de of het zoutzuur?
het zoutzuur
hydrochloric acid
noun · /ˈzɑu̯tˌzyːr/
It is “het zoutzuur”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: zoutzuur
Forms
- Article
- het zoutzuur
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
Zoutzuur is een sterk zuur.
Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid.
Wees voorzichtig met zoutzuur.
Be careful with hydrochloric acid.
Het zoutzuur zit in die fles.
The hydrochloric acid is in that bottle.
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 zoutzuur” rather than as “zoutzuur” 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.