Greek Plural
Learning the Greek Plural is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Greek language. But first we need to know what the role of Plural is in the structure of the grammar in Greek.
Greek Plurals are grammatical numbers, typically referring to more than one of the referent in the real world. In the English language, singular and plural are the only grammatical numbers.
Grammar Tips:
While in English, the plural is formed by
adding (s) to the singular. In Greek, to form the plural of nouns we have to take into account the gender of the word and
change the singular suffix accordingly. Here are some examples for each gender:
Masculine:
-ος becomes –οι, for example: ένας φίλος (one friend) becomes δύο φίλοι (two friends)
-ής –ές, ένας μαθητής (one pupil) becomes δύο μαθητές
-ας –ες,
ένας αγώνας (one race) becomes δύο
αγώνες
-ούς
–ούδες, ένας
παππούς becomes (one grandfather)
δύο παππούδες
-ές
–έδες, ένας
καφές (one coffee) becomes δύο
καφέδες
Feminine:
-η –ες, for example: μία κόρη (one daughter) becomes δύο κόρες (two daughters)
-α –ες, μία
χώρα (one country) becomes δύο
χώρες
-ος –οι,
μία οδός (one street) becomes δύο οδοί
-ού,
-ούδες, μία
αλεπού (one fox) becomes δύο
αλεπούδες
Neuter:
-ο –α,
ένα δώρο (one gift) becomes δύο
δώρα
-ι –ια,
ένα παιδί (one child) becomes δύο παιδιά
-μα
–ματα, ένα σώμα (one body) becomes δύο
σώματα
-ος –η,
ένα δάσος (one forest) becomes δύο δάση
-ας
–ατα, ένα τέρας (one monster) becomes δύο τέρατα
Note that these rules only apply to the
Nominative case of nouns. The other three cases (Genitive, Accusative and
Vocative) have their own suffixes.
Here are some examples:
| English Plural | Greek Plural |
| Plural | Plhthyntikos - Πληθυντικός |
| my book | to vivlio mou - το βιβλίο μου |
| my books | ta vivlia mou - τα βιβλία μου |
| our daughter | H korh mas - Η κόρη μας |
| our daughters | oi kores mas - οι κόρες μας |
| I'm cold | Krywnw - Κρυώνω |
| we're cold | Krywnoume - Κρυώνουμε |
| his chickens | Oi kotes tou - Οι κότες του |
| their chicken | Ta kotopoula tous - Τα κοτόπουλά τους |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Plural in Greek has a logical pattern. Locate the Plural above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Greek.
List of Plurals in Greek
Below is a list of the Plurals and Singulars in Greek placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Greek vocabulary.
| English Plural | Greek Plural |
| alligator | alligatoras - αλλιγάτορας |
| alligators | alligatores - αλλιγάτορες |
| bear | arkoyda - αρκούδα |
| bears | arkoydes - αρκούδες |
| bird | pthno - pouli - πτηνο - πουλί |
| birds | pthna - poulia - πτηνά - πουλιά |
| bull | tayros - ταύρος |
| bulls | tayroi - ταύροι |
| cat | gata - γάτα |
| cats | gates - γάτες |
| cow | agelada - αγελάδα |
| cows | agelades - αγελάδες |
| deer | elafi - ελάφι |
| many deer | polla elafia - πολλά ελάφια |
| dog | skylos - σκύλος |
| dogs | skyloi - σκύλοι |
| donkey | gaidaros - γάιδαρος |
| donkeys | gaidoyria - γαϊδούρια |
| eagle | aetos - αετός |
| eagles | aetoi - αετοί |
| elephant | elefantas - ελέφαντας |
| elephants | elefantes - ελέφαντες |
| giraffe | kamhlopardalh - καμηλοπάρδαλη |
| giraffes | kamhlopardaleis - καμηλοπαρδάλεις |
| goat | katsika - aiga - κατσικα - αιγα |
| goats | katsikes - aiges - κατσικες - αιγες |
| horse | alogo - άλογο |
| horses | aloga - άλογα |
| lion | liontari - λιοντάρι |
| lions | liontaria - λιοντάρια |
| monkey | maimoy - μαϊμού |
| monkeys | maimoydes - μαιμούδες |
| mouse | pontiki - ποντίκι |
| mice | pontikia - ποντίκια |
| rabbit | kouneli - κουνέλι |
| rabbits | kounelia - κουνέλια |
| snake | fidi - φίδι |
| snakes | fidia - φίδια |
| tiger | tigrh - τίγρη |
| tigers | tigreis - τίγρεις |
| wolf | lykos - λύκος |
| wolves | lykoi - λύκοι |
Plural and Singular have a very important role in Greek, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Greek Plural, you might want to check the rest of our Greek lessons here: Learn Greek. Don't forget to bookmark this page.