de of het hoogverraad?
het hoogverraad
high treason
noun · /ˈɦoːx.fəˌraːt/
It is “het hoogverraad”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: hoogverraad
Forms
- Article
- het hoogverraad
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
De spion werd beschuldigd van hoogverraad tegen het koninkrijk.
The spy was accused of high treason against the kingdom.
Hoogverraad is een van de zwaarste misdaden in veel landen.
High treason is one of the gravest crimes in many countries.
Hij werd beschuldigd van hoogverraad.
He was accused of high treason.
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 hoogverraad” rather than as “hoogverraad” 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.