Overview: Dutch plural at a glance
Most Dutch nouns form the plural with -en. You’ll also see -s, especially after unstressed -e and after vowel endings (often with an apostrophe). Spelling may change to keep vowel length the same, and some consonants flip from f→v and s→z when a vowel follows. A handful of frequent nouns are irregular.
default -en
schwa endings → -s
s→z before vowel
double consonant to keep short vowel
-ee → -eën (diaeresis)
irregular
Default plural -en + spelling changes
If a noun ends in a consonant, the safe default is -en. When adding -en, Dutch spelling rules adjust to keep vowel length consistent:
- Short vowel + single consonant → double the consonant: kat → katten, bus → bussen, kop → koppen.
- Long vowel in a closed syllable → open it: drop one vowel letter: boom → bomen, neef → neven.
- Final devoicing alternation: when a following vowel appears, f becomes v, s becomes z: huis → huizen, brief → brieven, dief → dieven.
Unsure? Try -en first. If the noun ends with a schwa sound (-e as in tafel), -s is often better (tafels).
When to use -s (and apostrophe ’s)
- Nouns ending in an unstressed -e (schwa): tafel → tafels, dokter → dokters, tunnel → tunnels, kamer → kamers.
- Nouns ending in a vowel or diphthong usually take ’s to protect the vowel: oma → oma’s, menu → menu’s, taxi → taxi’s, ski → ski’s, baby → baby’s.
- Words ending in -e with an accent take plain s: café → cafés, apé → apés (rare).
- Abbreviations/letter names: pdf → pdf’s, tv → tv’s, A → A’s.
- Diminutives (which end in -je/-tje/-etje/-pje/-kje) form the plural with -s: huisje → huisjes, kaartje → kaartjes, bloemetje → bloemetjes.
Mijn pdf’s staan in die map. — My PDFs are in that folder.
Some nouns can take -s or -en with a meaning/register difference (see below under irregulars & variants).
Special endings: -ieën, -eën, -eren
-ee → -eën
Nouns ending in -ee add -ën with a diaeresis to split syllables:
Stressed -ie → -ieën
When -ie is stressed in the singular, the plural is -ieën:
If -ie is unstressed, you usually get -iën or just -s depending on the word; many everyday -ie words actually prefer -s (e.g., politie is typically mass and seldom pluralized).
-eren (fixed irregular pattern)
Very few nouns use -eren as a fossilized plural ending:
Memorize these as vocabulary; there’s no productive rule to create new -eren plurals.
Common irregular plurals
Loanwords with Latin/Greek plurals often allow a regular plural too. The “learned” plural (musea, media, criteria) is common in formal writing; the regular alternative (museums, mediums, criteriums) is widespread in speech.
Compounds: pluralize the head
For compound nouns, pluralize the head (rightmost part). Any left elements stay singular unless they’re inherently plural.
Hyphenated compounds follow the same logic: pluralize the last part (chef-kok → chef-koks).
No plural / plural-only nouns
geld (money), water, rijst, meel, informatie, advies, nieuws, weer.
Use measure words: een glas water, twee adviezen (note: advies does have plural adviezen when you count distinct pieces).
kosten (costs), goederen (goods), hersenen (brain), omstandigheden (circumstances).
Meaning can force plural; singular may exist but with a different sense (goed mass “goods” vs goederen merchandise).
Don’t copy German: Dutch plurals don’t use umlauts.
Practice
A) Add the correct plural ending
- kat → ?
- boom → ?
- tafel → ?
- huis → ?
- menu → ?
Show answers
katten, bomen, tafels, huizen, menu’s
B) Spelling & sound (keep vowel length)
- bus → ?
- kop → ?
- neef → ?
- glas → ?
- brief → ?
Show answers
bussen, koppen, neven, glazen, brieven
C) Special endings
- idee → ?
- zee → ?
- theorie → ?
- categorie → ?
- strategie → ?
Show answers
ideeën, zeeën, theorieën, categorieën, strategieën
D) Irregulars & meaning differences
- blad (magazine) → ?
- blad (tree leaf) → ?
- ei → ?
- stad → ?
- datum (calendar entry) → ?
Show answers
bladen, bladeren, eieren, steden, datums
E) Compounds (pluralize the head)
- studentenkaart → ?
- auto-ongeluk → ?
- keukendeur → ?
- chef-kok → ?
- spoorboekje → ?
Show answers
studentenkaarten, auto-ongelukken, keukendeuren, chef-koks, spoorboekjes
F) Quick translation (EN → NL) with plurals
- three houses
- two ideas
- many magazines
- fresh eggs
- the city centers
Show answers
drie huizen, twee ideeën, veel bladen, verse eieren, de stadscentra / de centrum(s) van steden (context)
FAQ
Is -s “informal” and -en “formal”?
No. They’re both standard. Choice depends on phonetics and morphology (schwa endings, vowels, diminutives, etc.), not formality.
Why “baby’s” but “cafés”?
Plain vowels (a, i, o, u, y) take ’s to protect pronunciation: baby’s, ski’s. A stressed é already shows the vowel value, so just s: cafés.
Does every noun ending in -ie take -ieën?
No. Only when -ie is stressed (theoríe) → theorieën. Otherwise, usage varies; many take -s or are uncountable.
Are there double plurals with different meanings?
Yes: blad → bladen (magazines/sheets) vs bladeren (leaves). datum → data (data sets) vs datums (calendar dates). medium → media (mass media) vs mediums (spiritualists).