de of het middenrif?
het middenrif
midriff
noun · /ˈmɪ.də(n)ˌrɪf/
It is “het middenrif”. The plural is “de middenriffen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: middenrif
Forms
- Article
- het middenrif
- Plural
- de middenriffen
- Diminutive
- het middenrifje
- Also means
- diaphragm
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het middenrif helpt ons ademen.
The diaphragm helps us breathe.
Ik voel een steek in mijn middenrif.
I feel a sharp pain in my diaphragm.
Zingen versterkt het middenrif.
Singing strengthens the diaphragm.
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 middenrif” rather than as “middenrif” 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.