de of het zeeniveau?
het zeeniveau
mean sea level
noun · /ˈzeː.niˌvoː/
It is “het zeeniveau”. The plural is “de zeeniveaus”, and like every Dutch plural it takes “de”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: zeeniveau
Forms
- Article
- het zeeniveau
- Plural
- de zeeniveaus
- Diminutive
- het zeeniveautje
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Rotterdam ligt onder zeeniveau.
Rotterdam is below sea level.
Het zeeniveau stijgt wereldwijd.
The sea level is rising worldwide.
Hoe hoog is dit boven zeeniveau?
How high is this above sea level?
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 zeeniveau” rather than as “zeeniveau” 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.