Getting to grips with “de” and “het” in Dutch

If you grew up speaking Dutch, you naturally learn when to use the definite article “de” or “het”. But it's very different if you learn the language later in life. Even if you've been speaking Dutch for years, it can still be difficult. And that's completely normal...

In many other languages, there is only one definite article. Take English, for example: you always say “the”.

In Dutch, there are two definite articles: de and het. The article you use depends on the gender (masculine, feminine or neuter) and whether the word is singular or plural. That sounds straightforward, but in practice it is often difficult and and even more complicated than in languages like French or German.

De-words: the most common group

Most Dutch nouns take de as their article. These are:

Masculine and feminine words (also known as common gender):
de man, de vrouw, de tafel, de stoel

All plurals, regardless of the article in the singular:
de huizen, de kinderen, de boeken

People and professions:
de docent, de student, de collega

Words ending in -ing, -heid, -nis, -tie, -teit, -schap:
de opleiding, de gezondheid, de situatie, de wetenschap

Het-words: a smaller group

There are also words that take het as their article. Examples include:

Neuter words:
het kind, het huis, het boek

Diminutive words (ending in -je):
het meisje, het stoeltje, het hondje

Words that begin with an indefinite part or with “ge-”:
het gebouw, het gevoel, het gesprek

And then there are the doubtful cases...

Sometimes no rule helps and you just have to learn the article by heart. Why do we say de appel (the apple), but het ei (the egg)? Or de boom (the tree), but het water (the water)? Well... welcome to the wonderful world of Dutch.

Tip: if in doubt, use de. You will be right in 75% of cases.