de of het kindermisbruik?
het kindermisbruik
child abuse
noun · /ˈkɪn.dərˌmɪs.brœy̯k/
It is “het kindermisbruik”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: kindermisbruik
Forms
- Article
- het kindermisbruik
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Kindermisbruik is een ernstig misdrijf.
Child abuse is a serious crime.
We moeten kindermisbruik altijd melden.
We must always report child abuse.
De gevolgen van kindermisbruik zijn vaak groot.
The consequences of child abuse are often significant.
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 kindermisbruik” rather than as “kindermisbruik” 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.