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De or het brief?

← Dutch words

de brief

letter (written message)

/brif/

Forms

Singular
de brief
Plural
de brieven
Diminutive
het briefje

Why de?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Meaning in English

  1. letter (written message)

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