The -e plural is the most common pattern for masculine nouns and a large share of neuter ones. You add -e to the singular, and depending on the noun, you may also add an umlaut (a → ä, o → ö, u → ü, au → äu). This page sorts out which nouns umlaut and which don't, and gives you a reliable filter so the choice stops feeling arbitrary.
The basic pattern: add -e
For a great many masculine and neuter nouns, the plural is simply the singular + -e, with no change to the stem vowel.
| Singular | Plural | Gender | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Tag | die Tage | m. | day |
| der Arm | die Arme | m. | arm |
| der Hund | die Hunde | m. | dog |
| der Schuh | die Schuhe | m. | shoe |
| das Jahr | die Jahre | n. | year |
| das Bein | die Beine | n. | leg |
| das Tier | die Tiere | n. | animal |
| das Spiel | die Spiele | n. | game |
Wir bleiben drei Tage in Berlin.
We're staying three days in Berlin.
Die Hunde der Nachbarin bellen die ganze Nacht.
The neighbour's dogs bark all night long.
In den letzten Jahren ist die Stadt stark gewachsen.
The city has grown a lot in recent years.
When the stem vowel umlauts
Many nouns in this group don't just add -e; they also shift the stem vowel. The pattern splits along gender lines:
- Masculine nouns umlaut very often (der Stuhl → die Stühle, der Sohn → die Söhne, der Baum → die Bäume).
- Neuter nouns almost never umlaut in the -e plural (das Jahr → die Jahre, not *die Jähre).
- Feminine nouns in this group nearly always umlaut (die Hand → die Hände, die Wand → die Wände).
| Singular | Plural | Gender | Vowel shift |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Stuhl | die Stühle | m. | u → ü |
| der Sohn | die Söhne | m. | o → ö |
| der Baum | die Bäume | m. | au → äu |
| der Gast | die Gäste | m. | a → ä |
| die Hand | die Hände | f. | a → ä |
| die Wand | die Wände | f. | a → ä |
| die Maus | die Mäuse | f. | au → äu |
| die Stadt | die Städte | f. | a → ä |
Im Wohnzimmer fehlen noch zwei Stühle.
We're still missing two chairs in the living room.
Sie hat ihren Söhnen das Kochen beigebracht.
She taught her sons to cook.
Wasch dir bitte die Hände vor dem Essen.
Please wash your hands before eating.
Wir haben heute Abend Gäste.
We have guests over tonight.
The vowel filter: only a, o, u, au can umlaut
Here is the shortcut that makes the umlaut far less mysterious. The umlaut only ever affects the back vowels a, o, u and the diphthong au. A noun whose stem vowel is e or i simply has nothing to shift, so it can never take an umlaut, no matter how masculine or feminine it is.
That means you can immediately rule out the umlaut for any -e plural with e or i in the stem:
der Tisch → die Tische
the table → the tables (stem vowel i — no umlaut possible)
das Bein → die Beine
the leg → the legs (stem vowel ei — no umlaut)
der Weg → die Wege
the path → the paths (stem vowel e — no umlaut)
Beyond the filter, there is no fully predictive rule for the a/o/u nouns — you do have to learn which ones umlaut. But the gender tendencies above (masculine and feminine: usually yes; neuter: usually no) get you most of the way there.
The dative plural adds -n
There is one extra wrinkle that catches learners off guard. In the dative case, the plural of almost every German noun adds an -n — including -e plurals. So die Tage (nominative/accusative) becomes den Tagen in the dative.
Nach drei Tagen kam endlich die Antwort.
After three days the answer finally came. (dative: Tage → Tagen)
Mit ihren Söhnen versteht sie sich gut.
She gets along well with her sons. (dative: Söhne → Söhnen)
Mit unseren Gästen waren wir im Restaurant.
We took our guests out to a restaurant. (dative: Gäste → Gästen)
Common Mistakes
❌ Wir haben zwei Stuhle gekauft.
Incorrect — the mandatory umlaut on a masculine -e plural is missing.
✅ Wir haben zwei Stühle gekauft.
We bought two chairs. (der Stuhl → die Stühle)
❌ Die letzten Jähre waren schwierig.
Incorrect — neuter -e plurals do not umlaut; das Jahr stays Jahre.
✅ Die letzten Jahre waren schwierig.
The last few years were difficult.
❌ Beide Händen taten ihr weh.
Incorrect — the nominative/accusative plural of Hand is Hände, not Händen; -n is only for the dative.
✅ Beide Hände taten ihr weh.
Both her hands hurt.
❌ Nach drei Tage rief er zurück.
Incorrect — nach takes the dative, so the plural needs the dative -n.
✅ Nach drei Tagen rief er zurück.
After three days he called back. (dative: Tagen)
❌ Im Park stehen viele Bäums.
Incorrect — English-style -s instead of the -e plural with umlaut.
✅ Im Park stehen viele Bäume.
There are many trees in the park. (der Baum → die Bäume)
Key Takeaways
- The -e plural adds -e; it is the dominant pattern for masculine and many neuter nouns.
- Masculine and feminine nouns in this group usually umlaut; neuter nouns almost never do.
- Only a, o, u, au can take an umlaut — nouns with e or i in the stem never umlaut.
- The dative plural adds -n, so an -e plural becomes -en in the dative (Tage → den Tagen).
Next, look at the -er plural, where — unlike here — the umlaut is essentially automatic whenever the vowel allows it.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- Noun Plurals: The Five PatternsA1 — German has no single plural rule — instead, five patterns (-e, -er, -(e)n, -s, and zero), often with an umlaut, and the article is always die.
- The -er Plural (Always with Umlaut where Possible)A2 — The -er plural belongs to many neuter and a few masculine nouns, and it takes an obligatory umlaut whenever the stem vowel is a, o, u, or au — it never applies to feminine nouns.
- The -(e)n PluralA2 — The -(e)n plural dominates feminine nouns (about 90% take it) and the weak masculine n-nouns — it never takes an umlaut, and gender prediction by ending tells you in advance when it applies.
- Zero-Ending and Umlaut-Only PluralsA2 — Why many German nouns look identical in the singular and plural — and how a sneaky umlaut on the vowel is sometimes the only clue that you mean more than one.
- The Dative Plural -n RuleB1 — Why every dative plural noun adds an -n, when it doesn't, and how to derive the form from each plural pattern.
- Predicting Gender from Word EndingsA2 — The high-reliability suffix rules that let you predict whether a German noun is der, die, or das from how it ends.