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De or het rug?

← Dutch words

de rug

back, backside

/rʏx/

Forms

Singular
de rug
Plural
de ruggen
Diminutive
het ruggetje

Why de?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Meaning in English

  1. back, backside
  2. ridge

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