Plural Nouns
बहुवचन संज्ञा
Dutch pluralizes most nouns by adding -en, with a smaller group taking -s instead — broadly as consistent as Hindi's own plural markers, just split across two endings instead of one main pattern.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
Most nouns add -en
boek → boeken (book → books), huis → huizen (house → houses, with a spelling tweak)
किताब → किताबें, घर → घर (हिंदी में भी नियमित बहुवचन प्रत्यय होते हैं)
Hindi marks plurals with predictable endings depending on the noun's gender and ending (किताब → किताबें, लड़का → लड़के), and Dutch works the same way in spirit: most nouns simply add -en. Watch for small spelling shifts that keep the vowel sound the same — huis ('house') becomes huizen, not huisen, because a single s between vowels would be pronounced like a z anyway, so the spelling changes to match.
A smaller group adds -s instead
tafel → tafels (table → tables), foto → foto's (photo → photos, with an apostrophe)
इस समूह के लिए हिंदी में कोई सीधी समानता नहीं है
Nouns ending in an unstressed -el, -en, -er, or a vowel usually take -s instead of -en — tafel → tafels, deken → dekens. When the noun already ends in a vowel like a, o, u, an apostrophe is inserted before the -s purely to keep the spelling readable: foto → foto's, not fotos. There's no equivalent apostrophe rule in Hindi, since Devanagari doesn't run into the same vowel-clash spelling problem.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| Dutch | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| boek / boeken | book / BOO-ken | किताब / किताबेंkitāb / kitābeñ | book / books |
| huis / huizen | hoys / HOY-zen | घर / घरghar / ghar | house / houses |
| tafel / tafels | TAH-fel / TAH-fels | मेज़ / मेज़ेंmez / mezeñ | table / tables |
| auto / auto's | OW-toh / OW-tohs | गाड़ी / गाड़ियाँgāṛī / gāṛiyāñ | car / cars |
| stad / steden | staht / STAY-den | शहर / शहरśahar / śahar | city / cities |