Forming the plural of French nouns ending in -au or -eau

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard , HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2022-11-01

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In French, nouns ending in -au and -eau don't take an -s in the plural.

Learn to form the plural of French nouns ending in -au and -eau

Look at these examples:

Je préfère ce château aux autres châteaux.I prefer this castle to the other castles.

Le bateau rouge rejoint les autres bateaux.The red boat is catching up with the other boats.

Andréa mange un gâteau, et je mange trois gâteaux !Andrea eats one cake, and I eat three cakes !

Cette couronne a un joyau bleu et deux joyaux rouges.This crown has one blue gem and two red gems.

Note that nouns ending in -au, -eau take an -x in the plural form, and not an -s.

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