De Het – Rules for Articles in Dutch
Introduction
There are two articles in Dutch language: de for nouns with masculine and feminine gender and het for neutral nouns. Dutch native speakers know mostly intuitively what the article of each noun is. However, non-native speakers need to memorize the articles. There are several rules and guidelines determining the articles of some categories of nouns. But beware exceptions.
1. Article 'De'
Nouns with the suffixes below have the article de:
| Suffix | Examples | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
|
-ing -st after the root of a verb |
verzekering komst |
|
|
-de -ade -ode -ude -ide |
aarde salade barcode fraude astroïde |
|
| Noncount nouns with the suffix -ide are
neutral |
het kaliumjodide het oxideperoxide |
|
| -te | geboorte | |
| Collective nouns with the prefix ge- are neutral | het gebergte | |
|
-ie -tie -sie -sofie -logie |
premie ambitie conclusie filosofie analogie |
|
| -ine | lawine | |
| -se | hypothese | |
| -age | chantage | |
|
het percentage de/het personage de/het voltage |
||
|
-ij -arij -enij -erij -ernij |
partij huichelarij artsenij boerderij lekkernij |
|
| het schilderij | ||
| -ica | mechanica | |
| -theek | discotheek | |
| -heid | overheid, meerderheid | |
|
-teit -iteit |
majesteit universiteit |
|
|
-suur -tuur |
dressuur cultuur |
|
|
het bestuur het creatuur de/het montuur |
||
|
-nis -tis -xis -sis |
geschiedenis hepatitis syntaxis scepsis |
|
| het chassis | ||
The following categories of nouns have mainly article de:
| Category | Examples | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| Nouns designating a person |
agent bankier actrice |
|
|
het lid → het Kamerlid het hoofd → het afdelingshoofd |
||
| Trees | beuk | |
| Plants | roos | |
| Fruits | banaan | |
| Rivers | Rijn | |
| Mountains | Mont Blanc | |
| Numbers | zes | |
| Characters | z | |
2. Article 'Het'
Nouns with the suffixes below have the article het:
| Suffix | Examples | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| -isme | kapitalisme | |
| -ment | abonnement | |
| de/het cement | ||
| -sel | stelsel | |
| de/het deksel | ||
| -um | aquarium | |
Nouns with two syllables having the prefixes below have the article het:
| Prefix | Examples |
|---|---|
| be- | beslag |
| ge- | gebit |
| ont- | ontzag |
| ver- | verslag |
The following categories of nouns have mainly the article het:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Diminutives |
boompje tafeltje glaasje |
| Languages |
Duits Chinees |
| Countries and places |
het multiculturele Nederland het drietalige België |
| Metals |
goud aluminium |
| Compass directions |
zuiden noordoosten |
| Sports and games |
voetbal poker biljart |
Beware: This is applicable only to nouns in singular. All nouns in plural have the article de.
3. Nouns with both articles
There are also several words, which might have both de and het articles. In some cases, the article determines the meaning of the word:
| De | Het |
|---|---|
| de bos (bundle) | het bos (forest) |
| de golf (wave) | het golf (sport) |
| de pad (toad) | het pad (path) |
Sometimes, both articles are possible:
- de/het folie
- de/het kilo
- de/het matras