de of het zakmes?
het zakmes
pocketknife
noun · /ˈzɑk.mɛs/
It is “het zakmes”. The plural is “de zakmessen”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: zakmes
Forms
- Article
- het zakmes
- Plural
- de zakmessen
- Diminutive
- het zakmesje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Hij heeft altijd een zakmes bij zich.
He always carries a pocketknife with him.
Gebruik je zakmes om de appel te schillen.
Use your pocketknife to peel the apple.
Is dit jouw oude zakmes?
Is this your old pocketknife?
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 zakmes” rather than as “zakmes” 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.