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How to form the plural of Spanish nouns?

By: Natalia Molina Ceballos Wed Sep 17 2025

The plural for many Spanish is formed by adding -s or -es to the singular form, similar to English. Let’s take a look at the following examples:

  • casa(house) - casas(houses)

  • dolor(pain) - dolores(pains)

If you have some experience in language learning, though, you might know there are some exceptions, but don’t worry. We’ll also cover these in this post, like the case of nouns that have two plural forms or those that don’t change form. Keep reading, and you will become an expert in Spanish plural nouns!

Nouns that form their plural by adding ‘-s’

Some nouns form their plural simply by adding -s. Let’s start from the beginning and explore the various cases:

If a Spanish noun ends in a , form the plural by adding -s:

Endings
Singular
Plural
-a, -á

la casa

the house

las casas

the houses

la mamá

the mother

las mamás

the mothers

-e, -é

la calle

the street

las calles

the streets

el café

the café

los cafés

the cafés

-i

el taxi

the taxi

los taxis

the taxis

-o, -ó

el libro

the book

los libros

the books

el plató

the set

los platós

the sets

-u

el espíritu

the spirit

los espíritus

the spirits

Exception!

An exception to this rule is nouns ending in and , both with an accent mark. Make sure you continue reading to find out about these exceptional endings.

Nouns that form their plural by adding ‘-es’

Some nouns form their plural by adding -es. We’ve just seen the cases of the plural of nouns that end in a vowel, but what happens if a noun ends in a ? For most of these cases, the plural is formed by adding -es. Let’s take a look at some examples:

  • Nouns ending in -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d, or -y:

    Endings
    Singular
    Plural

    Ending in consonant -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d

    el corazón

    the heart

    los corazones

    the hearts

    el taller

    the workshop

    los talleres

    the workshops

    el bus

    the bus

    los buses

    the buses

    el árbol

    the tree

    los árboles

    the trees

    el reloj

    the watch

    los relojes

    the watches

    la pared

    the wall

    las paredes

    the walls

    Ending in consonant -y

    la ley

    the law

    las leyes

    the laws

    el buey

    the ox

    los bueyes

    the oxen

    Exception!

    Words borrowed from another language and ending in -y have a different way to form their plural. In these cases, drop the -y and add -is. Look:

    • el jerseylos jerséis

    • el penaltylos penaltis

  • Some singular nouns in Spanish end in an accented vowel plus -n or -s. To make the plural, add -es and lose the accent mark:

    Singular
    Plural

    el avión

    the plane

    los aviones

    the planes

    el autobús

    the bus

    los autobuses

    the buses

  • Some other singular nouns of two or more end in -es. For these, an accent mark needs to be added in the plural form:

    Singular
    Plural

    el examen

    the exam

    los exámenes

    the exams

    el joven

    the young person

    los jóvenes

    the youth

  • For Spanish nouns ending in consonants other than -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d, and -y, only add -s to make the plural. Look:

    Singular
    Plural

    el mamut

    the mammoth

    los mamuts

    the mammoths

    el tic

    the tic

    los tics

    the tics

  • There are a few nouns that end in -z. These require a small change in spelling to make the plural form: drop the -z, add -c and then -es:

    Singular
    Plural

    lápiz

    pencil

    lápices

    pencils

    actriz

    actress

    actrices

    actresses

So far we have learned the main rules to making plural nouns in Spanish. Let’s recap quickly:

  • add -s for:

    • singular nouns that end in a vowel (except and )

    • singular nouns that end in consonants other than -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d, and -y

  • add -es for:

    • singular nouns that end in consonants other than -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d, -y, accented vowel + -n or -s, and -en

    • singular nouns that end in -z

If you’ve read this far, and want to continue, prepare to learn all about special cases next!

What are the special cases of Spanish plural nouns?

There are special cases of Spanish plural nouns, such as nouns that have two plural forms, nouns that don’t change in the plural form, nouns that denote objects which have two symmetrical parts, compound nouns, and several additional cases. Let’s take a closer look.

