de of het kruid?
het kruid
herb
noun · /krœy̯t/
It is “het kruid”. The plural is “de kruiden”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: kruid
Forms
- Article
- het kruid
- Plural
- de kruiden
- Diminutive
- het kruidje
- Also means
- herbaceous plant, potherb, medicinal herb, spice
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het kruid in de pot is munt.
The herb in the pot is mint.
Ik kook graag met verse kruiden.
I like to cook with fresh herbs.
Dit kruid is perfect voor visgerechten.
This herb is perfect for fish dishes.
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 kruid” rather than as “kruid” 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.