B1~45 min

Plural Formation

Meervoudsvorming

📋

Exam relevant: This topic is covered in the Staatsexamen NT2 (Programma I — B1 level).

Basic Rules: -en and -s

Most Dutch nouns form the plural by adding -en.

The standard way to form plurals in Dutch is by adding -en to the singular. Normal Dutch spelling rules apply: the vowel value must be preserved (short vowels stay short, long vowels stay long), and the letters z and v only appear at the start of a syllable (elsewhere they become s or f).

Common -en plurals

Singular	Plural	Spelling note
boek	boeken	Standard addition of -en
deur	deuren	Standard addition of -en
		Standard addition of -en
boom	bomen	One o keeps the long sound (oo → o in open syllable)
huis	huizen	s → z at the start of a new syllable
		s → z at the start of a new syllable
raaf	raven	f → v at the start of a new syllable
tak	takken	Double k to keep the short vowel
taak	taken	aa → a in open syllable (long vowel preserved)
baas	bazen	s → z; aa → a in open syllable

Note how spelling rules keep the vowel sound consistent between singular and plural.

In context

Er staan veel bomen in het park.

There are many trees in the park.

Er staan bijna geen huizen aan de rechterkant van de straat.

There are almost no houses on the right side of the street.

Ik moet nog een aantal taken verrichten.

I still have a number of tasks to complete.

Many nouns ending in -el, -em, -en, -er, -aar, -aard, -erd, -ster, or -je form the plural with -s.

This is the second general rule. Nouns with these unstressed endings take -s instead of -en. This includes all diminutives (verkleinwoorden) ending in -je.

Common -s plurals

Ending	Singular	Plural
-el	tafel	tafels
-el	winkel	winkels
-em	bezem	bezems
-en	wagen	wagens
-en	jongen	jongens
-er	speler	spelers
-aar	metselaar	metselaars
-aard	grijsaard	grijsaards
-erd	dikkerd	dikkerds
-ster	arbeidster	arbeidsters
-je	meisje	meisjes
-je	hondje	hondjes

All diminutives (-je) always take -s.

Common Mistakes

✗tafelen

✓tafels

Nouns ending in -el take -s, not -en.

✗meisjen

✓meisjes

All diminutives (ending in -je) always take -s.

✗wagenen

✓wagens

Nouns ending in unstressed -en take -s.

Borrowed Words, Long Vowels & Professions

Borrowed words (bastaardwoorden) usually form plurals with -s.

This applies to words ending in a schwa sound (-e), and those ending in -é, -ee, -eau, -ey, -ay, -ieu, -oe, or -ui.

Borrowed word plurals

Singular	Plural	Origin
garage	garages	French (schwa ending)
etalage	etalages	French (schwa ending)
café	cafés	French (-é ending)
bureau	bureaus	French (-eau ending)
milieu	milieus	French (-ieu ending)
taboe	taboes	Polynesian (-oe ending)
etui	etuis	French (-ui ending)
essay	essays	English (pronounced as diphthong)

Nouns ending in a long vowel take an apostrophe + s.

When a noun ends in a long vowel sound (a, i, o, u, y), the plural is formed with an apostrophe and s. The apostrophe shows that the s is a separate sound.

Apostrophe + s plurals

Singular	Plural
auto	auto's
ski	ski's
menu	menu's
paraplu	paraplu's
villa	villa's
baby	baby's
hobby	hobby's

Nouns for professions and family relations often take -s.

Many nouns referring to specific professions or family members form the plural with -s, even though you might expect -en.

Professions & family

Singular	Plural	Category
ingenieur	ingenieurs	Profession
acteur	acteurs	Profession
directeur	directeurs	Profession
generaal	generaals	Military
oom	ooms	Family
broer	broers	Family
tante	tantes	Family

Watch out for exceptions! Some similar-looking words take -en: scholier → scholieren, officier → officieren. Words ending in a schwa -e (like actrice → actrices) follow the borrowed word rule.

