die Bäcker
hook	der Haken	die Haken
computer	der Computer	die Computer

⭐ Some masculine nouns ending in “-el”, “-en” or “-er” form their plural solely by umlauting the stressed vowel:

Words	Singular	Plural
apple	der Apfel	die Äpfel
bow	der Bogen	die Bögen
garden	der Garten	die Gärten
father	der Vater	die Väter
brother	der Bruder	die Brüder
bird	der Vogel	die Vögel

⭐ Some masculines have a plural in “-er” or “..er”.

Words	Singular	Plural
God	der Gott	die Götter
forest	der Wald	die Wälder
mouth	der Mund	die Münder
body	der Leib	die Leiber
man	der Mann	die Männer
worm	der Wurm	die Würmer
mistake	der Irrtum	die Irrtümer

⭐ Some masculine nouns have the plural “-en” or “-n”:

Words	Singular	Plural
person	der Mensch	die Menschen
student	der Student	die Studenten
bear	der Bär	die Bären
monkey	der Affe	die Affen

Feminine Noun Plurals

⭐ Over 90% of all feminine nouns have the plural “-en” or “-n”:

Words	Singular	Plural
work	die Arbeit	die Arbeiten
load	die Last	die Lasten
meadow	die Wiese	die Wiesen
rule	die Regel	die Regeln

⭐ About a quarter of feminine monosyllables have a plural in “..e”:

Words	Singular	Plural
hand	die Hand	die Hände
night	die Nacht	die Nächte
mouse	die Maus	die Mäuse
cow	die Kuh	die Kühe
wall	die Wand	die Wände
city	die Stadt	die Städte

⭐ Feminine nouns with the ending “-nis” and “-sal” have the plural “-e”:

Words	Singular	Plural
knowledge	die Kenntnis	die Kenntnisse
hardship	die Mühsal	die Mühsale

❗ Just two feminine nouns have the plural “Umlaut”:

Words	Singular	Plural
mother	die Mutter	die Mütter
daughter	die Tochter	die Töchter

Neuter Noun Plurals

⭐ Roughly 75% of all neuter nouns have the plural “-e”:

Words	Singular	Plural
leg	das Bein	die Beine
vessel	das Gefäß	die Gefäße
year	das Jahr	die Jahre
sheep	das Schaf	die Schafe

⭐ About 25% of neuter nouns have the plural “..er” or “-er”:

Words	Singular	PLURAL
sheet	das Blatt	die Blätter
village	das Dorf	die Dörfer
valley	das Tal	die Täler
child	das Kind	die Kinder

⭐ Neuter nouns ending in “-el”, “-en”, “-er”, and diminutives in “-chen” and “-lein” have the plural –

Words	Singular	Plural
girl	das Mädchen	die Mädchen
booklet	das Büchlein	die Büchlein

Unusual Plural Forms in German

Several words, particularly those borrowed into German from other languages, have retained unusual plural forms.

Singular	Plural
der Genius	die Genien
das Museum	die Museen
das Aroma	die Aromen
das Drama	die Dramen
das Komma	die Kommata
die Razzia	die Razzien
die Villa	die Villen

Nouns that exist only as plurals in German

Since some words in German do not have singular forms, they are only used in plural form:

Plural
die Eltern
die Flitterwochen
die Pocken
die Zinsen
die Geschwister
die Kosten
die Immobilien
die Memorien
die Lebensmittel
die Personalien
die Zutaten
die Möbel

Nouns without a plural form in German

Since some words in German do not have a plural form, they are only used in the singular.

Singular
das Eisen
das Essen
die Liebe
das Obst
der Hunger
der Sport
der Tod
das Glück
das Unglück
die Wärme
der Atem

Navigating the intricate world of German plurals can indeed seem daunting at first glance. However, as with any language nuance, with systematic understanding and consistent practice, it becomes second nature. This guide has armed you with the core patterns and exceptions, but remember, immersion is key. The more you engage with the language – be it reading, listening, or conversing – the better you’ll become at instinctively knowing which plural form to use.

As a final piece of advice: Don’t get discouraged by mistakes. They are an integral part of the learning journey. Each time you stumble upon an exception or forget a rule, you’re one step closer to mastering German plurals. So, immerse yourself, practice relentlessly, and soon enough, you’ll be predicting German noun plurals with the confidence and ease of a native speaker. Frohes Lernen!