De or het zaak?
de zaak
a thing, matter (general term with for a concept other than animate
/zaːk/
Article and plural
- Singular
- de zaak
- Plural (meervoud)
- de zaken
- Diminutive
- het zaakje
Why de?
- No reliable spelling rule decides this one, so de zaak is learned together with the word.
- Every plural takes de, so it is de zaken whatever the singular takes.
- Every diminutive takes het: het zaakje.
The rules for de and het, with the exceptions
Check the article of another noun
What de changes
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| this, these | deze zaak | deze zaken |
| that, those | die zaak | die zaken |
| which (the … that) | de zaak die … | de zaken die … |
| our | onze zaak | onze zaken |
Meaning in English
- a thing, matter (general term with for a concept other than animate beings)
- a matter, affair, business
- a business, commercial enterprise, store, shop
- a court case, law suit
Remember zaak 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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