Meervoude(Plurals) in Afrikaans: Spelling Rules, Examples and Exercises

Most one-syllable words add -e

The basic plural ending is -e. Most short, one-syllable words take it.

Short vowel? Double the consonant

If the word has a short vowel followed by one consonant, double that consonant before you add -e. This keeps the vowel short, just like English hop → hopping.

Long double vowel? Drop one vowel

If the word has a double vowel (aa, ee, oo, uu) followed by one consonant, write only one vowel in the plural. The sound stays long, because the vowel now ends a syllable: bo-me, ma-ne.

Vowel combinations like ei, eu, oe, ou, ui never change: deur → deure, stoel → stoele.

Longer words and -el, -er, -em, -en, -ie take -s

Many words of more than one syllable take -s, especially words ending in -el, -er, -em, -en and -ie (including all verkleinwoorde (diminutives)).

Notice kombers → komberse: not every long word takes -s, so learn the ones you meet.

Some one-syllable family words also take -s: broer → broers, seun → seuns, oom → ooms.

Single long vowel at the end: add -’s

The AWS rule is simple: if a word ends in one vowel letter that sounds long (like a, i, o, u), add an apostrophe + s. Without the apostrophe, fotos would look like it should be said “fo-tos” with a short o.

But if the final -a is short and unstressed, just add -s: kamera → kameras, gogga → goggas. Say the word out loud: in ma the a is long; at the end of kamera it’s quick and light.

f changes to w

Many words that end in -f after a long vowel, diphthong or l change the f to w before -e.

The g falls away

In many words ending in -g, the g disappears in the plural. If two vowels then clash and could be misread, the e gets a deelteken (diaeresis): ë.

Not all -g words do this: berg → berge, brug → brûe. Check a dictionary when you’re unsure.

-heid becomes -hede

Words ending in -heid change to -hede.

A few words take -ers or -ere

A small group takes -ers or -ere. Just learn these.

Irregular plurals: learn them by heart

Some short words change their vowel, or don’t double the consonant when you’d expect them to.

Compare gat → gate (one t) with kat → katte (two). That’s why these are worth memorising.

Man has two plurals. Mans is the everyday one: Die mans speel sokker. Manne is used for brave, tough men or in a team-spirit sense: Hulle het soos manne geveg.