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De or het schip?

← Dutch words

het schip

ship (a large, water borne vessel)

/sxɪp/

Forms

Singular
het schip
Plural
de schepen
Diminutive
het scheepje

Why het?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Meaning in English

  1. ship (a large, water borne vessel)
  2. nave (the middle or body of a standard medieval church or cathedral, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances)

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