Plural endings in German. Plural in German: ways of education

Nouns in German can be divided into plural and singular. They are divided into 3 types:

Nouns that only have a singular number. They include abstract and material names. Will accept: die Milch, das Fleisch (meat), der Schnee; die Kälte (cold), die Geduld (patience).
Nouns that can only be plural. For example, dieLeute, dieGeschwister, dieEltern. Please note that Singulariatantum and Pluraliatantum (nouns of the 1st and 2nd type) are not in all cases similar to the words of the Russian language. Example: die Ferien - holidays, but die Masern (Plural) - smallpox, die Pocken (Plural) - measles and dieUhr (Singular) - watches, dieHose (Singular) - trousers.
Most often the word has a singular and plural German nouns. For example, Tisch - die Tische, das Kind - die Kinder, die Frau - die Frauen.

Plural formation of nouns in German

To form the plural of German nouns, 3 grammatical means are used:

Article. In the absence of other grammatical means, the only sign plural nouns in German. Online you can see examples: das Zimmer - die Zimmer, der Arbeiter - die Arbeiter.
Umlaut. Example: der Wald - die Wälder, die Hand - die Hände, der Viertel - die Viertel (quarter).
With suffixes -e, -en, -er, -s, as well as a zero suffix: der Tisch - die Tische, die Frau - die Frauen, das Kind - die Kinder, das Handy - die Handys, der Arbeiter - die Arbeiter.

Plural nouns in German online based on suffixes can be formed in 5 ways:

With the -en suffix, the umlaut is not used.
With the help of the suffix -e (with or without an umlaut).
Suffix -er with umlaut.
Suffix — s (with or without umlaut).
No suffix.

Since the topic is quite extensive, experts recommend learning plural nouns in German via dictionary.

Dictionary of plural nouns in German

Table one " Plural of nouns in German».

masculine	Neuter gender	Feminine
1. Typically -e	1. Typically -er	1. Typically -(e)n
a). Most nouns get an umlaut:	das Kind - die Kinder, das Lied - die Lieder Some nouns get an umlaut: das Buch—die Bücher	a). Polysyllabic nouns (Zeitung - die Zeitungen), as well as nouns with suffixes -e, -el, -er:
der Gast-die Gäste, der Stuhl—die Stühle	2. Zero suffix	die Blume, die Blumen, die Schwester–die Schwestern
b). Some nouns do not receive an umlaut:	a). Nouns with suffixes -er, -en, -el, -sel	b). Some monosyllabic nouns:
der Tag - die Tage, der Hund—die Hunde	das Ufer - die Ufer, das Mittel - die Mittel	die Frau – die Frauen die Form – die Formen
in). Internationalisms with suffixes (inanimate) Al, -at, -it, -ar, -an, -og, -ent:	b). Nouns with diminutive suffixes -chen, -lein	in). Internationalisms with suffixes -ie, -(t)ät, -tion, -ik, -ur, -anz, -enz, -age, -a:
der Vokal - die Vokale, der Kanal-die Kanale,	das Mädchen - die Mädchen, das Fräulein - die Fräulein	2. Suffix -e (with umlaut):
G). Internationalisms with suffixes (animate) Eur, -ier, -an, -al, -är, -ar, -on:	in). Nouns with -ge prefix and -e suffix	die Hand - die Hande, die Bank - die Bänke
der Ingenieur—die Ingenieure	das Gemuse—die Gemuse	3. Zero suffix (+ umlaut):
2. Suffix -er	3. Suffix -e	die Mutter, die Mutter, die Tochter – die Tochter
der Mann-die Männer	a). Monosyllabic nouns:
3. Suffix -en	das Jahr – die Jahre
a). Nouns with the suffix -e:	b). Nouns with the -nis suffix, which is subsequently doubled:
der Junge—die Jungen	das Ergebnis-die Ergebnisse
b). The following nouns:	in). Internationalisms in -ent, -at, -phon, -ut, -um, -et, -em
der Mensch-die Menschen, der Herr - die Herren, etc.	das Problem - die Probleme, das Institut-die Institute
in). Internationalisms with suffixes -ant, -ent, -ist, -et, Al, -it, -ot, -loge, -graph, -nom, -soph, -ismus	4. Suffix -(e)n
der Student—die Studenten	a). Not large group nouns like das Auge
4. Zero suffix (nouns with suffixes -el. -er, -en)	b). Internationalisms with suffixes -um, -ion, -a das Museum - die Museen, das Thema - die Themen
der Vater—die Väter
5. Suffix -s (borrowings)	5. Suffix -s (borrowings)
der Klub—die Klubs	das Auto—die Autos

Uncountable nouns

Countable and uncountable nouns in German occur as well as in Russian.

