de of het sterftecijfer?
het sterftecijfer
mortality rate
noun · /ˈstɛrf.təˌsɛi̯.fər/
It is “het sterftecijfer”. The plural is “de sterftecijfers”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: sterftecijfer
Forms
- Article
- het sterftecijfer
- Plural
- de sterftecijfers
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Het sterftecijfer is gedaald.
The mortality rate has decreased.
Wat is het sterftecijfer hier?
What is the mortality rate here?
Goede voeding verlaagt het sterftecijfer.
Good nutrition lowers the mortality rate.
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 sterftecijfer” rather than as “sterftecijfer” 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.