Plural Nouns
बहुवचन संज्ञाएँ
In Hindi too, plurals depend on gender and ending (लड़का→लड़के, लड़की→लड़कियाँ), so 'one rule doesn't fit all' won't be a new idea. German has five different plural patterns, and which one applies to a given noun is largely unpredictable — so, like gender, plurals have to be memorized noun by noun.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
Five plural patterns instead of one
der Hund → die Hunde / das Auto → die Autos / die Frau → die Frauen / der Mann → die Männer / das Fenster → die Fenster
कुत्ता → कुत्ते / गाड़ी → गाड़ियाँ / औरत → औरतें / आदमी → आदमी (लोग) / खिड़की → खिड़कियाँ
Hindi plurals are somewhat predictable (most masculine आ-ending nouns shift to ए, feminine nouns often take एँ/याँ), but German has no single default: nouns pluralize with -e, -er, -(e)n, -s, or don't change at all — sometimes with an umlaut shift on the core vowel (Mann → Männer). There's no fully reliable way to predict the plural from the singular alone, so dictionaries always list the plural alongside the gender — treat both as required memorization, not optional extras.
The plural article ignores gender
die Hunde, die Autos, die Männer
कुत्ते, गाड़ियाँ, आदमी
One relief: no matter which gender a noun had in the singular (der, die, or das), every plural noun takes die in the nominative. Gender only matters in the singular; the plural erases it — a small break in an otherwise memorization-heavy topic.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Hund → die Hunde | dair hoont → dee HOON-deh | कुत्ता → कुत्तेkuttā → kutte | the dog → the dogs |
| das Auto → die Autos | dahs OW-toh → dee OW-tohs | गाड़ी → गाड़ियाँgāṛī → gāṛiyāñ | the car → the cars |
| die Frau → die Frauen | dee frow → dee FROW-en | औरत → औरतेंaurat → aurateñ | the woman → the women |
| der Mann → die Männer | dair mahn → dee MEN-er | आदमी → आदमी लोगādmī → ādmī log | the man → the men |
| das Fenster → die Fenster | dahs FEN-ster → dee FEN-ster | खिड़की → खिड़कियाँkhiṛkī → khiṛkiyāñ | the window → the windows |
| das Kind → die Kinder | dahs kint → dee KIN-der | बच्चा → बच्चेbaccā → bacce | the child → the children |
| die Stadt → die Städte | dee shtaht → dee SHTEH-teh | शहर → शहरśahar → śahar | the city → the cities |