Plural Nouns
Plural Nouns
Dutch pluralizes nouns mainly by adding -en or -s — English's own regular plural is -s, so that pattern will feel familiar, while -en will need building as a new default.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
-en is the default plural ending
boek → boeken (book → books), stoel → stoelen (chair → chairs)
book → books, chair → chairs
English's default plural is -s (book → books), with -en surviving only as a fossil in a handful of words (ox → oxen, child → children). Dutch flips this: -en is the productive, default plural ending for most nouns, applying regardless of whether the noun is de or het. Watch for a spelling adjustment: a single vowel before the final consonant often doubles to keep it short (kat → katten), or a doubled vowel shortens to keep it long (jaar → jaren).
-s after unstressed -el, -en, -er, and -je endings
tafel → tafels (table → tables), moeder → moeders (mother → mothers)
table → tables, mother → mothers
A smaller set of nouns — mostly ones already ending in an unstressed syllable like -el, -en, -er, or -je — take -s instead of -en: tafel/tafels, moeder/moeders. This -s ending will feel immediately familiar from English's own regular plural, even though in Dutch it's the secondary pattern rather than the default.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| Dutch | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| boek / boeken | book / BOO-ken | book / books |
| huis / huizen | howss / HOW-zen | house / houses |
| stoel / stoelen | stool / STOO-len | chair / chairs |
| tafel / tafels | TAH-fel / TAH-fels | table / tables |
| kat / katten | kaht / KAH-ten | cat / cats |
| stad / steden | staht / STAY-den | city / cities |