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De or het afstand?

de afstand

distance

/ˈɑf.stɑnt/

Article and plural

Singular
de afstand
Plural (meervoud)
de afstanden
Diminutive
het afstandje

Why de?

  • No reliable spelling rule decides this one, so de afstand is learned together with the word.
  • Every plural takes de, so it is de afstanden whatever the singular takes.
  • Every diminutive takes het: het afstandje.

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Check the article of another noun

What de changes

SingularPlural
this, thesedeze afstanddeze afstanden
that, thosedie afstanddie afstanden
which (the … that)de afstand die …de afstanden die …
ouronze afstandonze afstanden

Meaning in English

  1. distance
  2. offset
  3. offstand

Remember afstand with Spreek

Spreek keeps the Dutch words you meet, article included, reviews them with you and then has you use them in a spoken conversation.

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