de of het rioolwater?
het rioolwater
sewage
noun · /riˈoːlˌʋaː.tər/
It is “het rioolwater”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: rioolwater
Forms
- Article
- het rioolwater
- Also means
- sewer water
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het rioolwater stroomt direct naar de zuivering.
The sewage flows directly to the treatment plant.
Er lekt rioolwater uit die kapotte pijp.
Sewage is leaking from that broken pipe.
Ongezuiverd rioolwater vervuilt het milieu ernstig.
Untreated sewage seriously pollutes the environment.
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 rioolwater” rather than as “rioolwater” 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.