> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://algolia.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Customize plurals and other declensions

> Learn how to customize plurals and other declensions dictionaries through the Algolia dashboard.

export const Application = () => <Tooltip tip="An Algolia application is a self-contained environment with its own indices, configuration, and API keys. Applications don't share data or settings with each other.">
    application
  </Tooltip>;

export const AlgoliaSearch = () => <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 80 80" width="20" height="20" className="inline" fill="none" role="presentation" ariaLabel="Algolia Search">
    <circle cx="40" cy="32" r="28" fill="#5468FF"></circle>
    <rect x="30" y="22" width="20" height="20" rx="10" fill="#fff"></rect>
    <path d="M43 63.5 54.5 60l6 17h-12L43 63.5Z" fill="#36395A"></path>
  </svg>;

Depending on the language, words can come in different *declensions*:

* Based on number: singular or plural
* Gender: masculine, feminine, neutral
* Case: nominative, accusative, genitive

When you enable [`ignorePlurals`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/ignorePlurals)
and set the appropriate languages with [`queryLanguages`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/queryLanguages),
these variations are considered to be equivalent during search.

For example, with [`ignorePlurals`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/ignorePlurals) enabled and [`queryLanguages`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/queryLanguages) set to English, the queries "shirt" and "shirts" return the same results.

The [`ignorePlurals`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/ignorePlurals) parameter relies on [language-specific dictionaries](/doc/guides/managing-results/optimize-search-results/handling-natural-languages-nlp/in-depth/supported-languages).
You can customize which words to consider as declined forms using the [Algolia dashboard](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/declensions).

**Each Algolia application uses one declension dictionary per language.**
This means that you can't create different customizations for the same language for different indices in one Algolia application. If you want to create certain equivalencies only when searching certain indices, consider using [synonyms](/doc/guides/managing-results/optimize-search-results/adding-synonyms) instead.

For more information, see [How to set the query language](/doc/guides/managing-results/optimize-search-results/handling-natural-languages-nlp/how-to/how-to-set-an-index-query-language).

## Inspect plurals and other declined forms

You can use the dashboard to search for declined forms and their alternatives for a particular language:

1. Go to the [Algolia dashboard](https://dashboard.algolia.com/explorer/browse) and select your Algolia <Application />.
2. On the left sidebar, select <AlgoliaSearch /> **Search**.
3. Open the [**Dictionaries** page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/declensions).
4. Select the language and dictionary that you want to inspect.
5. Search for a specific word by typing it into the input.
   If there are Algolia alternatives or if you created custom alternatives,
   these appear below the input.

<Info>
  Searching for words or their declined forms is exact.
  A word and its alternatives only appear once you've fully and correctly entered it:
  the input box doesn't use prefix searching or typo tolerance.
</Info>

## Add missing alternatives

You may search for a word and find that it doesn't have any alternatives associated with it.
This can happen when your use case includes English vocabulary in the context of another language or if you have use-case specific vocabulary.

For example, a brand-specific word like "iPhone" isn't included in Algolia's dictionary,
but you may want searches for "iPhone" and "iPhones" to return the same results.
In this case, you can add a custom group of alternatives so that "iPhones" is recognized as the plural of "iPhone".

### Using the dashboard

1. Go to the [**Dictionaries** page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/declensions) in the Algolia dashboard.
2. Select the language and dictionary you want to customize.
3. Search for a specific word by typing it into the input.
   If there are Algolia alternatives or if you created custom alternatives, these appear below the input.
4. If no entry exists, click **Add (+)** to add the word to the dictionary.
5. In the input, enter each word that should be considered an alternative to the word and click **Save**.
6. Click **Review and Save**.

## Customize alternatives

You may find that a particular group of declined form doesn't include an alternative you would expect or contains a word that shouldn't be considered equivalent for your use case. In this case, you should customize the existing group of alternatives from the dashboard:

1. Go to the [**Dictionaries** page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/declensions) in the Algolia dashboard.
2. Select the language and dictionary you want to customize.
3. Search for a specific word by typing it into the input.
   If there are Algolia alternatives or if you created custom alternatives,
   these appear below the input.
4. If an entry exists, you can either add new words or remove existing words from the list of alternatives by selecting **Edit**.
5. Add new alternatives by typing it in the input or remove alternatives by clicking **Delete** next to it.
   Click **Save**.
6. Click **Review and Save**.

Editing an out-of-the-box group of alternatives results in the creation of a custom group.
The out-of-the-box group of alternatives also remains.
**When performing a search,
if both an out-of-the-box group and custom group exist for a word,
only the custom group is used to determine equivalences.**

<Note>
  You can't delete out-of-the-box groups.
  To turn off all alternatives for a certain word,
  create a custom group where it is the only word.
  You can do this by editing a an out-of-the-box group and removing all alternatives.
</Note>

## Upload and download customizations

You can upload your own list of alternatives in CSV or JSON format using the <Icon icon="settings" /> **Actions** menu.

### CSV format

```csv CSV icon=braces theme={"system"}
language, words, objectID, type
de,"hund,hunde,hunds,hunden,hundes,hundchen,hundchens",1,custom
```

The list of words must be a comma-separated list without spaces and surrounded by quotes.

### JSON format

```json JSON icon=braces theme={"system"}
[
  {
    "language": "de",
    "words": [
      "hund",
      "hunde",
      "hunds",
      "hunden",
      "hundes",
      "hundchen",
      "hundchens"
    ],
    "objectID": 1,
    "type": "custom"
  }
]
```

Using the <Icon icon="settings" /> **Actions** menu,
you can also download all custom alternatives from a dictionary,
either in CSV or JSON format.