Chapter 3: Being, Having and the Present

More Noun Plurals: -the, -che, -ye

Form plurals for Dholuo nouns ending in dh, y, r and ch using -the, -che and -ye, with examples.

📚 Nouns

Let’s look at some more noun groups in dholuo.

Nouns ending in ‘dh’ followed by a vowel form their plurals using ‘the’

Dholuo (Singular)	English (Singular)	Dholuo (Plural)	English (Plural)
Puodho	Farm	Puothe	Farms
Budho	Pumpkin	Buthe	Pumpkins

Grammar note: There is a notable exception. The word ‘kudho’ which means ‘thorn’ forms its plural as ‘kudhni’ rather than the expected ‘kuthe’.

Nouns ending in ‘y’ followed by a vowel form their plurals using ‘che’

Dholuo (Singular)	English (Singular)	Dholuo (Plural)	English (Plural)
Apuoyo	Rabbit	Apuoche	Rabbits
Oguyo	Butterfly	Oguche	Butterflies
Otoyo	Hyena	Otoche	Hyenas

Nouns ending in ‘r’, or ‘r’ followed by a vowel, also form their plurals using ‘che’

Dholuo (Singular)	English (Singular)	Dholuo (Plural)	English (Plural)
Ndara	Road	Ndeche	Roads
Bur	Hole	Buche	Holes
Akuru	Pigeon	Akuche	Pigeons
Odheru	Basket	Odheche	Baskets
Ong’er	Monkey	Ong’eche	Monkeys

Nouns ending in ‘ch’ form their plurals using ‘ye’

Dholuo (Singular)	English (Singular)	Dholuo (Plural)	English (Plural)
Wich	Head	Wiye	Heads
Ich	Stomach	Iye	Stomachs
Kwach	Leopard	Kweye	Leopards

Grammar note: We’ll go over more noun groups in future lessons.

Write 5 sentences about what you have. Use plural nouns.

Example: An gi puothe ariyo.

Suggested length: up to 1000 words.

Create a free account to unlock the interactive exercises for this lesson and track your progress. The lessons stay free to read, always.

Answer the daily Dholuo prompt or post your own recording on Echo. Other learners listen, and a native Luo speaker reviews how you sound.