1

Is there a german word which has the exact same plural and singular form? With exact same I mean even the article is the same. So the article in the singular form as well in the plural form has to be "die".

The following examples are not the same because the article differs:

  • der Reifen, die Reifen
  • das Messer, die Messer
Improve this question
1
  • According to this there seems to be no such word but as I find this an interesting riddle for a sunday afternoon I'll further think about it.
    – PerlDuck
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 14:17

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

If you insist on having the same article, the genus must be feminine - That's the only case where the singular and plural article is the same: die.

If you insist on having the substantive in singular and plural the same, this calls for the so-called "Nullplural" (i.e. singular and plural word is the same, no changes to form the plural). This exists in German, but to my knowledge only for masculine and neutral gender substantives (Maybe for exactly the reason you're asking for).

There are some corner cases with female abbreviations that can carry an article - "die SMS" (German abbreviation for a text message) is an example. IMHO that doesn't pass the "word" criteria you set up, though.

So the general answer is: No (even if non-existance is hard/impossible to prove - But I don't know any)

Improve this answer
4
  • I totally agree and can only think of words that have no plural or are only used in plural form, like "Liebe" or "Eltern". However, your "Maybe for exactly the reason […]" made me smile because it implies that German language is built on scientific rules. That would be great. :-) To my experience there are more exceptions than rules. Never mind.
    – PerlDuck
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 14:27
  • 1
    One of the most fundamental "rule" German (like most languages) is based upon is "If it's too easy to misunderstand, too long-winded to use and too hard to learn, it's (in this order) not used". Evolution of a language is also "survival of the fittest" - And if a word or form is not fit for purpose, people will simply not use it anymore.
    – tofro
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 14:31
  • Good point. I'm a native German and as such familiar with all those exceptions. But from the bird's-eye view I wonder how people manage them. Admirable. Just think about the articles. They are of no use, follow no reasonable rules, other languages don't even know that concept, and yet they exist in German language.
    – PerlDuck
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 14:43
  • An article as a sort of redundancy in language comes in pretty handy if you need to shout your conversation from one alpine mountain to the other (or from one sailing boat in a Baltic Sea storm to the other, for that matter)
    – tofro
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 15:08

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.