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De or het kop?

← Dutch words

de kop

cup (for drinking)

/kɔp/

Forms

Singular
de kop
Plural
de koppen
Diminutive
het kopje

Why de?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Meaning in English

  1. cup (for drinking)
  2. head
  3. a (male) human
  4. head of a nail, pin etc.
  5. front, lead, e.g. in a race; charge, control
  6. heading (of a text), headline

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