de of het knipperlicht?
het knipperlicht
indicator
noun · /ˈknɪ.pərˌlɪxt/
It is “het knipperlicht”. The plural is “de knipperlichten”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: knipperlicht
Forms
- Article
- het knipperlicht
- Plural
- de knipperlichten
- Diminutive
- het knipperlichtje
- Also means
- flashing light, blinker
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het knipperlicht werkt niet meer.
The indicator light no longer works.
Vergeet je knipperlicht niet aan te zetten.
Don't forget to turn on your indicator.
De bestuurder deed zijn knipperlicht aan.
The driver turned on his indicator.
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 knipperlicht” rather than as “knipperlicht” 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.