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De or het? Look up a Dutch word

The article, plural and diminutive of everyday Dutch nouns, and the past tense of common verbs, with a recording and the meaning in English.

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Travel & getting around

44 words

Food & shopping

48 words

Home & housing

48 words

Health & care

46 words

Work & study

49 words

Money, banking & payments

29 words

Government & paperwork

34 words

Digital life & communication

38 words

Problems & emergencies

33 words

Friends, family & social life

47 words

School, childcare & education

25 words

Common verbs

150 words

How to tell de from het

Most Dutch nouns take de, every plural takes de, and every diminutive takes het. Endings help with the rest: words ending in -ing, -heid or -tie usually take de, and words ending in -isme or -ment usually take het. Everything else is learned with the word, which is why each page here gives the article first.

Read the full rules for de and het

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