de of het zuidoosten?
het zuidoosten
southeast
noun · /ˌzœy̯tˈoːs.tə(n)/
It is “het zuidoosten”.
Pronunciation, example sentences and the rest of the entry: zuidoosten
Forms
- Article
- het zuidoosten
- How common
- in everyday Dutch
In a sentence
De wind komt uit het zuidoosten.
The wind comes from the southeast.
Ze wonen in het zuidoosten van Nederland.
They live in the southeast of the Netherlands.
Het zuidoosten is bekend om zijn heuvels.
The southeast is known for its hills.
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 zuidoosten” rather than as “zuidoosten” 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.