de of het stelsel?
het stelsel
system
noun · /ˈstɛl.səl/
It is “het stelsel”. The plural is “de stelsels”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: stelsel
Forms
- Article
- het stelsel
- Plural
- de stelsels
- Diminutive
- het stelseltje
- Also means
- galaxy
- How common
- among the 10,000 most common Dutch words
In a sentence
Kunt u mij uitleggen wat het lymfatisch stelsel is?
Can you explain to me what the lymphatic system is?
Het lineaire stelsel van vergelijkingen kan worden opgelost met behulp van matrixrekenen.
The linear system of equations can be solved using matrix calculations.
Het Andromedastelsel is een sterrenstelsel dat je vanaf onze planeet kunt waarnemen.
The Andromeda Galaxy is a galaxy that can be observed from our planet.
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 stelsel” rather than as “stelsel” 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.