Irregular Plurals

Level 3

A short list of very common nouns has its own plural.

How It Works

A handful of the most common nouns break the plural rules. They are worth learning as pairs.

SingularPluralMeaning
čovjekljudiperson, people
dijetedjecachild, children
bratbraćabrother, brothers
okoočieye, eyes
uhoušiear, ears

Djeca and braća look like feminine singulars, but they mean a group of people. With djeca, adjectives and past verbs use the neuter plural: Djeca su došla.

Braća takes a plural verb: Braća su kod kuće.

Oči and uši behave like feminine plural nouns: smeđe oči.

After the numbers 2 to 4, the form changes again: dva čovjeka, dva brata. For five and more, pet ljudi. Level 2 covers these number patterns. For now, learn the pairs.

Examples (5)

  1. Ljudi u Mostaru su ljubazni.

    People in Mostar are kind.

    Ljudi is the plural of čovjek.

  2. Djeca igraju fudbal u parku.

    The children are playing football in the park.

    Djeca is the plural of dijete.

  3. Moja braća žive u Tuzli.

    My brothers live in Tuzla.

    Braća is the plural of brat.

  4. Ajla ima plave oči.

    Ajla has blue eyes.

    Oči is the plural of oko.

  5. Uši su mi hladne.

    My ears are cold.

    Uši is the plural of uho.

Common Mistakes

  • Making a regular plural.

    Čovjeci su stigli.
    Ljudi su stigli.

    Čovjek has the irregular plural ljudi.

  • Using dijeti for children.

    Imam dvoje djeca.
    Imam dvoje djece.

    After dvoje the genitive plural is used: djece.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Irregular PluralsLevel 3

Learn This First

Some plurals are irregular.

Words in This Pattern

čovjekljudidijetedjecabratbraćaokouhomnožina