Vowel Changes & Irregular Plurals

A small group of het-words take the special plural ending -eren.

Historically these nouns had a plural on -er (like in German: Kinder, Eier), but over time a regular -en was added on top, creating the -eren ending.

-eren plurals

Singular	Plural	English
het kind	de kinderen	children
het ei	de eieren	eggs
het been	de beenderen	bones (skeleton)
het blad	de bladeren	leaves (tree)
het kalf	de kalveren	calves
het lam	de lammeren	lambs
het lied	de liederen	songs
het rund	de runderen	cattle

Note: all these are het-words in singular but become de-words in the plural (as all plurals do).

Some nouns change their vowel from short to long in the plural.

A notable group of nouns have a short vowel in the singular but a long vowel in the plural. This is an important pattern to memorize.

Vowel change plurals

Singular	Plural	Vowel change
bad	baden	a (short) → a (long)
dag	dagen	a (short) → a (long)
dak	daken	a (short) → a (long)
gat	gaten	a (short) → a (long)
glas	glazen	a (short) → a (long) + s→z
god	goden	o (short) → o (long)
lid	leden	i (short) → e (long)
oorlog	oorlogen	o (short) → o (long)
schip	schepen	i (short) → e (long)
stad	steden	a (short) → e (long)
weg	wegen	e (short) → e (long)

These must be memorized. They are among the most common nouns in Dutch.

In context

Wat zijn de belangrijkste steden in Nederland?

What are the most important cities in the Netherlands?

Onze club telt meer dan 200 leden.

Our club has more than 200 members.

Alle wegen leiden naar Rome.

All roads lead to Rome.

Common Mistakes

✗stadden

✓steden

Stad changes its vowel completely in the plural: stad → steden.

✗kinders

✓kinderen

Kind takes the special -eren ending.

✗glazen (meaning "glasses to drink from")

✓glazen

Glas → glazen is correct. Note the vowel change AND s→z.

Special Rules & Exceptions

Nouns ending in -heid always form the plural with -heden.

The suffix -heid replaces its ending with -heden in the plural. This is consistent and has no exceptions.

-heid → -heden

Singular	Plural
moeilijkheid	moeilijkheden
waarheid	waarheden
bezienswaardigheid	bezienswaardigheden
kleinigheid	kleinigheden

Nouns ending in -or shift stress and lengthen the vowel: -or → -oren.

Words like professor and motor change their stress pattern and vowel in the plural. An alternative -s plural exists but is less common.

-or noun plurals

Singular	Plural (-oren)	Plural (-s)
professor	professoren	professors
rector	rectoren	rectors
motor	motoren	motors
senator	senatoren	senators

The -oren form shifts stress to the second-to-last syllable. The -s form keeps the original stress.

Nouns ending in stressed -ie take -ën; unstressed -ie takes -s.

The stress placement on the -ie ending determines the plural form. If the -ie is stressed (like knie), add -ën. If unstressed (like olie), add -s.

-ie noun plurals

Singular	Plural	Stress on -ie?
olie	olies	No (unstressed)
premie	premies	No (unstressed)
revolutie	revoluties	No (unstressed)
directie	directies	No (unstressed)
knie	knieën	Yes (stressed)
industrie	industrieën	Yes (stressed)
categorie	categorieën	Yes (stressed)

Greek/Latin words keep classical plural forms.

Words borrowed from Greek or Latin often form their plural following the original language pattern. Words ending in -um often become -a, and words ending in -us often become -i.

Classical plurals

Singular	Classical plural	Dutch alternative
museum	musea	museums
minimum	minima	—
maximum	maxima	—
decennium	decennia	—
politicus	politici	—
technicus	technici	—
historicus	historici	—

Note: album → albums (always -s, no classical form).

Measurements (meter, kilo, liter), time words (uur, jaar, kwartier), and currency words (euro, dollar) stay singular after a number: drie meter, vijf kilo, twee uur, tien euro. They only get a plural when used with an adjective: drie zware kilometers.

