Irregular Plurals

Level 2

While most Danish nouns add -er or -e to become plural, a small group of very common words (like 'man', 'child', and 'book') change their main vowel instead. This is called an umlaut.

How It Works

In Danish, irregular plurals are essential because they include the most basic words for family, body parts, and everyday objects. Unlike regular nouns, these words undergo a vowel mutation.

Common Vowel Shifts:

  • a → æ: mand (man) becomes mænd; tand (tooth) becomes tænder.
  • o → ø: bog (book) becomes bøger; fod (foot) becomes fødder.
  • å → æ: hånd (hand) becomes hænder; tå (toe) becomes tæer.
  • Special Case: barn (child) becomes børn (a → ø).

Important Rules:
1. Definiteness: The vowel change stays when you add the definite plural suffix. For example: mænd (men) → mændene (the men).
2. Consonant Doubling: If the vowel is short, the consonant is often doubled in the plural to preserve that sound (e.g., nat → nætter).
3. Family Terms: Words like datter (daughter) or bror (brother) often drop an 'e' and change the vowel: døtre, brødre.
4. Compounds: If a word is part of a compound noun, it keeps its irregular plural form (e.g., formand → formænd).

Examples (5)

  1. Vi har tre børn, to drenge og en pige.

    We have three children, two boys and a girl.

    Word by Word: We have three children, two boys and a girl.

    'Børn' is the irregular plural of 'barn'. Note the vowel shift from 'a' to 'ø'.

  2. Husk at børste dine tænder.

    Remember to brush your teeth.

    Word by Word: Remember to brush your teeth.

    'Tænder' is the plural of 'tand'. It follows the a → æ shift and adds -er.

  3. Der stod to mænd udenfor.

    Two men were standing outside.

    Word by Word: There stood two men outside.

    'Mænd' is the plural of 'mand'. It changes the vowel but does not add an ending in the indefinite form.

  4. Jeg læser mange bøger.

    I read many books.

    Word by Word: I read many books.

    'Bøger' is the plural of 'bog', showing the o → ø shift.

  5. Mine fødder er kolde.

    My feet are cold.

    Word by Word: My feet are cold.

    'Fødder' (plural of 'fod') doubles the 'd' to keep the 'ø' sound short.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the regular plural ending -er without changing the vowel.

    Jeg har to hånder.
    Jeg har to hænder.

    Learners often try to apply regular rules to irregular words. 'Hånd' must change its vowel to 'æ' in the plural.

  • Forgetting the vowel change in the definite plural form.

    Mandene arbejder her.
    Mændene arbejder her.

    The vowel shift is not just for the indefinite plural; it must be maintained when adding the definite suffix -ene.

How It Connects

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

Irregular PluralsLevel 2

Learn This First

To understand irregular plurals, you first need to be familiar with the regular ways Danish nouns form plurals using endings like -er, -e, or no ending at all. This allows you to identify nouns that follow unique rules, such as changing their internal vowel or using a completely different form.