1. Nouns that have two plural forms in Spanish

In some cases, nouns will have two plural forms. This first exception is easy. Do you remember the nouns ending in stressed or that we mentioned previously? Well, for these you can either add -s or -es:

Endings
Singular
Plural

el ají

the pepper

los ajís / los ajíes

los ajís / los ajíes

el bambú

the bamboo

los bambús / los bambúes

the bamboos

2. Nouns that don’t change in the plural form

There are also nouns that don’t change in the plural form. Singular Spanish nouns with two or more syllables ending in vowel + -s (no accent mark) will not change in the plural. In these cases, you only need to change the :

Singular
Plural

el paraguas

the umbrella

los paraguas

the umbrellas

el lunes

Monday

los lunes

Mondays

la crisis

the crisis

las crisis

the crises

el pasamanos

the handrail

los pasamanos

the handrails

el virus

the virus

los virus

the viruses

3. Nouns that denote objects which have two symmetrical parts

Some nouns in Spanish denote objects that are made out of two symmetrical parts. This type of noun can be used in either the singular or the plural form. Look at the following pictures and examples:

Singular
Plural
Image

tijera

scissors

tijeras

scissors

A pair of children's scissors

nariz

nose

narices

nose

Photo of a man's face in black-and-white with his nose at center

tenaza

tongs

tenazas

tongs

Salad tongues in a serving tray of lettuce

However, in other cases, only the plural form is used to denote an object that has two symmetrical parts:

Singular
Plural

gafa

gafas

glasses

prismático

prismáticos

binoculars

4. Compound nouns

In Spanish, can be written in one or two words. For those made of one word only, always make the second half of the word plural. Look at an example here:

Singular
Plural

el altoparlante

the loudspeaker

los altoparlantes

the loudspeakers

If you have a compound noun made out of two separate words, mark the plural only in the first word. Check out these examples:

Singular
Plural

año luz

light year

años luz

light years

niño prodigio

child prodigy

niños prodigio

child prodigies

Final notes about plural nouns in Spanish

Before you leave, let’s take a quick look at three extra cases with Spanish nouns and their plural forms.

Nouns starting with stressed ‘a-’ or ‘ha-’

There’s a group of nouns in Spanish starting with a stressed a- or ha-. These are feminine, but they take the masculine article in the singular form due to phonetic reasons (el agua(water), el hada(fairy)). In the plural form, these nouns take the feminine article.

Singular
Plural

el agua

the water

las aguas

the waters

el hada

the fairy

las hadas

the fairies

Do you want to learn more words that follow this pattern? Check out this list of Spanish feminine nouns starting with a stressed a- or ha-.

Need a refresher on how to tell the gender of Spanish nouns? Look no further, we have a post for that!

Uncountable nouns

in Spanish are typically used in singular when you refer to them in general or talk about an indeterminate quantity. When used in plural, they refer to different types or units of the same matter. Look at the following example:

Singular
Plural

¿Tú tomas leche con frecuencia?

Do you drink milk frequently?

Este supermercado vende leches vegetales.

This supermarket sells vegetable milk.

In the example on the left, the noun leche refers to milk in general. In the example on the right, the word leches refers to different types of vegetable milk (soy, almond, etc.).

Plural masculine as default

In some cases, the plural masculine will be used as default. When referring to a plural noun that includes masculine and feminine members (for the case of living beings), Spanish takes the masculine plural:

  • padre + madre = padres(parents)

  • hijos + hijas = hijos(children)

  • rey + reina = reyes(kings)

  • maestros + maestras = maestros(teachers)

Remember that when using a plural noun in Spanish it needs to agree with the other words that go with it. For instance, articles, adjectives, and nouns in Spanish have to agree in form. This will make your Spanish sound more natural. Happy learning!

Summary

To sum up, making plural nouns in Spanish is pretty straightforward. Based on the noun ending in its singular form, all you need to do is add the right ending. Let’s recap the main points:

  • If a noun ends in a vowel, simply add -s to form the plural.

  • If a noun ends in a consonant, add -es for most cases.

  • If a noun ends in -z, drop the -z and add -ces.

If you’re looking for an exercise to practice, we have created a simple activity where you can use what you’ve just learned. There is also a second exercise on singular and plural nouns in Spanish. Both exercises include an answer key for you to check your work.

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