človek / ljudje

A Suppletive Plural

Level 5

Človek has ordinary singular forms but uses ljudje as its common plural.

How It Works

Človek has ordinary singular forms but uses ljudje as its common plural. The dual is človeka; case and number still control agreement.

Človek and ljudje belong to one everyday number paradigm despite their different stems. Dva človeka keeps the singular stem in the dual. A learner should not search for an invented regular plural such as človeki to express ordinary people.

Examples (3)

  1. Ta človek čaka.

    This person is waiting.

  2. Dva človeka čakata.

    Two people are waiting.

  3. Ljudje čakajo.

    People are waiting.

How It Connects

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

človek / ljudjeLevel 5A Suppletive Plural

Learn This First

Understand the three-number system before linking different singular and plural stems.

Words in This Pattern

človek