Level A1
4 min read
De or het? How to choose the right Dutch article
Dutch has two definite articles: de and het. No rule works every time, but there are useful patterns. Most nouns are de-words (about three quarters of the words in Klink), so when you are unsure, de is often the better guess.
Learn the word with its article
Don't learn just huis ("house"), learn het huis. Then you always know the article.
Usually de
- Plurals: de huizen, de kinderen. In the plural it is always de.
- Men and women: de man, de vrouw, de leraar.
- Words ending in -heid, -ing, -tie, -iteit and -ij: de vrijheid, de woning, de informatie, de bakkerij. Note: there are exceptions, such as het ding and het schilderij.
- Days and seasons: de maandag, de zomer, de lente.
Usually het
- Diminutives ending in -je: het boekje, het meisje. This also applies to a girl or a child: het meisje is an exception to the rule above.
- Words ending in -ment and -isme: het appartement, het toerisme.
- Most words ending in -um: het museum, het centrum. Note: de datum is an exception.
- Languages and colors: het Nederlands, het rood.
- Verbs used as nouns: het eten, het drinken.
Compound words
A compound word takes the article of its last part. Huis is het, so het ziekenhuis. Deur is de, so de voordeur.
Watch out for exceptions
A few words are exceptions, such as het kind (a person, but still het). That is why it helps to always learn the article with the word.
Practice
Choose de or het.
1. ___ meisje
2. ___ vrijheid
3. ___ museum
4. ___ ziekenhuis
5. ___ huizen
Card practice
Drag the card left for de, right for het. Or use the buttons or the arrow keys.