Meervoud
Most Dutch plurals follow four clear patterns. Learn which ending the noun takes and you can pluralise almost any word. The trickiest part is knowing when to double a consonant before -en.
Add <strong>-en</strong> to most nouns. If the noun ends in a <em>short vowel + single consonant</em>, double the consonant first to preserve the short sound.
Practice: Plural of "pen": drie ___
pennen — pen has a short "e". Double the n before -en: pennen.
Practice: Plural of "taart": twee ___
taarten — taart has a long "aa" → no doubling needed. Just add -en: taarten.
Nouns ending in a vowel (a, o, u, i, y) take <strong>-'s</strong>. The apostrophe prevents the vowel from merging.
Practice: Plural of "auto": twee ___
auto's — auto ends in -o → add 's: auto's.
Practice: Plural of "opa": mijn twee ___
opa's — opa ends in -a → add 's: opa's.
Nouns with an unstressed final syllable ending in <strong>-er, -el, -en, -em, -aar</strong> take <strong>-s</strong>. These are typically 2-syllable words where adding -en would sound wrong.
Practice: Plural of "dochter": vier ___
dochters — dochter ends in -er → add -s: dochters.
Practice: Plural of "moeder": de ___
moeders — moeder ends in -er → add -s: moeders.
All words ending in <strong>-je</strong> (diminutives) form their plural with <strong>-s</strong>, making the ending <strong>-jes</strong>. No exceptions.
Practice: Plural of "kopje": twee ___
kopjes — Diminutives always take -s: kopje → kopjes.
Practice: Plural of "cadeautje": veel ___
cadeautjes — cadeautje → cadeautjes.
A handful of common nouns are irregular. The most important: <strong>huis → huizen</strong> (s→z before -en). Others must simply be memorised.
Practice: Plural of "huis": grote ___
huizen — huis → huizen. The -s changes to -z before -en. Must be memorised.
| Singular | Rule | Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| de taart | -en | taarten | Er zijn twee taarten. There are two cakes. |
| de pen | -en + double | pennen | Ik heb drie pennen. I have three pens. |
| de kop | -en + double | koppen | Hij drinkt vijf koppen. He drinks five cups. |
| de zus | -en + double | zussen | Zij hebben drie zussen. They have three sisters. |
| de broer | -s | broers | Wij hebben twee broers. We have two brothers. |
| de dochter | -s | dochters | Hij heeft vier dochters. He has four daughters. |
| de auto | -'s | auto's | Er staan twee auto's. There are two cars. |
| het kopje | -s (-jes) | kopjes | Ik drink twee kopjes. I drink two cups. |
| het huis | irregular | huizen | Er staan grote huizen. There are big houses. |
Practice: Plural of "woordenboek": drie ___
woordenboeken — woordenboek has long vowels → add -en directly: woordenboeken.
Practice: Plural of "taxi": twee ___
taxi's — taxi ends in -i → add 's: taxi's.
Practice Plurals Quiz with plural noun cards
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