Malagasy Plural
Learning the Malagasy Plural is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you master it the more you get closer to mastering the Malagasy language. But first we need to know what the role of Plural is in the structure of the grammar in Malagasy.
Malagasy 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 Malagasy, there is no distinction between singular and
plural forms. The context will determine whether the word jux5 5refers to
singular or plural noun or adjective. Here are some examples:
Namana (a friend) remains: Namana (some friends)
Vehivavy (one woman) remains: vehivavy (some women)
Ity ny fiara menako (this is my red car) where fiara (car)
is singular, and Ireto ny fiara menako (these are my red cars) where fiara
(cars) marks the plural.
Here are some examples:
| English Plural | Malagasy Plural |
| Plural | |
| my book | ny bokiko |
| my books | ny bokiko |
| our daughter | ny zanantsika |
| our daughters | ny zanantsika |
| I'm cold | mangatsiaka aho |
| we're cold | mangatsiaka isika |
| his chickens | ny akohony |
| their chicken | ny akohony |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Plural in Malagasy has a logical pattern. Locate the Plural above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Malagasy.
List of Plurals in Malagasy
Below is a list of the Plurals and Singulars in Malagasy placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Malagasy vocabulary.
| English Plural | Malagasy Plural |
| alligator | voay |
| alligators | voay |
| bear | bear |
| bears | bear |
| bird | vorona |
| birds | vorona |
| bull | omby |
| bulls | omby |
| cat | saka |
| cats | saka |
| cow | omby |
| cows | omby |
| deer | deer |
| many deer | deer |
| dog | aliaka |
| dogs | aliaka |
| donkey | apondra |
| donkeys | apondra |
| eagle | voro-mahery |
| eagles | voro-mahery |
| elephant | elefanta |
| elephants | elefanta |
| giraffe | giraffe |
| giraffes | giraffe |
| goat | osy |
| goats | osy |
| horse | soavaly |
| horses | soavaly |
| lion | liona |
| lions | liona |
| monkey | rajako |
| monkeys | rajako |
| mouse | totozy |
| mice | totozy |
| rabbit | bitro |
| rabbits | bitro |
| snake | bibilava |
| snakes | bibilava |
| tiger | tigra |
| tigers | tigra |
| wolf | aliaka dia |
| wolves | aliaka dia |
Plural and Singular have a very important role in Malagasy, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Malagasy Plural, you might want to check the rest of our Malagasy lessons here: Learn Malagasy. Don't forget to bookmark this page.