Animal parts in German are mostly neuter nouns (das) and use regular plural forms (adding -e or -er; sometimes with an umlaut). Genitive singular adds -s or -es. Most follow standard rules (e.g., der Schwanz → die Schwänze).

Animal Body Parts

Most general animal body parts are neuter in German. This section covers the basic parts you’ll find on many animals.

German Singular	German Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example Sentence (German)	Example Sentence (English)
das Bein	die Beine	leg	legs	Das Pferd hat vier Beine.	The horse has four legs.
der Schwanz	die Schwänze	tail	tails	Der Hund wedelt mit dem Schwanz.	The dog wags its tail.
der Kopf	die Köpfe	head	heads	Der Löwe hat einen großen Kopf.	The lion has a big head.
das Ohr	die Ohren	ear	ears	Die Katze hat spitze Ohren.	The cat has pointed ears.
das Auge	die Augen	eye	eyes	Der Adler hat scharfe Augen.	The eagle has sharp eyes.
die Pfote	die Pfoten	paw	paws	Der Bär benutzt seine Pfoten.	The bear uses its paws.
das Maul	die Mäuler	mouth	mouths	Das Krokodil hat ein großes Maul.	The crocodile has a big mouth.
die Schnauze	die Schnauzen	snout	snouts	Der Hund hat eine feuchte Schnauze.	The dog has a wet snout.
das Fell	—	fur	(no plural)	Der Fuchs hat rotes Fell.	The fox has red fur.
das Horn	die Hörner	horn	horns	Der Stier hat große Hörner.	The bull has big horns.

Insect Parts

Insects have specialized body parts, often used in more scientific or detailed descriptions.

German Singular	German Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example Sentence (German)	Example Sentence (English)
der Fühler	die Fühler	antenna	antennae	Die Ameise bewegt ihre Fühler.	The ant moves its antennae.
der Flügel	die Flügel	wing	wings	Der Schmetterling hat bunte Flügel.	The butterfly has colorful wings.
das Bein	die Beine	leg	legs	Die Spinne hat acht Beine.	The spider has eight legs.
der Kopf	die Köpfe	head	heads	Die Biene hat einen kleinen Kopf.	The bee has a small head.
der Hinterleib	die Hinterleiber	abdomen	abdomens	Der Käfer hat einen glänzenden Hinterleib.	The beetle has a shiny abdomen.

Fill in the blank with the correct German plural noun for 'wing' in: Der Schmetterling hat bunte ___. (The butterfly has colorful wings.)

bunte Köpfe

bunte Flügel

bunte Beine

bunte Fühler

bunte Flügel

'Flügel' means wing. 'Beine' means legs, 'Fühler' means antennae, and 'Köpfe' means heads, none of which fit the sentence.

Marine Animal Parts

Marine animals have some unique parts, especially related to fins and shells.

German Singular	German Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example Sentence (German)	Example Sentence (English)
die Flosse	die Flossen	fin	fins	Der Fisch hat kleine Flossen.	The fish has small fins.
der Kiel	die Kiele	keel	keels	Der Wal hat einen großen Kiel.	The whale has a large keel.
die Schale	die Schalen	shell	shells	Die Krabbe lebt in einer harten Schale.	The crab lives in a hard shell.
der Tentakel	die Tentakel	tentacle	tentacles	Der Oktopus hat acht Tentakel.	The octopus has eight tentacles.
der Schnabel	die Schnäbel	beak	beaks	Der Pinguin hat einen kurzen Schnabel.	The penguin has a short beak.

Bird Parts

Birds have several unique body parts, many related to flight and feathers.

German Singular	German Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example Sentence (German)	Example Sentence (English)
der Schnabel	die Schnäbel	beak	beaks	Der Vogel pickt mit seinem Schnabel.	The bird pecks with its beak.
die Feder	die Federn	feather	feathers	Die Feder ist weich und bunt.	The feather is soft and colorful.
der Flügel	die Flügel	wing	wings	Der Vogel schlägt mit den Flügeln.	The bird flaps its wings.
die Kralle	die Krallen	claw	claws	Der Adler hat scharfe Krallen.	The eagle has sharp claws.
der Schwanz	die Schwänze	tail	tails	Der Pfau zeigt seinen bunten Schwanz.	The peacock displays its colorful tail.

Common Collective Nouns

Some animal parts don’t have plural forms (e.g., das Fell), or are only used in the singular or collective sense.

German Singular	German Plural	English Singular	English Plural	Example Sentence (German)	Example Sentence (English)
das Fell	—	fur	(no plural)	Der Hund hat braunes Fell.	The dog has brown fur.
die Haut	—	skin	(no plural)	Die Schlange häutet ihre Haut.	The snake sheds its skin.
das Blut	—	blood	(no plural)	Das Tier verliert kein Blut.	The animal doesn’t lose any blood.
das Fleisch	—	flesh	(no plural)	Der Jäger nimmt das Fleisch mit.	The hunter takes the flesh with him.

Summary

Here are some key points for plural formation and usage:

Most animal parts are neuter (das) and form plurals with -e or -er, often adding an umlaut (e.g., der Schwanz → die Schwänze).
Some are feminine (die Pfote, die Schnauze) and simply add -n or -en (die Pfote → die Pfoten).
A few have plural identical to singular (der Flügel → die Flügel).
Some nouns are uncountable or have no plural (das Fell, die Haut).
Use the definite article in singular and plural: der (m), die (f), das (n); plural is always die.
Most example sentences follow the simple present tense, with singular/plural forms matching the subject.

How do most neuter German nouns for animal parts form their plurals?

They do not have plurals.

By adding -e or -er, often with an umlaut.

By adding -n or -en.

By adding -s only.

By adding -e or -er, often with an umlaut.

Most neuter animal part nouns form their plurals by adding -e or -er, often introducing an umlaut (e.g., Schwanz → Schwänze). This is a common pattern in German pluralization.

Flashcards (1 of 29)

English Singular: leg
English Plural: legs
Example Sentence (English): The horse has four legs.

Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025