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De or het ambtenaar?

← Dutch words

de ambtenaar

civil servant

/ˈɑm(p).təˌnaːr/

Forms

Singular
de ambtenaar
Plural
de ambtenaren
Diminutive
het ambtenaartje

Why de?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Meaning in English

  1. civil servant

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