De or het rules: when to use de and het
There is no rule that covers every Dutch noun, but these patterns cover a large share of them. The percentages are measured on the words in our database.
Rules that always work
Plurals: always de
In the plural the article is always de, also for het-words: het huis becomes de huizen (houses), het kind becomes de kinderen (children).
Compound words: the last part decides
In a compound word, the last part decides the article: de tuin + het huis = het tuinhuis (garden house), het huis + de deur = de huisdeur (front door).
Verbs used as nouns: het
When you use a verb (infinitive) as a noun, it takes het: het lopen (walking), het eten (eating, food), het zwemmen (swimming).
Words with both de and het
Some words can take both, often English loanwords: de account and het account are both correct.
Endings that take het
Diminutives (-je, -tje, -pje)
het 99.7% of 9,427 words
Diminutives end in -je, -tje, -pje, -etje or -kje. They always take het, even when the base word takes de: de tafel becomes het tafeltje. In the plural they take de again: de tafeltjes.
Words ending in -isme
het 99.9% of 1,427 words
Words ending in -isme almost always take het: het toerisme (tourism), het journalisme, het optimisme.
Words ending in -ment
het 99.6% of 2,949 words
Words ending in -ment almost always take het: het moment, het document, het parlement.
Words ending in -um and -ium
het 97.3% of 3,665 words
Words ending in -um and -ium almost always take het: het museum, het centrum (centre), het stadium.
Words ending in -sel
het 97% of 1,660 words
Words ending in -sel usually take het: het voedsel (food), het raadsel (riddle), het mengsel (mixture).
Endings that take de
Words ending in -ing
de 99.8% of 30,386 words
Words ending in -ing almost always take de: de woning (home), de vergadering (meeting), de regering (government).
Words ending in -heid
de 99.7% of 3,446 words
Words ending in -heid almost always take de: de waarheid (truth), de vrijheid (freedom), de schoonheid (beauty).
Words ending in -nis
de 98.7% of 1,091 words
Words ending in -nis almost always take de: de kennis (knowledge), de gebeurtenis (event), de geschiedenis (history).
Words ending in -schap
de 84.3% of 1,539 words
Words ending in -schap usually take de: de vriendschap (friendship), de wetenschap (science), de boodschap (message). A few well-known words take het.
Words ending in -tie and -sie
de 99.9% of 13,649 words
Words ending in -tie and -sie almost always take de: de informatie, de situatie, de discussie, de televisie.
Words ending in -iteit
de 100% of 2,225 words
Words ending in -iteit always take de: de kwaliteit (quality), de universiteit, de activiteit.
Words ending in -ij and -erij
de 99% of 2,352 words
Words ending in -ij and -erij almost always take de: de bakkerij (bakery), de partij (party), de maatschappij (society).
Words ending in -ade
de 99.9% of 691 words
Words ending in -ade almost always take de: de limonade, de parade, de ballade.
Words ending in -ode
de 100% of 1,361 words
Words ending in -ode always take de: de periode, de methode, de mode (fashion).
Words ending in -logie
de 100% of 608 words
Words ending in -logie always take de: de biologie, de technologie, de psychologie.
Words ending in -ica
de 98.9% of 183 words
Words ending in -ica almost always take de: de logica (logic), de grammatica (grammar), de fysica (physics).
Words ending in -ist
de 99.6% of 931 words
Words ending in -ist are often people and almost always take de: de pianist, de journalist, de specialist.
Words ending in -te
de 92.4% of 2,851 words
Words ending in -te often come from an adjective and usually take de: de lengte (length), de hoogte (height), de warmte (warmth). Watch out: words that also start with ge- often take het, like het gebergte (mountains), het gedeelte (part) and het gehalte (content).