Plural Formation in Dutch

Forming plurals in Dutch is mostly straightforward once you know the two main endings: -en and -s. The vast majority of Dutch nouns take one of these two suffixes to become plural. However, there are important spelling rules to keep in mind, because Dutch is very particular about vowel length — changing a word from singular to plural sometimes requires adjusting the spelling to preserve the correct pronunciation.

There are also a handful of irregular plurals that simply need to be memorized. The good news is that these irregulars are common words you will encounter frequently, so they become familiar quickly.

One important point to remember: all plural nouns in Dutch take the article de, regardless of whether they are de-words or het-words in the singular.

Formation / How It Works

The Two Main Plural Endings

Ending	When to use	Singular	Plural
-en	Most nouns	boek	boeken
-s	Nouns ending in -el, -em, -en, -er, -je, -ie	tafel, broer	tafels, broers

Spelling Changes with -en

Dutch spelling enforces consistent vowel pronunciation. When you add -en, you may need to adjust the spelling:

Rule	Singular	Plural	Explanation
Double consonant becomes single	kat (cat)	katten	Short vowel a stays short: double the consonant
Single vowel in open syllable	bo-ek → boe-ken	boeken	Long vowel stays long naturally in open syllable
Double vowel becomes single	maan (moon)	manen	Long aa stays long in open syllable, so drop one a
F → v	brief (letter)	brieven	F at end becomes v between vowels
S → z	huis (house)	huizen	S at end becomes z between vowels

Nouns That Take -s

Ending	Singular	Plural
-el	tafel (table)	tafels
-em	bezem (broom)	bezems
-en	keuken (kitchen)	keukens
-er	broer (brother)	broers
-je (diminutive)	huisje (small house)	huisjes
-ie	tante → tantie	...

Words of foreign origin (especially French and English loanwords) also often take -s: auto → auto's, café → cafés, baby → baby's.

Note the apostrophe in auto's and baby's — Dutch uses an apostrophe before -s when the word ends in a vowel (a, i, o, u, y) to prevent confusion about pronunciation.

Irregular Plurals

Singular	Plural	English
kind	kinderen	children
ei	eieren	eggs
been	beenderen (bones) / benen (legs)	bones / legs
stad	steden	cities
lid	leden	members
schip	schepen	ships

Latin/Greek Plurals

Some words from Latin or Greek keep their original plural:

Singular	Plural	English
museum	musea	museums
centrum	centra	centers

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
Ik heb twee katten.	I have two cats.	Consonant doubled: kat → katten
De boeken liggen op de tafel.	The books are on the table.	Standard -en plural
Wij hebben drie kinderen.	We have three children.	Irregular plural
De tafels zijn nieuw.	The tables are new.	-s plural (ends in -el)
Hoeveel eieren wil je?	How many eggs do you want?	Irregular: ei → eieren
De huizen in deze straat zijn oud.	The houses on this street are old.	S → z: huis → huizen
Er zijn twee auto's op de parkeerplaats.	There are two cars in the parking lot.	Apostrophe before -s after vowel
De brieven zijn vandaag gekomen.	The letters arrived today.	F → v: brief → brieven
De manen schijnen 's nachts.	The moons shine at night.	Double vowel drops: maan → manen
Alle stoelen zijn bezet.	All chairs are occupied.	-en plural
Ik koop appels op de markt.	I buy apples at the market.	-s plural
De steden in Nederland zijn mooi.	The cities in the Netherlands are beautiful.	Irregular: stad → steden

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
twee katen	twee katten	Short vowel a needs the doubled consonant to stay short.
de maanen	de manen	In an open syllable, one a already represents the long sound. Drop the double.
drie autos	drie auto's	When a word ends in a vowel, the plural -s requires an apostrophe.
de huisen	de huizen	The s changes to z between vowels.
de kinds	de kinderen	Kind has an irregular plural.
het boeken	de boeken	All plurals take de, even if the singular is a het-word.

Practice Tips

1. Singular-plural flashcards. Write the singular on one side and the plural on the other. Pay special attention to the spelling changes. Group them by pattern (f→v, s→z, double vowel drop, consonant doubling) so the rules become intuitive.

2. Shopping list practice. Write a grocery list in Dutch using plurals: twee appels, drie eieren, vier broodjes, vijf tomaten. This gives you real-world practice with common plural forms.

3. Read aloud and listen. The spelling changes exist to preserve pronunciation. Read both singular and plural forms aloud — you will hear that the vowel sound stays the same even though the spelling changes. This makes the rules feel logical rather than arbitrary.

Related Concepts

• De and Het Words
• Adjective Inflection
• Indefinite Article