Uncountable refers to those that are used only in singular:

Abstract nouns: die Kindheit (childhood), die Schönheit (beauty), die Freiheit (freedom), die Treue (fidelity), die Musik (music), die Hitze (heat).
Names of materials, liquids and bulk solids: Mehl (flour), das Gold (gold), das Papier (paper), die Milch (milk), das Salz (salt), der Zement (cement), der Stahl (steel), das Eisen (iron), der Kaffee (coffee).

Plural Nouns in German: Exercises

It takes a lot of practice to consolidate what you have learned. Therefore, we recommend doing exercises to determine the plural of nouns in German.

In German, as well as in Russian, a noun (noun) has 2 numbers (numbers): singular n. (der Singular) and plural (pl.) num. (der plural).

For education pl. num. The following means are used in German:

1. Suffixes -e, -en, -er, -s:

der Tisch - die Tische (table-tables)

die Zeitung – die Zeitungen (newspapers)

das Bild- die Bilder (picture-pictures)

der Klub- die Klubs (club-clubs)

2. Umlaut:

der Sohn- die Söhne (son-sons)

der Vater - die Väter (father-fathers)

3. Article:

der Orden - die Orden (order-orders)

der Wagen – die Wagen (car-cars)

In most cases, these means are combined, for example: das Kind- die Kinder (child-children); das Buch- die Bücher (book-books).

In German, there are five types of education pl. num. depending on the plural suffixes.

For each type of education pl. num. include nouns. of one sort or another.

I type of plural formation

A characteristic feature of type I is the suffix -e. According to this type, many are formed. num.:

1) Most of the names of nouns. male:

a) der Berg (mountain) - die Berge

der Pilz (mushroom) - die Pilze

der Preis (price) - die Preise

der Pelz (fur coat) - die Pelze

der Ring (ring) - die Ringe

der Krieg (war) - die Kriege

der Tisch (table) – die Tische

der Hof (courtyard) - die Höfe

der Kopf (head) - die Köpfe

der Kampf (wrestling) - die Kämpfe

der Raum (room) – die Räume

der Stuhl (chair) - die Stühle, etc.

b) der General (general) - die Generale

der Offizier (officer) - die Offziere

der Ingenieur (engineer) – die Ingenieure

der Pionier (pioneer) - die Pioniere and others.

2) some nouns. neuter:

a) das Beispiele (example) – die Beispiele

das Heft (notebook) – die Hefte

das Bein (foot) – die Beine

das Ereignis(event)- die Ereignisse

b) das Diktat (dictation) - die Diktate

das Dokument (document) – die Dokumente

das Lineal (ruler) –die Lineale

das Objekt (addition)–die Objekte

das Resultat (result) - die Resultate

das Substantiv (n.)

3) a group of monosyllabic nouns. female:

die Bank (bench) - die Bänke

die Frucht (fruit)- die Früchte

die Gans (goose) - die Gänse

die Kraft (strength) – die Krafte

die Kuh (cow) - die Kühe

die Macht (strength) – die Mächte

die Maus(mouse)- die Mäuse

die Nuss (walnut) – die Nüsse

die Stadt (city) – die Städte

die Wand (wall) - die Wände, etc.

II type of plural formation

A characteristic feature of type II is the suffix –(e)n. According to this type, many are formed. num.:

1. all polysyllabic and most of monosyllabic nouns. female:

a) die Tafel (board) – die Tafeln

die Klasse (class) – die Klassen

die Tür (door) – die Türen

die Lehrerin (teacher) – die Lehrerinnen

b) die Fakultät (faculty) - die Fakultäten

die Revolution (revolution) - die Revolutionen and others.

2. Some nouns male:

a) ending in -e:

der Junge (boy) - die Jungen

der Russe (Russian) - die Russen

der Name (name) - die Namen

der Buchstabe (letter) – die Buchstaben

b) the following words:

der Held (hero) - die Helden

der Mensch (man) - die Menschen and others,

der Nachbar (neighbour) – die Nachbarn

der Staat (state)– die Staaten

(der Vetter) cousin) – die Vetern

c) words with foreign suffixes -at, -ant, -et, -ent, -ist, etc. (with an accent on the suffix, usually denoting males)

der Soldat (soldier) - die Soldaten

der Aspirant (graduate student) – die Aspiranten

der Prolet (proletarian) – die Proleten

der Student (student) –die Studenten

der Kommunist (communist) - die Kommunisten and others.

