Plural of Giraffe

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The Quick Answer
The plural of giraffe is giraffes.

The Plural of Giraffe

The plural of giraffe is giraffes.
  • Male giraffes use their necks as weapons in combat, a behaviour known as necking.
  • Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs, grasslands, and open woodlands.
The noun giraffe adheres to the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English (shown in the table below).

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.
Type Example of Type Forming the Plural Plural
Most Nouns lamp
scythe		 add s lamps
scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z bus
dress		 add es buses
dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o hero
zero
tomato		 add either s or es
(There are no rules for this - you have to know.)		 heroes
zeros
tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o patio
ratio 		add s patios
ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y story
penny		 change the y to an i and add es stories
pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y storey ()
donkey 		add s storeys
donkeys
Nouns ending f or fe leaf
safe 		ves and/or s
(There are no rules - you have to know.)		 leaves
safes
Nouns ending ff or ffe giraffe
giraffe 		add s
 giraffes
giraffes
Exceptions man
louse 		some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change men
lice
More exceptions salmon
sheep 		some nouns do not change at all salmon
sheep

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Giraffe?

All nouns ending ff or ffe (e.g., cliff, giraffe) just add an s. Some writers confuse these nouns with nouns ending f or fe (e.g., leaf, wife), whose rules for forming the plurals are not straightforward.
Another Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from another exercise on plurals, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

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See Also

Unusual pluralsPlural forming table Quirks with forming plurals Forming the plurals of abbreviations Forming the plurals of compound nouns