Common Mistakes

✗drie uren

✓drie uur

After a number, uur stays singular (unless there is an adjective: drie lange uren).

✗vijf euros

✓vijf euro

Currency stays singular after a number.

✗museen

✓musea (or museums)

Museum takes the Latin plural -a or the Dutch -s, not -en.

Basic Rules: -en and -s

Most Dutch nouns form the plural by adding -en.

Common -en plurals

Singular	Plural	Spelling note
boek	boeken	Standard addition of -en
deur	deuren	Standard addition of -en
		Standard addition of -en
boom	bomen	One o keeps the long sound (oo → o in open syllable)
huis	huizen	s → z at the start of a new syllable
		s → z at the start of a new syllable
raaf	raven	f → v at the start of a new syllable
tak	takken	Double k to keep the short vowel
taak	taken	aa → a in open syllable (long vowel preserved)
baas	bazen	s → z; aa → a in open syllable

Note how spelling rules keep the vowel sound consistent between singular and plural.

In context

Er staan veel bomen in het park.

There are many trees in the park.

Er staan bijna geen huizen aan de rechterkant van de straat.

There are almost no houses on the right side of the street.

Ik moet nog een aantal taken verrichten.

I still have a number of tasks to complete.

Many nouns ending in -el, -em, -en, -er, -aar, -aard, -erd, -ster, or -je form the plural with -s.

This is the second general rule. Nouns with these unstressed endings take -s instead of -en. This includes all diminutives (verkleinwoorden) ending in -je.

Common -s plurals

Ending	Singular	Plural
-el	tafel	tafels
-el	winkel	winkels
-em	bezem	bezems
-en	wagen	wagens
-en	jongen	jongens
-er	speler	spelers
-aar	metselaar	metselaars
-aard	grijsaard	grijsaards
-erd	dikkerd	dikkerds
-ster	arbeidster	arbeidsters
-je	meisje	meisjes
-je	hondje	hondjes

All diminutives (-je) always take -s.

Common Mistakes

✗tafelen

✓tafels

Nouns ending in -el take -s, not -en.

✗meisjen

✓meisjes

All diminutives (ending in -je) always take -s.

✗wagenen

✓wagens

Nouns ending in unstressed -en take -s.

Borrowed Words, Long Vowels & Professions

Borrowed words (bastaardwoorden) usually form plurals with -s.

This applies to words ending in a schwa sound (-e), and those ending in -é, -ee, -eau, -ey, -ay, -ieu, -oe, or -ui.

Borrowed word plurals

Singular	Plural	Origin
garage	garages	French (schwa ending)
etalage	etalages	French (schwa ending)
café	cafés	French (-é ending)
bureau	bureaus	French (-eau ending)
milieu	milieus	French (-ieu ending)
taboe	taboes	Polynesian (-oe ending)
etui	etuis	French (-ui ending)
essay	essays	English (pronounced as diphthong)

Nouns ending in a long vowel take an apostrophe + s.

When a noun ends in a long vowel sound (a, i, o, u, y), the plural is formed with an apostrophe and s. The apostrophe shows that the s is a separate sound.

Apostrophe + s plurals

Singular	Plural
auto	auto's
ski	ski's
menu	menu's
paraplu	paraplu's
villa	villa's
baby	baby's
hobby	hobby's

Nouns for professions and family relations often take -s.

Many nouns referring to specific professions or family members form the plural with -s, even though you might expect -en.

Professions & family

Singular	Plural	Category
ingenieur	ingenieurs	Profession
acteur	acteurs	Profession
directeur	directeurs	Profession
generaal	generaals	Military
oom	ooms	Family
broer	broers	Family
tante	tantes	Family

Watch out for exceptions! Some similar-looking words take -en: scholier → scholieren, officier → officieren. Words ending in a schwa -e (like actrice → actrices) follow the borrowed word rule.

Vowel Changes & Irregular Plurals

A small group of het-words take the special plural ending -eren.

