de of het computerspel?
het computerspel
computer game
noun · /kɔmˈpjutərˌspɛl/
It is “het computerspel”. The plural is “de computerspellen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: computerspel
Forms
- Article
- het computerspel
- Plural
- de computerspellen
- Diminutive
- het computerspelletje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het computerspel is erg populair.
The computer game is very popular.
Mijn broer speelt graag een computerspel.
My brother likes to play a computer game.
De kinderen houden van computerspellen.
The children love computer games.
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 computerspel” rather than as “computerspel” 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.