German Noun Plurals and Possessive Determiners

1. Plural forms of nouns

German nouns have singular and plural forms. The singular refers to one person or thing:

• der Tisch — the table
• die Lampe — the lamp
• das Buch — the book

The plural refers to two or more people or things:

• die Tische — the tables
• die Lampen — the lamps
• die Bücher — the books

The definite article in the plural is die for all genders: der Tisch — die Tische, die Blume — die Blumen, das Kind — die Kinder.

German has no single rule for forming every noun plural. It is best to learn each new noun together with its article and plural form.

2. The main ways to form the plural

German nouns can take several different plural endings.

The ending -e

• der Tisch — die Tische
• der Stift — die Stifte
• das Problem — die Probleme

An umlaut is sometimes added as well: der Stuhl — die Stühle.

The ending -er

• der Mann — die Männer
• der Wald — die Wälder
• das Kind — die Kinder
• das Buch — die Bücher

Many nouns with the plural ending -er also add an umlaut.

The ending -(e)n

This type is especially common with feminine nouns:

• die Lampe — die Lampen
• die Blume — die Blumen
• die Vase — die Vasen

Some masculine nouns, particularly words for people, also take -(e)n:

• der Mensch — die Menschen
• der Junge — die Jungen
• der Student — die Studenten

The ending -s

The ending -s is common with loanwords and words of foreign origin:

• das Kino — die Kinos
• das Hotel — die Hotels
• das Café — die Cafés

No additional ending

Some nouns have the same ending in the singular and plural:

• der Lehrer — die Lehrer
• der Apfel — die Äpfel
• das Fenster — die Fenster
• das Zimmer — die Zimmer
• das Mädchen — die Mädchen

Even when no ending is added, the stem vowel may take an umlaut: der Apfel — die Äpfel.

3. Umlauts in plural forms

An umlaut changes a stem vowel:

• a → ä
• o → ö
• u → ü

Examples include der Mann — die Männer, der Wald — die Wälder, der Stuhl — die Stühle, das Buch — die Bücher, and das Haus — die Häuser.

Not every noun takes an umlaut in the plural. This change must also be learned as part of the plural form.

4. Diminutive nouns

German diminutives are formed with the suffixes -chen and -lein:

• der Tisch — das Tischchen — table — little table
• die Blume — das Blümchen — flower — little flower
• das Kind — das Kindchen — child — little child

All nouns ending in -chen are neuter: das Tischchen, das Blümchen, das Kindchen.

The stem vowels a, o, and u often take an umlaut when a diminutive is formed: die Blume — das Blümchen, der Stuhl — das Stühlchen.

Nouns ending in -chen normally do not change in the plural: das Mädchen — die Mädchen, das Tischchen — die Tischchen.

5. Feminine nouns ending in -in

Nouns referring to women in professions, nationalities, or groups are often formed with the suffix -in:

• der Lehrer — die Lehrerin — male teacher — female teacher
• der Architekt — die Architektin — male architect — female architect
• der Designer — die Designerin — male designer — female designer

In the plural, the n is doubled and the ending becomes -innen:

• die Lehrerin — die Lehrerinnen
• die Architektin — die Architektinnen
• die Designerin — die Designerinnen

6. Possessive determiners

Possessive determiners show who a person or thing belongs to: mein Lehrer — my teacher, meine Lampe — my lamp, mein Buch — my book, meine Blumen — my flowers.

The form depends on the owner and on the gender and number of the following noun.

7. Forms before nouns

Before a masculine noun in the nominative: mein Lehrer, dein Vater, sein Bruder.

Before a feminine noun: meine Lehrerin, deine Lampe, ihre Mutter.

Before a neuter noun: mein Buch, dein Kind, sein Zimmer.

Before a plural noun: meine Bücher, deine Blumen, ihre Lehrer.

In the nominative, feminine and plural forms take the ending -e: mein Lehrer, but meine Lehrerin; mein Buch, but meine Bücher.

8. The special form euer

The possessive determiner euer means “your” when speaking informally to more than one person.

Before feminine and plural nouns, the second e is dropped:

• euer Lehrer — your teacher
• eure Lehrerin — your female teacher
• eure Bücher — your books

9. What to remember

Learn the plural form together with each noun. The main plural patterns are:

• -e: der Tisch — die Tische
• -er: das Kind — die Kinder
• -(e)n: die Lampe — die Lampen
• -s: das Kino — die Kinos
• no ending: das Zimmer — die Zimmer

Some plural forms add an umlaut: der Mann — die Männer, das Buch — die Bücher.

Nouns ending in -chen are neuter and usually remain unchanged in the plural. Feminine nouns ending in -in take -innen in the plural.

Possessive determiners agree with the gender and number of the noun: mein Lehrer, meine Lampe, mein Buch, meine Bücher.