3. A group of nouns. neuter:

das Auge (eye) - die Augen

das Ohr (ear) – die Ohren

das Bett (bed) – die Betten

das Ende (end) - die Enden

das Hemd (end) - die Hemden

das Intereste (interest) – die Interessen

das Herz (heart) - die Herzen

das Insekt (insect) – die Insekten

III type of plural formation

A characteristic feature of type III is the suffix -er. According to this type, many are formed. num.:

1. Most names exist. neuter:

das Bild (painting) — die Bilder

das Brett (board) – die Bretter

das Kleid (dress) – die Kleider

das Lied (song) - die Lieder and others

das Buch (book)–die Bücher

das Fach (item)- die Fächer

das Dach (roof) - die Dächer

das Haus (house) – die Häuser

das Volk (people) - die Völker and others.

2. A small group of nouns. male:

der Mann (male) - die Männer

der Rand (edge) – die Ränder

der Wald (forest) – die Walder

der Mund (mouth) - die Münder and others.

IV type of plural formation

Characteristic feature: no suffix, no umlaut and with root vowel umlaut. According to this type, many are formed. num.:

1. All names exist. masculine in –er, -el, en:

der Lehrer (teacher)-die Lehrer

der Schüler (student) - die Schüler

der Onkel (uncle) – die Onkel

der Bruder (brother) - die Bruder

der Mantel (coat) - die Mantel

der Garten (garden) - die Gärten

der Hafen (harbour) - die Häfen and others.

2. All names exist. neuter:

a) on - er, -el, -en:

das Banner (banner) - die Banner

das Fenster (window) – die Fenster

das Messer (knife) – die Messer

das Zeichen (sign) - die Zeichen and others.

b) with suffixes - chen, - lein:

das Stühlchen (high chair) – die Stühlchen

das Tischlein (table) - die Tischlein, etc.

c) with the prefix -Ge and the suffix -e:

das Gebäude (building) – die Gebäude

das Gebirge (mountains) - die Gebirge, etc.

2. two nouns. female:

die Mutter (mother) – die Mütter

die Tochter (daughter) – die Tochter

V type of plural formation

A characteristic feature of type V is the ending -s. According to this type, many are formed. num.:

1. nouns masculine and neuter, borrowed mainly from English and French:

male

der Klub (club) – die Klubs

der Chef (chief, boss) - die Chefs

neuter

das Auto (car) – die Autos

das Café (cafe) - die Cafés

das Hotel (hotel) – die Hotels

das Kino (cinema) – die Kinos

das Sofa (sofa) – die Sofas

2. suffix is attached to compound words:

der VEB (people's enterprise)– die VEBs

die LPG (agricultural production cooperative) – die LPGs

3. personal names, when they denote the name of a whole family or several persons bearing the same name or surname:

die Millers (Miller family)

Special cases of education pl. num. nouns:

Masculine:

der Bus (bus) – die Busse

der Typ (type) - die Typen

der Kursus (course) – die Kurse

Neuter gender:

das Museum (museum) - die Museen

das Prinzip (principle) - die Prinzipien

das Thema (theme) – die Themen

das Stadion (stadium) – die Stadien

das Drama (drama) – die Dramen

das Datum (date) – die Daten

das Verb (verb)–die Verben

das Auditorium (audience) - die Auditotorien

das Laborarium (laboratory) - die Laboratorien

das Studium (occupation) – die Studien

expression pl. num. with the help of vocabulary:

der Seemann-die Seeleute

der Bergmann-die Bergleute

der Kaufmann - die Kaufleute, etc.

der Rat-die Ratschläge

der Mord – die Mordtaten

Step 17 - plural in German - how is it formed?

Rule 1 The plural also has its own article - die. Same article as feminine.
Rule 2 Most German words, especially feminine words, are pluralized with the ending –en:

die Ubung - dieÜbung en
die Möglichkeit - die Moglichkeit en

There are words in which nothing is added:
der Sessel - die Sessel (chair - chairs)
das Brötchen – die Brötchen (bun - buns); words on –chen, -leindo not change

There is a group of words in which plural words end in –er or -e , and the vowel at the root of the word also changes.

das Kind–die Kind er(children)
das Buch–die Buch er(book - books)
der Mann-die Mann er (man - men)
der Stuhl-die St ü hl e(chair - chairs)
die Hand–die H ä nd e(hand - hands)
der Schrank–die Schr ä nk e(cabinet - cabinets)
die Wand-die W ä nd e(wall - walls)

There are words that end in plural in -s .

das Taxi - die Taxis (taxi - taxi)
das Radio - die Radios (radio - radio)
der PKW – die PKWs (passenger car - cars)
der Job – die Jobs (work - work)

The following words are easy to remember:

das Museum - die Museen (museum - museums)
das Datum - die Daten (date - dates)
das Visum - die Visa (visa - visas)
das Praktikum-die Praktika (practice - practices)
die Praxis—die Praxen (reception - reception)
das Konto - die Konten (account - accounts)
die Firma - die Firmen (firm - firms)

