de of het zeezout?
het zeezout
sea salt
noun · /ˈzeː.zɑu̯t/
It is “het zeezout”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: zeezout
Forms
- Article
- het zeezout
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Ik gebruik graag zeezout in mijn gerechten.
I like to use sea salt in my dishes.
Geef me alsjeblieft het zeezout.
Please give me the sea salt.
Het zeezout is heerlijk bij vis.
The sea salt is delicious with fish.
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 zeezout” rather than as “zeezout” 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.