Making Nouns Plural (Regular Forms) (A1)

To make most Dutch nouns plural (referring to more than one), you usually add either -s or -en.

Rule 1: Add -en

This is the most common way to make nouns plural.

• boek (book) -> boeken (books)
• stoel (chair) -> stoelen (chairs)
• deur (door) -> deuren (doors)
• telefoon (telephone) -> telefoons (telephones)

Spelling adjustments with -en:

• If the singular noun ends in a single consonant after a short vowel, double the consonant:
• bus -> bussen (buses)
• kat -> katten (cats)
• If the singular noun ends in a single consonant after a long vowel, remove one vowel:
• maan (moon) -> manen (moons)
• boom (tree) -> bomen (trees)
• If the singular noun ends in -s, change s to z:
• huis (house) -> huizen (houses)
• If the singular noun ends in -f, change f to v:
• brief (letter) -> brieven (letters)

Rule 2: Add -s

This is used less often, typically with:

• Nouns ending in an unstressed -el, -em, -en, -er, -ie.
• tafel (table) -> tafels
• leraar (teacher) -> leraars / leraren (both common)
• vakantie (holiday) -> vakanties
• Nouns ending in a vowel (a, o, u, ë, i - sometimes requires an apostrophe 's for pronunciation clarity, especially after i, u, y).
• auto (car) -> auto's
• menu (menu) -> menu's
• oma (grandma) -> oma's
• Loanwords from English often take -s.
• computer -> computers

Important: Some nouns are irregular (e.g., kind -> kinderen). These need to be learned separately.