de of het bakpoeder?
het bakpoeder
baking powder
noun · /ˈbɑkˌpu.dər/
It is “het bakpoeder”. The plural is “de bakpoeders”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: bakpoeder
Forms
- Article
- het bakpoeder
- Plural
- de bakpoeders
- Diminutive
- het bakpoedertje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Hebben we nog bakpoeder in huis?
Do we still have baking powder at home?
Voeg twee theelepels bakpoeder toe aan het beslag.
Add two teaspoons of baking powder to the batter.
Bakpoeder zorgt ervoor dat de cake rijst.
Baking powder ensures that the cake rises.
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 bakpoeder” rather than as “bakpoeder” 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.