Most Greek nouns keep the same number of syllables in the singular and the plural: ο δρόμος → οι δρόμοι (both two syllables). But a big, everyday group does something English speakers find genuinely strange — it grows an extra syllable when it goes plural: ο ψαράς → οι ψαράδες, ο καφές → οι καφέδες, ο παππούς → οι παππούδες. Grammar books call these ανισοσύλλαβα ("unequal-syllable") nouns, or in English imparisyllabic. This page teaches the four classes, how to build their forms, and how to tell them apart from the "normal" (parisyllabic) masculines.
The label is worth unpacking. Parisyllabic = equal syllable count across singular and plural (ο μαθητής → οι μαθητές). Imparisyllabic = unequal, because a whole syllable — built on an inserted -δ- — appears in the plural. English does this in only a couple of fossils (child → children, ox → oxen); Greek does it to a productive, high-frequency class you meet on day one.
Class 1: -ας → -άδες (ο ψαράς → οι ψαράδες)
End-stressed (oxytone) masculines in -ας take the plural -άδες. These are overwhelmingly people — occupations and family words: ο ψαράς (fisherman), ο ψωμάς (baker), ο γαλατάς (milkman), ο παπάς (priest), ο μπαμπάς (dad, informal), ο νερουλάς (water-seller).
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ο ψαράς | οι ψαράδες |
| Genitive | του ψαρά | των ψαράδων |
| Accusative | τον ψαρά | τους ψαράδες |
| Vocative | ψαρά | ψαράδες |
Notice the stress never moves — it stays on the same vowel (ψαράς → ψαράδες → ψαράδων). The word simply gets longer at the tail.
Ο ψαράς πουλάει φρέσκο ψάρι κάθε πρωί στο λιμάνι.
O psarás puláei frésko psári káthe proí sto limáni.
The fisherman sells fresh fish every morning at the harbour.
Οι ψαράδες γύρισαν αργά χθες το βράδυ.
I psarádhes yírisan arghá chthes to vrádhi.
The fishermen came back late last night.
Ο μπαμπάς γύρισε από τη δουλειά κουρασμένος.
O babás yírise apó ti dhuliá kurazménos.
Dad got home from work tired.
Class 2: -ές → -έδες (ο καφές → οι καφέδες)
End-stressed masculines in -ές take the plural -έδες. Many are food and drink borrowed from Turkish: ο καφές (coffee), ο κεφτές (meatball), ο μεζές (small dish / appetiser), ο τενεκές (tin can). This Turkish layer is exactly why the class exists — it never assimilated to the native -ος pattern.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ο καφές | οι καφέδες |
| Genitive | του καφέ | των καφέδων |
| Accusative | τον καφέ | τους καφέδες |
| Vocative | καφέ | καφέδες |
Παραγγείλαμε δύο καφέδες και μία τυρόπιτα.
Parangílame dhío kafédhes ke mía tirópita.
We ordered two coffees and a cheese pie.
Η γιαγιά έφτιαξε κεφτέδες με πατάτες στον φούρνο.
I yiayiá éftiakse keftédhes me patátes ston fúrno.
Grandma made meatballs with potatoes in the oven.
Παραγγείλαμε διάφορους μεζέδες για την παρέα.
Parangílame dhiáforus mezédhes yia tin paréa.
We ordered various small dishes for the group.
Class 3: -ούς → -ούδες (ο παππούς → οι παππούδες)
A small but essential class of masculines in -ούς takes the plural -ούδες. The word you cannot avoid is ο παππούς (grandfather). It is tiny — for practical purposes, learn παππούς and you have the class.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ο παππούς | οι παππούδες |
| Genitive | του παππού | των παππούδων |
| Accusative | τον παππού | τους παππούδες |
| Vocative | παππού | παππούδες |
Ο παππούς μου με έμαθε να ψαρεύω.
O papús mu me émathe na psarévo.
My grandfather taught me to fish.
Οι παππούδες κάθονται στην πλατεία και παίζουν τάβλι.
I papúdhes káthonde stin platía ke pézun távli.
The old men sit in the square and play backgammon.
Class 4: -ης → -ηδες (ο μπακάλης → οι μπακάληδες)
Many masculines in -ης — again mostly colloquial occupations and family words — take the plural -ηδες: ο μπακάλης (grocer), ο μανάβης (greengrocer), ο νοικοκύρης (householder), ο χασάπης (butcher), ο καφετζής (café owner), ο ταξιτζής (taxi driver).
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ο μπακάλης | οι μπακάληδες |
| Genitive | του μπακάλη | των μπακάληδων |
| Accusative | τον μπακάλη | τους μπακάληδες |
| Vocative | μπακάλη | μπακάληδες |
One subtlety about stress. Where the word falls in the plural depends on where it was stressed in the singular. A word stressed on the last syllable in the singular (ο καφετζής) keeps that stress on the ending: οι καφετζήδες. A word stressed earlier (ο μπακάλης) keeps its stress: οι μπακάληδες — the added -δ- syllable simply rides along at the end. So the written ending is -ηδες, but the accent lands on -ή- only when the singular was end-stressed.
