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De or het tafel?

de tafel

table (item of furniture)

/ˈtaːfəl/

Forms

Singular
de tafel
Plural
de tafels
Diminutive
het tafeltje

Why de?

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

The rules for de and het, with the exceptions

Meaning in English

  1. table (item of furniture)
  2. meal, spread on (a) table(s)
  3. multiplication table
  4. writing tablet

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