The Dutch plural -s and -'s

Alongside the main -en plural, a large group of Dutch nouns forms its plural with -s, exactly like English: de tafel → de tafels (the table → the tables). Sometimes that -s carries an apostrophe — de auto → de auto's (the car → the cars). This page covers both spellings. Every plural still takes de.

Which of the two spellings you use depends on the last sound of the singular word. After a single spoken vowel — a, o, u, i, or y — write -'s with an apostrophe. After anything else that takes an -s plural — the unstressed endings -el, -em, -en, -er, the diminutive -je, most loanwords, and a silent final -e — write a plain -s. The apostrophe is a spelling device, not a possessive.

Dutch writes a long vowel at the end of a word with a single letter: taxi, sofa, auto. Glue a bare -s straight onto that letter and a Dutch reader treats the vowel as closed and short — taxis would be read with a clipped i, not the long ie sound you actually say. The apostrophe leaves a small gap after the vowel so it keeps its full, long sound: taxi → taxi's, sofa → sofa's. It applies after the single vowels a, o, u, i, and y. You meet the same apostrophe with names that end in one vowel, such as Anna → Anna's.

A final -e is the exception. It is a mute e (a soft 'uh' sound), not a long vowel, so nothing needs protecting and the word takes a plain -s: de tante → de tantes (aunt), de douche → de douches (shower). A word ending in double -ee also skips the apostrophe — instead it takes -en with a trema: de zee → de zeeën (sea), het idee → de ideeën (idea).

Use -s with no apostrophe after these endings:

• Unstressed -el, -em, -en, -er: de winkel → de winkels (shop), de sleutel → de sleutels (key), de deken → de dekens (blanket), de bakker → de bakkers (baker).
• Diminutives in -je — these always take -s: het meisje → de meisjes (girl), het kopje → de kopjes (little cup).
• Many loanwords from English and French: de film → de films (film), de app → de apps (app).

The apostrophe belongs only after a single a, o, u, i, y. Do not add it to consonant endings: the plural of tafel is tafels, never tafel's. And do not drop it after a single vowel: autos and fotos are wrong, because without the apostrophe the a and o would read as short vowels. English speakers also reach for -s on nouns that actually take -en (boeks instead of boeken) — see choosing between -s and -en for which is which.