Appendix:German plurals

German forms the plural in a variety of ways, both by adding endings to the base form, and by mutating (umlauting) the root vowel.

The e-plural
The majority of masculine and neuter nouns form the plural with -e. For example:
 * der Hund – die Hunde
 * der König – die Könige
 * das Dokument – die Dokumente

In addition feminine nouns ending in -nis or -sal form the plural with -e.

The e-plural with umlaut
Most masculine nouns form the plural by adding an umlaut and adding -e. Masculine nouns often add umlaut, but not always.

Some feminine nouns form the plural by adding -e and umlauting the vowel:



One neuter noun:.

The n-plural
The majority of feminine nouns form the plural with -en. For these nouns ending in -el, er, or e, only -n is added to the end. These never add umlaut except for Werkstatt.


 * Masculine and neuter nouns ending in unstressed -or. Ex.
 * Note that the stress shifts in the plural
 * A small group of neuter nouns have this plural ending:
 * A small group of neuter nouns have this plural ending:


 * Jewel(-en)
 * Jewel(-en)
 * Jewel(-en)
 * Jewel(-en)
 * Jewel(-en)
 * Jewel(-en)


 * A small group of masculine nouns have this plural ending:



Weak Nouns
A group of masculine nouns adds -(e)n in every case except the masculine singular. This includes nearly every masculine noun ending in -e.

Replacing the ending with -en
Some nouns, especially those of foreign origin remove their ending and replace it with -en
 * A few feminine nouns replacing -a with -en Ex. Firma – Firmen




 * Feminine nouns ending in -sis and -xis form the plural with -sen and -xen respectively. For example:
 * Basis – Basen
 * Masculine nouns ending in and neuter nouns ending in . For example:
 * Zentrum – Zentren
 * Rhythmus – Rhythmen
 * A few other foreign nouns:



The r-plural
Many neuter nouns and a few masculine nouns form the plural with -er. These nouns always add umlaut if possible (the stressed vowel is a, o, au, or u).
 * Masculine: Geist, Gott, Irrtum Leib, Mann, Mund, Rand, Reichtum, Ski, Strauch, Wald, Wurm.
 * Neuter:

The zero-plural
Nearly all masculine and neuter nouns ending in -en, -er, -el, -chen, or -lein have no plural suffix.

Two neuter nouns (Kloster and Wasser), two feminine nouns (Mutter and Tochter), and the following masculine nouns form the plural solely by adding umlaut.

The s-plural
Most words borrowed from English or French form the plural by adding -s. In addition acronyms and other parts of speech used as nouns form the plural with -s.
 * die CD – die CDs
 * der Pkw – die Pkws
 * der Akku – die Akkus
 * der Cousin – die Cousins
 * der Job – die Jobs
 * das Handy – die Handys
 * das Lebewohl – die Lebewohls

The s-Plural is used for the identification of family members: but:
 * die Müllers (multiple people with the last name Müller)
 * der Müller – die Müller (occupation)