de of het afweersysteem?
het afweersysteem
immune system
noun · /ˈɑf.ʋeːr.siˌsteːm/
It is “het afweersysteem”. The plural is “de afweersystemen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: afweersysteem
Forms
- Article
- het afweersysteem
- Plural
- de afweersystemen
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het afweersysteem beschermt ons tegen ziekten.
The immune system protects us against diseases.
Gezond eten versterkt je afweersysteem.
Healthy eating strengthens your immune system.
Haar afweersysteem was door stress verzwakt.
Her immune system was weakened by stress.
Why this article
No rule predicts it
This one has to be memorised. No spelling pattern marks it as neuter, which is exactly why it is worth learning as “het afweersysteem” rather than as “afweersysteem” on its own.
The rules that do work
- • Every plural takes “de”, without exception.
- • Every diminutive ending in -je takes “het”, without exception.
- • Nouns ending in -ing, -heid, -tie, -teit or -schap take “de”.
- • Roughly two thirds of all nouns take “de”, so it is the better guess.
Other nouns whose article has to be memorised
Stop guessing de and het
Woordje has a practice mode for exactly this: it shows a noun and asks for the article, and keeps asking until you stop getting it wrong.