Nouns - Plural Nouns

GERMAN
Unlike the other languages covered in Four, German does not have simple rules for constructing plurals. Some plurals add a letter or two to the singular; Some don't change and can be identified only by the change of the definite article. As you learn new nouns, you need to learn the plurals too.

For examples, we will look at parts of the body.

add -er
das Gesicht the face
die Gesichter the faces


add -n to a noun ending with e
die Lippe the lip
die Lippen the lips


add -e and an umlaut over the vowel
die Hand the hand
die Hände the hands


add -e
der Arm the arm
die Arme the arms


add -e and an umlaut
die Brust the chest
die Brüste the chests


no detectable change
die Haare the hair
die Haare the hairs


only the gender changes
der Schenkel the thigh
die Schenkel the thighs


add -er
der Leib the body
die Leiber the bodies


add -er and an umlaut
der Mann the man
die Männer the men