Dutch plurals with -s and -’s
English adds “-s” to almost every noun. Dutch uses -s far less often, but where it does, the patterns are clear. Here’s which words take -s, when you need an apostrophe, and a short quiz to check yourself.
Two endings, one you already know
Dutch has two main plural endings: -en and -s. Most nouns take -en, but the -s group is easy to recognise, and for English speakers it’s the one that feels familiar. This guide covers -s and its form with an apostrophe, -’s. Plurals with -en and the irregular ones get a guide of their own.
Two things hold for every plural. The article is always de, whatever it was in the singular (more in De or het?). And een has no plural, just as “a” doesn’t in English, so you simply leave it out.
- het meisje → de meisjes
- een meisje → meisjes
- de auto → de auto’s
- een auto → auto’s
The Dutch -s always sounds like the s in “bus”, never like the z sound at the end of English “tables”. So tafels ends in a sharp, hissing s.
Unstressed endings
Words of more than one syllable that end in an unstressed -el, -em, -en or -er take -s. With -en they would pile up weak syllables, tafelen, so Dutch picks the shorter ending. It’s the biggest group of -s plurals and includes many everyday words.
- de tafel → de tafels
- de bezem → de bezems
- de jongen → de jongens
- de keuken → de keukens
- de kamer → de kamers
- de vader → de vaders
Only an unstressed ending counts. In manier the stress falls on the last syllable (ma-nier), so it takes -en: de manieren. The same goes for de kapel → de kapellen.
Diminutives: always -s
Dutch adds -je, -tje, -pje, -etje or -kje to make things small or friendly, and it does so all the time. These diminutives are always het in the singular and always take -s in the plural, without exceptions.
- het kopje → de kopjes
- het broodje → de broodjes
- het biertje → de biertjes
- het huisje → de huisjes
The ending decides, not the base word. A house is het huis → de huizen, but a little house is het huisje → de huisjes.
Ending in a vowel: -’s or -s
Words that end in a vowel take -s too. Whether you write an apostrophe depends on the vowel.
After a, i, o, u, y -’s
In Dutch spelling, a single vowel followed by a consonant at the end of a syllable is short. Written as autos, the last syllable would be tos, with a short o as in “top”. The apostrophe keeps auto in one piece, so the o stays long.
de auto → de auto’s · de foto → de foto’s · de oma → de oma’s · de taxi → de taxi’s · het menu → de menu’s · de baby → de baby’s
After e and é -s
A word ending in an unstressed e or in é doesn’t need an apostrophe: tantes can only be read one way. The same goes for an unstressed -ie, as in familie (fa-mi-lie). A stressed -ee or -ie takes -ën instead, as in de ideeën.
de tante → de tantes · de garage → de garages · het café → de cafés · de familie → de families · de vakantie → de vakanties
Abbreviations -’s
Abbreviations you read letter by letter also take an apostrophe.
de cd → de cd’s · de tv → de tv’s · de wc → de wc’s
Loanwords keep their -s
Many words borrowed from English or French keep the -s they had in the original language. For English speakers this is the easy part: if a Dutch word looks English, try -s first.
- de computer → de computers
- de film → de films
- het team → de teams
- het hotel → de hotels
- het restaurant → de restaurants
- de chauffeur → de chauffeurs
When both endings are correct
Some words take either -s or -en, and neither is a mistake. Words that end in e add only -n for the second form.
- de appel → appels / appelen
- de groente → groentes / groenten
- de ziekte → ziektes / ziekten
- de gedachte → gedachtes / gedachten
In writing, the form with -n often sounds a little more formal. In conversation you’ll hear -s a lot.
Check yourself
What’s the plural? Make your guess first, then open the answer. One of them is a trap.
de tafelShow answer
de tafels — An unstressed -el at the end takes -s.
het broodjeShow answer
de broodjes — A diminutive, so always -s.
de fotoShow answer
de foto’s — It ends in o, so it needs an apostrophe to keep the o long.
de tanteShow answer
de tantes — After an unstressed e, no apostrophe is needed.
de jongenShow answer
de jongens — An unstressed -en at the end takes -s.
de babyShow answer
de baby’s — It ends in y, so it takes -’s.
het caféShow answer
de cafés — After é, no apostrophe.
de familieShow answer
de families — The -ie is unstressed (fa-mi-lie), so it takes -s.
de manierShow answer
de manieren — The trap: the -er here is stressed (ma-nier), so it takes -en.
How to remember
Look at the end of the word
An unstressed -el, -em, -en or -er, a -je, a vowel or an English look? Think -s. Otherwise, -en is the safer guess.
Try it without the apostrophe
Read the plural without it. If the last vowel would turn short, as in autos, you need the apostrophe: auto’s.
Save the plural with the word
Most dictionaries show the plural right after the word. Note it down together with the article, de tafel, de tafels, and you won’t have to guess next time.
Practise with Leesje
Leesje’s plurals trainer uses the words you save while reading, so you practise the forms you actually meet.