de of het sterrenstelsel?
het sterrenstelsel
galaxy
noun · /ˈstɛ.rə(n)ˌstɛl.səl/
It is “het sterrenstelsel”. The plural is “de sterrenstelsels”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: sterrenstelsel
Forms
- Article
- het sterrenstelsel
- Plural
- de sterrenstelsels
- Diminutive
- het sterrenstelseltje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Ons zonnestelsel maakt deel uit van het Melkweg sterrenstelsel.
Our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy.
De Melkweg is ons sterrenstelsel.
The Milky Way is our galaxy.
Hoeveel sterrenstelsels zijn er?
How many galaxies are there?
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 sterrenstelsel” rather than as “sterrenstelsel” 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.