de of het proefdier?
het proefdier
laboratory animal
noun · /ˈpruf.diːr/
It is “het proefdier”. The plural is “de proefdieren”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: proefdier
Forms
- Article
- het proefdier
- Plural
- de proefdieren
- Diminutive
- het proefdiertje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het proefdier sliep rustig in de kooi.
The laboratory animal slept peacefully in the cage.
Proefdieren zijn cruciaal voor medisch onderzoek.
Laboratory animals are crucial for medical research.
De wetenschapper observeerde het proefdier nauwkeurig.
The scientist observed the laboratory animal carefully.
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 proefdier” rather than as “proefdier” 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.