Historically these nouns had a plural on -er (like in German: Kinder, Eier), but over time a regular -en was added on top, creating the -eren ending.

-eren plurals

Singular	Plural	English
het kind	de kinderen	children
het ei	de eieren	eggs
het been	de beenderen	bones (skeleton)
het blad	de bladeren	leaves (tree)
het kalf	de kalveren	calves
het lam	de lammeren	lambs
het lied	de liederen	songs
het rund	de runderen	cattle

Note: all these are het-words in singular but become de-words in the plural (as all plurals do).

Some nouns change their vowel from short to long in the plural.

A notable group of nouns have a short vowel in the singular but a long vowel in the plural. This is an important pattern to memorize.

Vowel change plurals

Singular	Plural	Vowel change
bad	baden	a (short) → a (long)
dag	dagen	a (short) → a (long)
dak	daken	a (short) → a (long)
gat	gaten	a (short) → a (long)
glas	glazen	a (short) → a (long) + s→z
god	goden	o (short) → o (long)
lid	leden	i (short) → e (long)
oorlog	oorlogen	o (short) → o (long)
schip	schepen	i (short) → e (long)
stad	steden	a (short) → e (long)
weg	wegen	e (short) → e (long)

These must be memorized. They are among the most common nouns in Dutch.

In context

Wat zijn de belangrijkste steden in Nederland?

What are the most important cities in the Netherlands?

Onze club telt meer dan 200 leden.

Our club has more than 200 members.

Alle wegen leiden naar Rome.

All roads lead to Rome.

Common Mistakes

✗stadden

✓steden

Stad changes its vowel completely in the plural: stad → steden.

✗kinders

✓kinderen

Kind takes the special -eren ending.

✗glazen (meaning "glasses to drink from")

✓glazen

Glas → glazen is correct. Note the vowel change AND s→z.

Special Rules & Exceptions

Nouns ending in -heid always form the plural with -heden.

The suffix -heid replaces its ending with -heden in the plural. This is consistent and has no exceptions.

-heid → -heden

Singular	Plural
moeilijkheid	moeilijkheden
waarheid	waarheden
bezienswaardigheid	bezienswaardigheden
kleinigheid	kleinigheden

Nouns ending in -or shift stress and lengthen the vowel: -or → -oren.

Words like professor and motor change their stress pattern and vowel in the plural. An alternative -s plural exists but is less common.

-or noun plurals

Singular	Plural (-oren)	Plural (-s)
professor	professoren	professors
rector	rectoren	rectors
motor	motoren	motors
senator	senatoren	senators

The -oren form shifts stress to the second-to-last syllable. The -s form keeps the original stress.

Nouns ending in stressed -ie take -ën; unstressed -ie takes -s.

The stress placement on the -ie ending determines the plural form. If the -ie is stressed (like knie), add -ën. If unstressed (like olie), add -s.

-ie noun plurals

Singular	Plural	Stress on -ie?
olie	olies	No (unstressed)
premie	premies	No (unstressed)
revolutie	revoluties	No (unstressed)
directie	directies	No (unstressed)
knie	knieën	Yes (stressed)
industrie	industrieën	Yes (stressed)
categorie	categorieën	Yes (stressed)

Greek/Latin words keep classical plural forms.

Words borrowed from Greek or Latin often form their plural following the original language pattern. Words ending in -um often become -a, and words ending in -us often become -i.

Classical plurals

Singular	Classical plural	Dutch alternative
museum	musea	museums
minimum	minima	—
maximum	maxima	—
decennium	decennia	—
politicus	politici	—
technicus	technici	—
historicus	historici	—

Note: album → albums (always -s, no classical form).

Common Mistakes

✗drie uren

✓drie uur

After a number, uur stays singular (unless there is an adjective: drie lange uren).

✗vijf euros

✓vijf euro

Currency stays singular after a number.

✗museen

✓musea (or museums)

Museum takes the Latin plural -a or the Dutch -s, not -en.