de of het scheerschuim?
het scheerschuim
shaving cream
noun · /ˈsxeːrˌsxœy̯m/
It is “het scheerschuim”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: scheerschuim
Forms
- Article
- het scheerschuim
- Diminutive
- het scheerschuimpje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het scheerschuim staat in de badkamer.
The shaving cream is in the bathroom.
Vergeet het scheerschuim niet te kopen.
Don't forget to buy the shaving cream.
Dit scheerschuim ruikt heerlijk fris.
This shaving cream smells wonderfully fresh.
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 scheerschuim” rather than as “scheerschuim” 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.