French grammar · Beginner
French Plural Nouns: Every Ending, With Examples
Most French nouns form their plural by adding a silent -s. Nouns ending in -al become -aux, most in -eau and -eu add -x, and nouns already ending in -s, -x, or -z don't change at all. Because the ending is silent, the article is what tells a listener you meant more than one.
Les journaux sont sur les tables.
The newspapers are on the tables.
What it is
The default plural is -s, exactly as in English, but French adds a twist: you don't pronounce it. Un livre and des livres sound identical apart from the article, which is why French leans so heavily on le, la, les, un, une, and des.
un livre → des livres, une table → des tables. The written -s is there; the spoken difference is le versus les.
How to spot it
Check the singular ending first. Four groups behave differently from the plain -s default, and between them they cover nearly every irregular plural in the language.
- un ami → des amis — a friend → friends (regular -s)
- un journal → des journaux — a newspaper → newspapers (-al → -aux)
- un gâteau → des gâteaux — a cake → cakes (-eau → -eaux)
- un nez → des nez — a nose → noses (no change)
The plural -s and -x are both silent. The only time you hear them is in liaison: les amis is pronounced lay-zami.
Plural Nouns Quick Reference
Plural endings by singular ending
| Singular ends in | Plural | Example | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| most letters | add -s | un livre → des livres | — |
| -s, -x, -z | no change | un prix → des prix | — |
| -al | -aux | un cheval → des chevaux | bal, carnaval, festival, récital |
| -eau | add -x | un bateau → des bateaux | landau |
| -eu | add -x | un jeu → des jeux | pneu, bleu |
| -au | add -x | un tuyau → des tuyaux | landau, sarrau |
| -ou | add -s | un trou → des trous | bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou → -x |
| -ail | add -s | un détail → des détails | travail, vitrail, corail → -aux |
Common Plural Nouns Examples in French
Each pattern with real nouns:
The Regular -s Plural
- un chien → des chiens
- a dog → dogs
- une maison → des maisons
- a house → houses
- un ordinateur → des ordinateurs
- a computer → computers
- une fleur → des fleurs
- a flower → flowers
This covers the large majority of French nouns. If nothing about the ending stands out, add -s.
-al Becomes -aux
- un cheval → des chevaux
- a horse → horses
- un journal → des journaux
- a newspaper → newspapers
- un animal → des animaux
- an animal → animals
- un hôpital → des hôpitaux
- a hospital → hospitals
Unlike the -s plural, this one you can hear: cheval and chevaux sound clearly different.
-eau and -eu Take -x
- un bateau → des bateaux
- a boat → boats
- un oiseau → des oiseaux
- a bird → birds
- un cheveu → des cheveux
- a hair → hair
- un feu → des feux
- a fire → fires
Pneu and bleu are the exceptions: des pneus, des bleus.
The Seven -ou Nouns That Take -x
- un bijou → des bijoux
- a jewel → jewels
- un caillou → des cailloux
- a pebble → pebbles
- un chou → des choux
- a cabbage → cabbages
- un genou → des genoux
- a knee → knees
- un hibou → des hiboux
- an owl → owls
The full list is bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou. Every other -ou noun just adds -s.
How French Plurals Work
The written rules are short. The complication is that most of them make no difference to how the word sounds.
The Default Is a Silent -s
Add -s in writing and change nothing in speech. This is why French articles carry so much weight: without les or des, a listener has no way to tell singular from plural.
le livre / les livres
the book / the books
Written -s, silent -s.
Nouns Already Ending in a Sibilant Don't Change
If the singular already ends in -s, -x, or -z, adding another would be unpronounceable and unwritable, so the word stays as it is. Only the article marks the plural.
un prix, des prix ; une voix, des voix
a price, prices; a voice, voices
-s, -x, -z → no change.
-al Becomes -aux, and You Can Hear It
This is the one plural pattern that's audible. The -al ending shifts to -aux, changing the vowel sound entirely, which makes it the most useful plural to get right in speech.
Les hôpitaux sont pleins.
The hospitals are full.
cheval → chevaux.
-eau, -eu, and -au Take -x Instead of -s
These endings take a silent -x rather than a silent -s. The pronunciation doesn't change, so this is purely a spelling rule, but it's one that shows up in every piece of French writing.
des châteaux, des jeux, des tuyaux
castles, games, pipes
-eau/-eu/-au → -x.
Everything Around the Noun Agrees Too
A plural noun pulls its article and any adjectives into the plural with it. That agreement chain is often the only visible or audible signal that the noun was plural in the first place.
les grandes maisons blanches
the big white houses
Plural spreads outwards.
Common Mistakes with Plural Nouns
Incorrect: des chevals — horses
Correct: des chevaux — horses
Nouns ending in -al form their plural in -aux. This is the audible plural pattern, so getting it wrong is noticeable in speech as well as writing.
Incorrect: des gâteaus — cakes
Correct: des gâteaux — cakes
Endings in -eau, -eu, and -au take -x rather than -s. It makes no difference to the pronunciation, but -s here is a spelling error.
Incorrect: des prixs — prices
Correct: des prix — prices
A noun already ending in -s, -x, or -z takes no plural marking at all. The article des is doing the whole job.
Incorrect: Les Duponts arrivent. — The Duponts are arriving.
Correct: Les Dupont arrivent. — The Duponts are arriving.
French family names are invariable. English adds -s to a surname to mean the family; French changes only the article.
Plurals That Behave Unusually
A few groups don't follow the endings at all, and they come up often enough to be worth knowing individually.
Genuinely irregular plurals
A short list of nouns changes shape rather than just its ending. These have to be memorized.
- un œil → des yeux
- an eye → eyes
- monsieur → messieurs
- sir → gentlemen
- madame → mesdames
- madam → ladies
- un ciel → des cieux
- a sky → skies (poetic)
Œil and yeux is the most extreme case in the language: the plural shares no letters with the singular.
Nouns that are plural in only one language
French and English disagree about the number of several everyday nouns, in both directions.
- des vacances
- a holiday (always plural in French)
- les mathématiques
- maths
- un pantalon
- trousers (singular in French)
- des toilettes
- a toilet (plural in French)
Un pantalon and des vacances catch out English speakers in opposite directions.
Family names don't take -s
Unlike English, French surnames stay singular in the plural. Only the article changes.
- les Dupont
- the Duponts
- Les Martin arrivent demain.
- The Martins arrive tomorrow.
The exception is a handful of famous dynasties: les Bourbons, les Capets.
Plural Nouns FAQs
- How do you make nouns plural in French?
- Add -s to most nouns. Nouns ending in -al become -aux, most ending in -eau, -eu, and -au add -x, and nouns already ending in -s, -x, or -z stay unchanged. The article changes in every case: le becomes les, un becomes des.
- Is the French plural -s pronounced?
- No, it's silent, which means livre and livres sound the same in isolation. The article carries the difference in speech: le livre versus les livres. The -s only becomes audible in liaison before a vowel, as in les amis.
- Which French plurals can you actually hear?
- Mainly the -al to -aux group, where the vowel changes completely: cheval becomes chevaux. Beyond that, irregulars like œil becoming yeux, and any liaison before a vowel.
- Which -ou nouns take -x in the plural?
- Seven: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, and pou. Every other noun ending in -ou takes a regular -s, so des trous and des clous are correct.
- Do French surnames take an -s in the plural?
- No. Les Dupont means the Duponts, with no -s on the name itself. A few historic dynasties are exceptions and do take one, such as les Bourbons.