de of het wisselgeld?
het wisselgeld
change
noun · /ˈʋɪ.səlˌɣɛlt/
It is “het wisselgeld”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: wisselgeld
Forms
- Article
- het wisselgeld
- Also means
- bargaining chip
- How common
- among the 10,000 most common Dutch words
In a sentence
En dan krijg je nog wisselgeld.
And then you'll also get some change.
Er is geen wisselgeld meer in de kas!
There isn't any change in the register anymore!
Vergeet uw wisselgeld niet.
Don't forget your change.
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 wisselgeld” rather than as “wisselgeld” 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.