Irregular plurals
154 common English nouns whose plural is not formed with -s or -es, as the English Wiktionary records them (dump of September 2, 2026).
Nouns with an irregular plural
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| life | lives |
| man | men |
| money | monies |
| person | people, persons |
| half | halves |
| woman | women |
| child | children |
| wife | wives |
| analysis | analyses |
| foot | feet |
| basis | bases |
| chairman | chairmen |
| crisis | crises |
| medium | media, mediums |
| maximum | maxima |
| knife | knives |
| wolf | wolves |
| mouse | mice |
| spectrum | spectra |
| leaf | leaves |
| diagnosis | diagnoses |
| gentleman | gentlemen |
| phenomenon | phenomena |
| curriculum | curricula |
| tooth | teeth |
| matrix | matrices |
| thesis | theses |
| shelf | shelves |
| axis | axes |
| superman | supermen |
| freshman | freshmen |
| businessman | businessmen |
| thief | thieves |
| hypothesis | hypotheses |
| congressman | congressmen |
| radius | radii |
| goose | geese |
| synthesis | syntheses |
| freeman | freemen |
| spokesman | spokesmen |
| policeman | policemen |
| genus | genera |
| calf | calves |
| millennium | millennia |
| consortium | consortia |
| scarf | scarves |
| elf | elves |
| salesman | salesmen |
| corpus | corpora |
| nucleus | nuclei |
| foreman | foremen |
| oasis | oases |
| optimum | optima |
| fungus | fungi |
| vita | vitae |
| fisherman | fishermen |
| loaf | loaves |
| wharf | wharves |
| ox | oxen |
| vortex | vortices |
| bowman | bowmen |
| statesman | statesmen |
| criterion | criteria |
| genie | genii |
| batsman | batsmen |
| housewife | housewives |
| cactus | cacti |
| synopsis | synopses |
| syllabus | syllabi |
| werewolf | werewolves |
| gunman | gunmen |
| cameraman | cameramen |
| midwife | midwives |
| hitman | hitmen |
| nebula | nebulae |
| lineman | linemen |
| craftsman | craftsmen |
| madman | madmen |
| vertex | vertices |
| seaman | seamen |
| fireman | firemen |
| baseman | basemen |
| terminus | termini |
| locus | loci |
| codex | codices |
| councilman | councilmen |
| clergyman | clergymen |
| sportsman | sportsmen |
| snowman | snowmen |
| alderman | aldermen |
| lev | leva |
| supernova | supernovae |
| grandchild | grandchildren |
| atrium | atria |
| horseman | horsemen |
| dutchman | dutchmen |
| hoof | hooves |
| mage | magi |
| bacterium | bacteria |
| metamorphosis | metamorphoses |
| nobleman | noblemen |
| watchman | watchmen |
| larva | larvae |
| lira | lire |
| huntsman | huntsmen |
| freedman | freedmen |
| workman | workmen |
| businesswoman | businesswomen |
| layman | laymen |
| bookshelf | bookshelves |
| tableau | tableaux |
| journeyman | journeymen |
| alumnus | alumni |
| henchman | henchmen |
| papyrus | papyri |
| countryman | countrymen |
| addendum | addenda |
| caveman | cavemen |
| strongman | strongmen |
| airman | airmen |
| marksman | marksmen |
| metastasis | metastases |
| middleman | middlemen |
| swordsman | swordsmen |
| prosthesis | prostheses |
| doorman | doormen |
| sarcophagus | sarcophagi |
| defenceman | defencemen |
| vertebra | vertebrae |
| modulus | moduli |
| yeoman | yeomen |
| kinsman | kinsmen |
| stratum | strata |
| headscarf | headscarves |
| parenthesis | parentheses |
| crewman | crewmen |
| tradesman | tradesmen |
| serviceman | servicemen |
| magus | magi |
| louse | lice |
| sheaf | sheaves |
| repairman | repairmen |
| patrolman | patrolmen |
| linesman | linesmen |
| ganglion | ganglia |
| midshipman | midshipmen |
| torus | tori |
| guardsman | guardsmen |
| datum | data |
| rifleman | riflemen |
| pupa | pupae |
| bannerman | bannermen |
| boatman | boatmen |
| taxon | taxa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). A noun is listed when the first plural its entry gives is not the word plus -s, -es or -ies and that plural is written more often than a regular one (wordfreq 3.1); forms labelled old, dialect or nonstandard are left out; common words first (written frequency).