Plurals With -en

Level 1

d'Fra → d'Fraen, d'Schoul → d'Schoulen, de Jong → d'Jongen. Before most consonants the ending loses its n: D'Schoule sinn zou.

How It Works

1. Nouns that add -en

  • Most feminine nouns: Fra → Fraen, Schoul → Schoulen, Zäit → Zäiten, Stonn → Stonnen, Woch → Wochen, Dier → Dieren
  • Feminine nouns in -in double the n: Frëndin → Frëndinnen, Léierin → Léierinnen
  • Many masculine nouns: Jong → Jongen, Papp → Pappen, Park → Parken, Noper → Noperen, Computer → Computeren
  • Many nouns ending in a vowel: Auto → Autoen, Vëlo → Vëloen, Kino → Kinoen, Handy → Handyen

A few common feminine nouns are exceptions and change their vowel instead: d'Stad → d'Stied, d'Hand → d'Hänn (see plural by vowel change).

2. -en or -e?
The plural ending behaves like any other word ending in -en:

  • It stays -en before a vowel, before d, h, n, t and z, and before a punctuation mark: Ech hunn zwou Schwësteren.
  • It becomes -e before other consonants: D'Schoule sinn zou. D'Jonge spille Fussball.

3. The article
Every plural takes d' in the nominative and accusative, even when the singular takes den: de Jong → d'Jongen. A masculine or neuter noun counts with zwee and a feminine noun with zwou: zwee Jongen, zwou Fraen.

Examples (6)

  1. D'Schoule sinn zou.

    The schools are closed.

    Schoulen loses its n before s.

  2. Ech hunn zwou Schwësteren.

    I have two sisters.

    At the end of a sentence the n stays.

  3. D'Jonge spille Fussball.

    The boys are playing football.

    Both Jongen and spillen drop their n before a consonant.

  4. D'Frae kommen haut.

    The women are coming today.

    Fraen becomes Frae before k.

  5. Meng Frëndinne wunnen zu Esch.

    My (female) friends live in Esch.

    Frëndin adds -nen, and the n drops before w.

  6. D'Stroossen hei si propper.

    The streets here are clean.

    Stroossen keeps its n before h, while sinn becomes si before p.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the n of -en before a consonant.

    D'Schoulen sinn zou.
    D'Schoule sinn zou.

    The official spelling writes the n-rule. Before s the n of the ending drops.

  • Dropping the n at the end of a sentence.

    Ech hunn zwou Schwëstere.
    Ech hunn zwou Schwësteren.

    Before a punctuation mark the n stays.

  • Using an English or French -s plural.

    Mir hunn zwee Autos.
    Mir hunn zwee Autoen.

    Auto forms its plural with -en in Luxembourgish.

How It Connects

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

Plurals With -enLevel 1

Learn This First

Before Plurals With -en, learn The Short Article D' and The N-Rule (Eifeler Regel).

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.