de of het neusgat?
het neusgat
nostril
noun
It is “het neusgat”. The plural is “de neusgaten”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: neusgat
Forms
- Article
- het neusgat
- Plural
- de neusgaten
- Diminutive
- het neusgaatje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het linker neusgat is een beetje verstopt.
The left nostril is a bit blocked.
De neusgaten van de hond trillen.
The dog's nostrils are trembling.
Adem diep in door één neusgat.
Breathe deeply in through one nostril.
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 neusgat” rather than as “neusgat” 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.