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De or het spel?

het spel

game

/spɛl/

Article and plural

Singular
het spel
Plural (meervoud)
de spellen
Diminutive
het spelletje

Why het?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Check the article of another noun

What het changes

SingularPlural
this, thesedit speldeze spellen
that, thosedat speldie spellen
which (the … that)het spel dat …de spellen die …
ourons spelonze spellen

Meaning in English

  1. game
  2. playing (e.g. of a musical instrument)

Remember spel with Spreek

Spreek keeps the Dutch words you meet, article included, reviews them with you and then has you use them in a spoken conversation.

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