de of het mondwater?
het mondwater
mouthwash
noun · /ˈmɔntˌʋaː.tər/
It is “het mondwater”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: mondwater
Forms
- Article
- het mondwater
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Ik moet nieuw mondwater kopen.
I need to buy new mouthwash.
Gebruik na het poetsen mondwater.
Use mouthwash after brushing.
Dit mondwater heeft een frisse smaak.
This mouthwash has a fresh taste.
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 mondwater” rather than as “mondwater” 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.