Πήγα στον μπακάλη να πάρω γάλα και ψωμί.
Pígha ston bakáli na páro ghála ke psomí.
I went to the grocer to get milk and bread.
Οι μανάβηδες της γειτονιάς κλείνουν ένας ένας.
I manávidhes tis yitoniás klínun énas énas.
The neighbourhood greengrocers are closing one by one.
The genitive plural: always -ων on the long stem
Whichever class you are in, the genitive plural is built on the long (-δ-) stem and keeps the singular's stress: των ψαράδων, των καφέδων, των παππούδων, των μπακάληδων. There is no shift to the ending here — that shift belongs to the feminine and neuter classes, not these. Do not "correct" των καφέδων to a shorter ×των καφών.
Η ποιότητα των καφέδων εδώ είναι εξαιρετική.
I piótita ton kafédhon edhó íne ekseretikí.
The quality of the coffees here is excellent.
How to tell them apart from the "normal" masculines
This is the real skill: not every -ας or -ης noun is imparisyllabic. Plenty are parisyllabic — same syllable count, plain -ες plural, no -δ-:
| Parisyllabic (no extra syllable) | Imparisyllabic (extra -δ- syllable) |
|---|---|
| ο άντρας → οι άντρες (man) | ο ψαράς → οι ψαράδες (fisherman) |
| ο πατέρας → οι πατέρες (father) | ο μπαμπάς → οι μπαμπάδες (dad) |
| ο μαθητής → οι μαθητές (student) | ο καφετζής → οι καφετζήδες (café owner) |
| ο ναύτης → οι ναύτες (sailor) | ο μπακάλης → οι μπακάληδες (grocer) |
There is no single sound rule, but two strong tendencies help. First, end-stressed -άς and -ές and -ούς nouns are almost all imparisyllabic (ψαράς, καφές, παππούς), whereas the learned agent nouns in -της (μαθητής, ναύτης, πολίτης, εργάτης) are parisyllabic. Second, everyday, colloquial, or borrowed occupation words tend to be imparisyllabic (μπακάλης, μανάβης, καφετζής), while their more formal cousins in -της behave normally. When you meet a new one, listening for the plural a native uses is the safest guide — and it is worth learning the plural together with the singular, as one pair. These full masculine paradigms sit alongside the regular masculine nouns in -ας/-ης and the special end-stressed masculines.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating the plural as a simple ending swap. These nouns don't just change their last letters — they gain a syllable.
❌ Ήρθαν οι ψαρές.
—
Wrong — the plural of ο ψαράς gains a syllable: οι ψαράδες.
✅ Ήρθαν οι ψαράδες.
Írthan i psarádhes.
The fishermen came.
2. Leaving the noun in the singular because you can't find a plural. ο καφές has a full plural — οι καφέδες.
❌ Θέλουμε δύο καφέ, παρακαλώ.
—
Marginal — heard as elliptical, but the full plural is καφέδες.
✅ Θέλουμε δύο καφέδες, παρακαλώ.
Thélume dhío kafédhes, parakaló.
We'd like two coffees, please.
3. Making a parisyllabic -ης noun imparisyllabic. ο μαθητής is not in this class; its plural is οι μαθητές, never ×μαθητήδες.
❌ Οι μαθητήδες έγραψαν το τεστ.
—
Wrong — μαθητής is parisyllabic: οι μαθητές.
✅ Οι μαθητές έγραψαν το τεστ.
I mathités éghrapsan to test.
The students took the test.
4. Shortening the genitive plural. The genitive plural keeps the long -δ- stem: των παππούδων, not ×των παππών.
❌ το σπίτι των παππών
—
Wrong — the genitive plural keeps the -δ- stem: των παππούδων.
✅ το σπίτι των παππούδων
to spíti ton papúdhon
the grandparents' house
Key Takeaways
- Imparisyllabic (ανισοσύλλαβα) masculines grow an extra -δ- syllable in the plural — the plural is a longer word, not a different ending.
- Four classes by singular ending: -ας → -άδες (ψαράς → ψαράδες), -ές → -έδες (καφές → καφέδες), -ούς → -ούδες (παππούς → παππούδες), -ης → -ηδες (μπακάλης → μπακάληδες).
- The genitive plural is -ων on the long stem with no accent shift: των ψαράδων, των καφέδων, των μπακάληδων.
- Not every -ας/-ης noun does this: contrast parisyllabic ο μαθητής → οι μαθητές, ο άντρας → οι άντρες. Learn the plural together with the singular.
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Start learning Greek→Related Topics
- Masculine Nouns in -αςA2 — The two -ας masculine types: parisyllabic nouns like ο άντρας and ο πατέρας (plural -ες) versus imparisyllabic occupational nouns like ο ψαράς and ο παπάς (plural -άδες), with the genitive singular in bare -α that trips up learners.
- Masculine Nouns in -ές, -ούς, -άςB1 — A small but everyday set of oxytone masculines — ο καφές, ο παππούς, ο μπαμπάς — with imparisyllabic -δες plurals and a stripped-down contracted genitive, plus the contracted noun ο νους.