de of het varken?
het varken
pig
noun · /ˈvɑrkə(n)/
It is “het varken”. The plural is “de varkens”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: varken
Forms
- Article
- het varken
- Plural
- de varkens
- Diminutive
- het varkentje
- Also means
- swine, dirty, gross, foul person, brush
- How common
- among the 3,000 most common Dutch words
In a sentence
Het varken loopt rond op de boerderij.
The pig walks around on the farm.
De varkens rollen graag in de modder.
The pigs like to roll in the mud.
Ruim je kamer op, je bent een varken!
Clean up your room, you're a pig!
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 varken” rather than as “varken” 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.