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De or het pas?

← Dutch words

de pas

pass, passport (travel document)

/pɑs/

Forms

Singular
de pas
Plural
de passen
Diminutive
het pasje

Why de?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Meaning in English

  1. pass, passport (travel document)
  2. pace, step; also as a measure of distance
  3. mountain pass
  4. fit of an object, notably depending on forms and/or dimensions
  5. identification document

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