Plural of Euro

The Plural of Euro

Before we discuss the plural of euro, it is worth highlighting that euro is not treated as a proper noun. In other words, it is written with a lowercase letter.

The plural of euro is most commonly written as euro in European Union (EU) legislation, even though this is at odds with the standard way of forming plurals in English. As a consequence of the plural euro being embedded in the early legal documentation that saw its launch, euro was widely used as the plural in the years after 2002, when most EU countries adopted the euro. These documents provided the precedent for writers searching for an answer to "what is the plural of euro?".

However, as the euro became embedded in daily life, less conscious thought was given to its plural, and the plural euros quickly overtook euro because euros sounds far more natural to native English speakers.

EU guidance now recommends that euros be used unless editing or quoting the original EU documentation that employs euro.

• The Council of Ministers Decision No 6/2005 of 22 November 2005 commits 482 million euro to the ninth European Development Fund.
(Euro was used in early EU legislation.)
• I'm not paying 10 euros for a pint!
(Euros has overtaken euro as the plural because it sounds more natural to native speakers.)

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The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows where the plurals euro and euros fit within the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	cat scythe	add s	cats scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	bus dress	add es	buses dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o	mango zero tomato euro	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	mangoes or mangos zeros tomatoes euros
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
Mass nouns	air rice	some nouns do not have a plural form	air rice
Nouns ending f or fe	dwarf knife	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	dwarfs knives
Exceptions	goose louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	geese lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep euro	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep euro

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Euro?

Across the EU – as shown in this Wikipedia entry – there are several different words for euro and various plural endings depending on local language rules. As it was in English-speaking countries in the early days of the euro, so the plural of euro in several European countries remains euro (e.g., Denmark, Holland, Germany). As a result, English speakers routinely hear euro as the plural, which promotes its use, even though it is not how most native speakers naturally form the plural.

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