de of het matras?
het matras
mattress
noun · /maːˈtrɑs/
It is “het matras”. The plural is “de matrassen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: matras
Forms
- Article
- het matras
- Plural
- de matrassen
- Diminutive
- het matrasje
- Also means
- technical bedding, slut, harlot
- How common
- among the 10,000 most common Dutch words
In a sentence
Het nieuwe matras ligt erg comfortabel.
The new mattress is very comfortable.
We hebben een nieuw matras nodig.
We need a new mattress.
Kun je helpen het matras te dragen?
Can you help carry the mattress?
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 matras” rather than as “matras” 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.