Spanish Plural Noun Forms

Quick Answer

Spanish nouns can be singular or plural, and Spanish plural nouns will almost always end in -s or -es.

Here are the rules (and, of course, exceptions) you need to know to pluralize Spanish nouns.

Nouns that End in a Vowel

Let's first take a look at the rules for words that end in a vowel.

1. Just Add -s

Rule: If a singular noun ends in an unstressed vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or the stressed vowels á, é or ó, add -s to the end of a singular noun to make it plural.

Here are some examples.

Singular	Plural
la pera	las peras
la bota	las botas
el sonido	los sonidos
el panti	los pantis
el café	los cafés
el papá	los papás
el buró	los burós

There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here are some you're likely to come across:

The plural of no(no) is noes.

The plural of yo(I) can be yoesor yos.

2. Add -s or -es

Rule: If a singular noun ends in í or ú, you can add -s or -es to pluralize the word. The -es plural form is considered to be a bit fancier.

Here are some examples.

Singular	-s Plural	-es Plural
tisú	tisús	tisúes
tabú	tabús	tabúes
israelí	israelís	israelíes
marroquí	marroquís	marroquíes

There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here are some you're likely to come across:

The plural of sí(yes) is always síes.

The plurals of loanwords (words that have come into Spanish from other languages) that end in í or ú are formed by simply adding an -s to the end of the word. For example: popurrís(potpourris), menús(menus)

Nouns that End in a Consonant

Now that you've got the rules for words ending in a vowel down, let's learn about words that end in a consonant.

1. Add -es

Rule: If a singular noun ends in a vowel plus y or the consonants l, r, n, d, z, j, s, x, or ch, add -es.

Here are some examples.

Singular	Plural
el rey	los reyes
el panel	los paneles
el color	los colores
el botón	los botones
el césped	los céspedes
la luz	las luces
el reloj	los relojes
el mes	los meses
el reloj	los relojes
el fax	los faxes
el sándwich	los sándwiches

If a singular noun ends in z, you must change the z to a c before adding -es.

2. Add -s

Rule: If a singular noun ends in a consonant cluster (more than one consonant together) or a vowel plus a consonant other than l, r, n, d, z, j, s, x, or ch, add -s.

Here are some examples.

Singular	Plural
el iceberg	los icebergs
el esnob	los esnobs
el zigzag	los zigzags
el crac	los cracs
el mamut	los mamuts

There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here are some you're likely to come across:

The plural of club(club) is clubes.

The plural of álbum(album) is álbumes.

The singular and plural forms of words ending in -st or -zt are the same. Examples: el test, los test

Exceptional Exceptions

Ready for more exceptions? Here they come! Keep in mind that many of the words below are specialized or technical words, so you won't come across them too often!

Rule: If a singular noun ends in s or x, has more than one syllable, and the last syllable is unstressed, the singular and plural forms are the same.

Here are some examples.

Singular	Plural
el análisis	los análisis
el jueves	los jueves
el tórax	los tórax

Rule: If the second word in a singular compound noun is a plural noun, the singular and plural forms are the same.

Here are some examples.

Singular	Plural
el ciempiés	los ciempiés
el pasapuré	los pasapuré

If a singular noun ends in l, r, n, d, z or j and is a palabra esdrújula(a word with three more syllables that is accented on the third-to-last syllable), the singular and plural forms are the same.