Plurals

Patterns for Plural Nouns

N ends in n

E ends in e

R ends in r

Ø no ending

S ends in s

NERØS ends in n

-n der Junge die Jungen

-en die Frau die Frauen

-nen die Freundin die Freundinnen

NERØS ends in e

-e der Freund die Freunde

-äe der Stuhl die Stühle

NERØS ends in r

-er das Kind die Kinder

-äer der Mann die Männer

NERØS no ending

- das Fenster die Fenster

-ä die Mutter die Mütter

NERØS ends in s

-s der Park die Parks

das Baby die Babys

Patterns for Plurals

Most masculine and neuter nouns form the plural by adding –e or –er. Plural with the –er ending always add an Umlaut when the vowel in the singular form is a, o, or u.

der Tag die Tage

das Buch die Bücher

Patterns for Plurals

If the singular form of a noun ends in –el, -en, or –er, there is no additional plural ending, but an Umlaut is added to the stem vowel a, o, or u.

der Apfel die Äpfel

der Vater die Väter

Patterns for Plurals

For feminine nouns ending with –in, add –nen to form the plural.

die Freundin die Freudinnen

die Studentin die Studentinnen

Patterns for Plurals

For other feminine nouns, add –n if the singular form end in –e, –el, or –er. Add –en if it does not. Note that feminine nouns with regular plural endings never add an Umlaut.

die Blume die Blumen

die Frau die Frauen

Patterns for Plurals

The –s ending is added to most words borrowed from other languages and to nouns ending with vowels other than e.

die DVD die DVDs

das Auto die Autos