Interactive lesson
de or het
Dutch has no single rule for de and het — but it does have patterns. The shape of a word will often tell you its article outright.
When be-, ge-, ver- or ont- sits in front of a one-syllable root, the word takes het.
Words ending in -isme, -ment, -sel or -um are almost always het.
Every diminutive in -je, -tje or -pje is het — the most reliable rule of the lot. Languages, metals, compass points and most sports and games are het too.
A verb stem plus -ing or -st, and anything ending in -heid or -(i)teit, takes de. This is the most productive group in the language: any new -ing word is automatically de.
Words in -ie, -tie, -sie, -logie, -de, -ade, -ode, -ij, -erij, -tuur, -suur and -nis take de. For French speakers this is the easiest group: the word looks French and the article simply follows.
Names of people, animals, trees, plants, fruit, rivers, numbers, letters and drinks take de. Watch out: a handful of farm animals and three drinks break this rule.
For some words the article changes the meaning entirely. For others, either one is simply correct.