Formdie + Nomen (Singular) → die + Nomen + -n / -en
Meaning and usage
Most feminine nouns make their plural with -n or -en, and the vowel never changes. Nouns ending in -e add -n: die Lampe becomes die Lampen, die Frage becomes die Fragen. Other feminine nouns add -en: die Frau becomes die Frauen, die Tür becomes die Türen. Nouns ending in -in double the n: die Lehrerin becomes die Lehrerinnen.
A common mistake is to use the ending of another pattern, for example die Lampes or die Lamper. Nouns in this group add only -n or -en and never take an umlaut. Learn each plural together with its noun.
Examples 6
Am Tor warten drei Frauen auf euch.
Three women are waiting for you at the gate.
Solche Fragen sollst du doch nicht stellen!
You're not supposed to ask those kinds of questions.
Haben Sie irgendwelche Fragen bevor wir anfangen?
Do you have any questions before we get started?
Ich muss noch ein paar Fragen stellen.
I need to ask a few more questions.
Ich möchte noch viel mehr Sprachen lernen.
I want to learn a lot more languages.
Es gibt über 4000 Sprachen auf der Welt.
There are more than 4,000 languages in the world.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Im Zimmer stehen zwei .
Show answer
Correct answer: Lampen
die Lampe ends in -e, so its plural adds -n: die Lampen. After zwei the noun must be plural.
- Lampes The -s plural is not used with die Lampe.
- Lampe is the singular and cannot follow zwei.
- Lamper The -er plural is never used with a feminine noun.
In this topic: Plurals
- die + Plural the plural article for every noun
- -e: Tage, Stühle Plural in -e, often with umlaut
- -(e)n: Frauen, Lampen Plural in -n or -en, no umlaut
- -er: Kinder, Bücher Plural in -er, often with umlaut
- -s: Autos, Hotels Plural in -s for many loanwords and vowel-final nouns
- Lehrer → Lehrer, Vater → Väter Same noun, sometimes with umlaut, in the plural
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.