In French nouns can be singular or plural (pluriel). The plural form of a noun is usually formed by changing the article to les/des and adding an -s to the end of the word, however there are many exceptions!

1. 1. General Rules

The plural of most nouns is formed by adding an -s to the end of the word. This -s is silent: it is almost never pronounced aloud.

• le billet – les billets

1. 2. Plurals ending in -x

Some nouns form their plural with an -x. This includes:

• nouns that end in eau or -au
• un château – des châteaux
• nouns that end in eu (except for pneu and bleu)
• un cheveu – des cheveux
• un pneu – des pneus
• nouns that end in ou, such as genou, caillou, hibou, bijou, pou, chou, joujou
• un genou – des genoux
• nouns that end in al. The ending -al becomes -aux in the plural. The exceptions to this are: le bal, le cal, le carnaval, le chacal, le festival, le régal, whose plurals are formed by adding an s.
• un journal – des journaux
• but: un festival – des festivals
• nouns that end in ail. The ending -ail becomes -aux in the plural. Examples include le bail, le corail, l’émail, le soupirail, le travail, le vitrail.
• un vitrail – des vitraux
• but: un rail – des rails

3. Exceptions

Nouns that end in -s, -x or -z in the singular do not change in the plural.

• un pays – des pays
• une noix – des noix
• un nez – des nez

Some plural forms are completely irregular.

• un oeil – des yeux