Good news

There is a large group of words that are used only in the singular. Here are the main groups of such words:

1. collective words (items that cannot be counted)

2. abstract words

3. units of measurement, as well as the word Das Geld- money

5 Kilo Orange	1 kg oranges	2 Liter Wasser	two liters of water
2 Glas Bier	2 mugs of beer	100 Gramm Fleisch	one hundred grams of meat
100 EUR	100 euro	eine Tube Zahnpasta	one tube of toothpaste

The plural in German is difficult to formulate into one rule. Too many options, too many exceptions. But two things to remember:

Words on –e always get –en in plural.
Feminine words in –schaft , -keit , -heit , -ion also get –en at the end. Most words have this ending.

The remaining words make sense to memorize with the help of exercises.

To speak German fluently, it is not necessary to know the plural of absolutely all words - this information grows as which words are most often used in plural in speech. Words in the plural are used less often than in the singular.

When I was at school, and then at the university, German teachers always told me to learn all the words in the singular and plural. Most often, this turned out to be superfluous information that was quickly forgotten. In order to learn a language quickly, it is important to memorize only up-to-date information. For example, first learn the plural of the most common words, and the rest later, as they are used.

Plural Exercises in German:

There is another interactive exercise.

Do you have any questions about this topic? Write in the comments.

Lesson 17: How the plural is formed in German was last modified: November 1st, 2018 by Ekaterina

The plural in German is formed different ways. It is better to learn the plural right away, along with how you learn the word. Yes! This is such a difficult task: you need to learn not only yourself german word, but also its article, as well as the plural form! Three in one - we only dream of peace) This is not English for you with the endings -s and -es and only five exception words. This is German!!!

But there are, of course, rules - according to which the plural is formed, and now I will tell you about it ...

Plural in German: ways of education

1 way

With a suffix -e:sometimes the word gets an umlaut in the root.

This way of plural formation is obtained mainly by one-syllable words, words of the middle gender - which begin with Ge-, words of the masculine gender - ending in -ling.

A. With an umlaut.

die Stadt – die Stä dte

die Laus – die Lä use (lice)

die Nacht-die Nächte

Umlat receives predominantly feminine words, but sometimes men pull this habit on themselves:

der Ball-die Bälle

B. No umlaut

das Fest - die Feste

das Tor—die Tore

der Ruf – die Rufe

der Tag – die Tage

Attention! Words that end in - nis,-is, -as, -os, -us double the -s. It turns out that a suffix is added to them - se:

das Geheimnis-die Geheimnisse

das As - die Asse (aces)

2 way

With a suffix – n

There is never an umlaut in this type of plural formation. Most of the feminine words are pluralized using this method.

die Nadel–die Nadeln

die Stunde–die Stunden

And also some words ending in - el, -er.

die Ampel – die Ampeln

die Feder – die Federn (feathers)

There are also masculine words that end in -e.

der Lotse-die Lotsen (pilots)

der Junge – die Jungen

The brother of this suffix is the suffix-en. This method is suitable for words ending in -ung, -au, -heit, -keit, -ei:

die Möglichkeit – die Möglichkeiten

die Übung – die Übungen

die Frau – die Frauen

And this method is also “liked” by masculine words with foreign suffixes: -ant, -ent, -at, -ist, -ot, -or, -graph.

der Student-die Studenten

Attention: if the word ends with -in, then it also forms the plural in this way, but the consonant -n is doubled:

die Freundin–die Freundinnen

3 way

With a suffix -er.

Umlaut has its place. This method is chosen by one-syllable neuter nouns and some masculine nouns.

das Buch-die Bü cher

das Kind–die Kinder

der Mann-die Männer

Feminine nouns do not pluralize with this suffix.

4 way

Zero suffix: The word remains the same. Either nothing in it changes - it remains the same as it was in the singular, or the vowel radically acquires an umlaut in the plural.

According to this type, neuter nouns ending in -chen, -lein form the plural:

das Mädchen – die Mädchen

As well as most nouns that end in -el, -en, -er, -en:

das Leben–die Leben

der Mantel - die Mäntel

Two feminine nouns also form the plural of this type. And this:

die Mutter-die Mütter

die Tochter – die Töchter

5 way:

-s

Some words in the formation of the plural are similar to English - they receive the suffix -s. In German, many words of foreign origin have this habit. As well as shortened words and words that end in -a, -i, -o.

das Foto–die Fotos

das Auto – die Autos

das Hotel – die Hotels

And further:

Words that come from Greek and Latin may have a completely different way of forming the plural:

das Museum – die Museen

das Lexikon – die Lexika