de of het rechtssysteem?
het rechtssysteem
legal system
noun · /ˈrɛxt.siˌsteːm/
It is “het rechtssysteem”. The plural is “de rechtssystemen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: rechtssysteem
Forms
- Article
- het rechtssysteem
- Plural
- de rechtssystemen
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het rechtssysteem is vaak ingewikkeld.
The legal system is often complicated.
Zijn ze bekend met ons rechtssysteem?
Are they familiar with our legal system?
Veel mensen vertrouwen het rechtssysteem niet.
Many people don't trust the legal system.
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 rechtssysteem” rather than as “rechtssysteem” 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.