Dutch plurals explained, -en or -s?
Learn how to make Dutch plurals with -en, -s and -'s, the spelling changes that trip learners up, and the irregular plurals worth memorising.
One book, two books. In English you mostly just add an s. Dutch has two main endings, -en and -s, plus a few spelling rules that change how the word looks. The good news: the system is quite regular once you know what to listen for, and the irregular plurals are a short list of very common words.
-en or -s: the basic rule
Most Dutch nouns take -en. This is the default, especially for short words of one syllable.
- het boek → de boeken — the book → the books
- de deur → de deuren — the door → the doors
- de krant → de kranten — the newspaper → the newspapers
Nouns ending in an unstressed -el, -em, -en, -er or -je take -s. Say the word out loud: if it ends in that soft "uh" sound, -s usually sounds better.
- de tafel → de tafels — the table → the tables
- de bezem → de bezems — the broom → the brooms
- de jongen → de jongens — the boy → the boys
- de kamer → de kamers — the room → the rooms
- het meisje → de meisjes — the girl → the girls
All diminutives end in -je (or -tje, -pje and so on), so they always take -s: het kopje → de kopjes, het huisje → de huisjes. See diminutives.
Many words ending in an unstressed -e also take -s: de tante → de tantes, de rotonde → de rotondes. Some allow both: de ziekte → de ziekten / de ziektes, de groente → de groenten / de groentes.
Many loanwords take -s, especially from English and French: de computer → de computers, de film → de films, het restaurant → de restaurants, de tram → de trams.
-'s after a, i, o, u and y
When a word ends in a long vowel written as a single a, i, o, u or y, you add -'s with an apostrophe. Without it, the vowel would look short (autos would suggest a short o).
- de auto → de auto's — the cars
- het menu → de menu's — the menus
- de foto → de foto's — the photos
- de taxi → de taxi's — the taxis
- de baby → de baby's — the babies
- de oma → de oma's — the grandmas
No apostrophe after -e or -é: de tante → de tantes, het café → de cafés. And words ending in stressed -ee or -ie take -ën: het idee → de ideeën, de zee → de zeeën, de knie → de knieën.
Spelling changes with -en
Adding -en creates a new syllable, so Dutch spelling rules kick in. You don't need new sounds here, only new spelling to keep the old sound.
Long vowels: drop a letter
A long vowel written double (aa, ee, oo, uu) becomes single when the syllable is open, meaning it ends in that vowel.
- de boot → de boten — the boats
- de maan → de manen — the moons
- het uur → de uren — the hours
- het been → de benen — the legs
Short vowels: double the consonant
A short vowel must stay "closed", so the consonant after it is doubled.
- de kat → de katten — the cats
- de bus → de bussen — the buses
- het bed → de bedden — the beds
- de man → de mannen — the men
f becomes v, s becomes z
Many words that end in -f or -s get a v or z in the plural, because that is how the plural is actually pronounced.
- de brief → de brieven — the letters
- de wolf → de wolven — the wolves
- het huis → de huizen — the houses
- de reis → de reizen — the trips
- de kaas → de kazen — the cheeses
This is not automatic, though. Some words keep their f or s: de fotograaf → de fotografen (photographers), de mens → de mensen (people), de dans → de dansen (dances). When in doubt, check a dictionary.
Irregular plurals
A short vowel that becomes long
A small group of common words have a short vowel in the singular but a long vowel in the plural. They look odd, but you'll use them constantly.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| de dag | de dagen | day(s) |
| de weg | de wegen | road(s) |
| het glas | de glazen | glass(es) |
| het dak | de daken | roof(s) |
| de stad | de steden | city / cities |
| het schip | de schepen | ship(s) |
| het lid | de leden | member(s) |
| het spel | de spelen | game(s) |
Notice that stad, schip and lid even change their vowel letter.
The -eren group
A handful of old het words take -eren:
- het kind → de kinderen — the children
- het ei → de eieren — the eggs
- het lied → de liederen — the songs
- het kalf → de kalveren — the calves
- het blad → de bladeren — the leaves (of a tree); but de bladen — magazines, trays
One more you'll hear often: de koe → de koeien (cows).
-heid becomes -heden
Words ending in -heid change to -heden in the plural:
- de mogelijkheid → de mogelijkheden — the possibilities
- de gelegenheid → de gelegenheden — the occasions
- de bezienswaardigheid → de bezienswaardigheden — the sights
Many -heid words are abstract (de gezondheid, de eerlijkheid) and are rarely used in the plural anyway.
Latin plurals
Some words borrowed from Latin can keep a Latin plural. Often a Dutch -s form is also correct.
- het museum → de musea / de museums — the museums
- het centrum → de centra / de centrums — the centres
- het medium → de media — the media
- de politicus → de politici — the politicians
- de musicus → de musici — the musicians
All plurals take de
Whatever the singular article is, every plural takes de. That makes plurals the one place where you never have to think about de or het.
- het huis → de huizen — the house → the houses
- het kind → de kinderen — the child → the children
The words that go with the article follow too. Plurals use deze and die (never dit and dat), and adjectives before the noun get -e:
- Deze huizen zijn oud. — These houses are old.
- Die kinderen zijn lief. — Those children are sweet.
- Ik zie mooie boeken. — I see beautiful books.
Compare een mooi boek (a beautiful book), where the singular het word has no -e. More in adjective endings.
Watch out: no plural after numbers with units
With units of measurement, money and time, Dutch often keeps the singular after a number, where English uses a plural:
- Het kost drie euro. — It costs three euros.
- Ik wil graag twee kilo aardappels. — I'd like two kilos of potatoes.
- Ik woon hier al vijf jaar. — I've lived here for five years.
- Ik heb het twee keer gezien. — I've seen it twice.
But with ordinary nouns, numbers take a plural just like in English: twee boeken, drie kinderen.
Quick summary
- Default plural: -en (boeken, deuren).
- Unstressed -el, -em, -en, -er, -je and many loanwords: -s (tafels, meisjes, films).
- Final a, i, o, u, y: -'s (auto's, menu's); stressed -ee/-ie: -ën (ideeën).
- Long vowel loses a letter (boot → boten); short vowel doubles the consonant (kat → katten).
- Often f → v and s → z (brief → brieven, huis → huizen), with exceptions.
- Irregular: dag → dagen, stad → steden, schip → schepen, kind → kinderen, ei → eieren.
- -heid → -heden; some Latin words have two plurals (musea / museums).
- Every plural takes de.
Practise it
See plurals with de in action in Articles, count eggs, apples and potatoes in Food, and talk about kinderen, broers and zussen in Family.