German Grammar Explained /
Plural Endings
Making plurals in German can be confusing because there are a few different varieties but don't worry about. Like most things German, they follow rules!
Let's find out what these rules are:
1. International words (from English, French, Latin,...)
der Chef | → | die Chefs |
das Auto | → | die Autos |
die Kamera | → | die Kameras |
2. Words with the ending -en und -er
der Lehrer | → | die Lehrer |
der Arbeiter | → | die Arbeiter |
das Mädchen | → | die Mädchen |
3. Feminine words
die Blume | → | die Blumen |
die Kundin | → | die Kunden |
die Lampe | → | die Lampen |
die Lehrerin | → | die Lehrerinnen |
4. Words with the root vowels -a- /-o- /-u- need an Umlaut
der Sohn | → | die Söhne |
der Stuhl | → | die Stühle |
das Buch | → | die Bücher |
das Wort | → | die Wörter |
5. Approximately 80% of masculine and neuter words
der Tag | → | die Tage |
das Pferd | → | die Pferde |
das Dokument | → | die Dokumente |
...do you really expect me to feel better now?
Well, I didn't invent the German language. You'll get used to it... plurals will start to sound right or wrong at some point. Have faith!