B1 · Nouns: gender, plural, compounds
Borrowed words and their plurals
das Auto, die Autos; das Thema, die Themen
The -s plural belongs to borrowed words, and Greek and Latin words keep their own endings.
German has five plural endings and a sixth that arrived with borrowed words: -s. It appears on words taken from English and French and on abbreviations: das Auto → die Autos, das Hotel → die Hotels, der Chef → die Chefs, die CD → die CDs. Native German nouns almost never take it.
Words from Latin and Greek often keep their original plural instead. Das Thema → die Themen, das Museum → die Museen, der Rhythmus → die Rhythmen, das Praktikum → die Praktika. The -um group is the largest and the most predictable: drop the -um and add -en or -a.
Gender for a borrowed word is not derivable and has to be learned, with one useful tendency: a borrowed word usually takes the gender of the German word closest in meaning. Die E-Mail follows die Post; der Laptop follows der Rechner. It is a hint, not a rule, and German speakers disagree about several.
Die Form
| -s | das Auto → die Autos |
| -um → -en | das Museum → die Museen |
| -um → -a | das Praktikum → die Praktika |
| -a → -en | das Thema → die Themen |
| -us → -en | der Rhythmus → die Rhythmen |
| unverändert | der Computer → die Computer |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
Borrowed words from English and French take -s.
zwei Hotels, drei Restaurantstwo hotels, three restaurants
Latin words in -um form the plural in -en or -a.
das Zentrum → die Zentrenthe centre → the centres
A word already ending in -er, -en or -el usually stays unchanged.
der Computer → die Computerthe computer → the computers
The gender has to be learned with the word.
die E-Mail, der Laptop, das Handythe e-mail, the laptop, the mobile
Genauer hingesehen
The words German did not borrow
German has a strong habit of building its own word rather than taking one: Fernseher for television, Kühlschrank for refrigerator, Krankenhaus for hospital, Wörterbuch for dictionary. Each is transparent from its parts, which makes them easier than the international word would have been.
Where both exist, they are often not synonyms. Das Handy is a mobile phone and is not English; English speakers say "mobile" or "cell phone". Der Beamer is a projector. These are German words built out of English parts, and using them in English does not work.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
a family name is used in the plural
it takes -s.
die Müllersthe Müllers
The -s plural spread from borrowed words to names.
-
a borrowed word has been in German a long time
it often takes a German plural instead.
die Filme, die Bankenthe films, the banks
Older borrowings assimilate: der Film → die Filme, not "die Films".
Woran man es erkennt
- -s
- -um
- -a
- -us
- -ion
- Fremdwort
Beispielsätze
Wir haben zwei Autos.We have two cars.
Die Museen sind montags zu.The museums are closed on Mondays.
Sie schreibt drei E-Mails.She is writing three e-mails.
Die Themen stehen im Programm.The topics are in the programme.
Er macht zwei Praktika.He is doing two internships.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
Es gibt zwei Restaurants im Ort.There are two restaurants in the village.
Die Visa sind fertig.The visas are ready.
Beide Zentren sind geschlossen.Both centres are closed.
Wir brauchen neue Laptops.We need new laptops.
Die Diskussionen dauerten lange.The discussions went on a long time.
Zwei Kilos? Nein: zwei Kilo.Two kilos? No: zwei Kilo.
Besonderheiten (2)
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The apostrophe question
The <z>-s</z> plural is written without an apostrophe: <z>die Autos</z>, <z>die CDs</z>, <z>die DVDs</z>. Signs get this wrong constantly, and German has a nickname for the mistake — <z>Deppenapostroph</z>. Correct German uses one only to mark a missing letter.
-
Measurements stay singular
Masculine and neuter units of measurement do not take a plural after a number: <z>zwei Kilo</z>, <z>drei Glas Wasser</z>, <z>fünf Euro</z>. Feminine ones do: <z>zwei Flaschen</z>, <z>drei Tassen</z>.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
The -s plural is not a general German plural and cannot be attached to anything that looks foreign. It belongs to words borrowed from English and French; words from Latin and Greek kept their own endings when German took them, and those are the ones that appear in academic and official texts most often. Learning the plural with the word is the only reliable route.
English and French take -s; Latin and Greek keep their own.
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