de of het klokkenspel?
het klokkenspel
carillon
noun · /ˈklɔ.kə(n)ˌspɛl/
It is “het klokkenspel”. The plural is “de klokkenspellen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: klokkenspel
Forms
- Article
- het klokkenspel
- Plural
- de klokkenspellen
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het klokkenspel speelt een vrolijk deuntje.
The carillon plays a cheerful tune.
We bewonderden het oude klokkenspel in de toren.
We admired the old carillon in the tower.
Hoor je het klokkenspel al spelen?
Do you already hear the carillon playing?
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 klokkenspel” rather than as “klokkenspel” 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.