If you're trying to learn Dutch Articles which is also called Nederlands, check our courses about Definite and Indefinite Articles... to help you with your Dutch grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and notice the pattern that occurs each time the word changes its place. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Dutch. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!
Learning the Dutch Articles is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you master it the more you get closer to mastering the Dutch language. But first we need to know what the role of Articles is in the structure of the grammar in Dutch.
Dutch articles are words that combine with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Generally articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun. Examples are "the, a, and an".
Definite Article:
Unlike English, which has only one definite article “the", Dutch has 2 definite articles in singular:
De (masculine and feminine singular), de man (the man) – de vrouw (the woman)
Het (neuter singular) het boek (the book) – het meisje (the girl)
In plural only de is used : de mannen (the men) – de vrouwen (the women) – de boeken (the books) – de meisjes (the girls)
Indefinite Article:
While we have (a / an / some) in English as indefinite articles, for the singular we only have een in Dutch.
In general, whenever (a, an) are used in English, you need to use een to say the equivalent in Dutch.
een huis (a house)
een boek (a book)
een vrouw (a woman)
een appel (an apple)
For the plural, just use the plural form without an indefinite article.
Huizen (houses)
Boeken (books)
Vrouwen (women)
Example: De boeken die ik bezit zijn in een huis van vrienden. (The books I have are in a house of friends)
Here are some examples:
| English Articles | Dutch Articles |
|---|---|
| articles | lidwoorden |
| the | de/het |
| a | een |
| one | een/één |
| some | een paar |
| few | een aantal |
| the book | het boek |
| the books | de boeken |
| a book | een boek |
| one book | één boek |
| some books | sommige/een aantal (context) |
| few books | enkele boeken |
Notice the structure of the Articles in Dutch.
Below is a list of vocabulary where you can use the Definite and Indefinite Articles in Dutch. Try to practice but also memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Dutch vocabulary.
| English Vocabulary | Dutch Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Food | voedsel |
| almonds | amandelen |
| bread | brood |
| breakfast | ontbijt |
| butter | boter |
| candy | snoep |
| cheese | kaas |
| chicken | kip |
| cumin | komijn |
| dessert | dessert/toetje |
| dinner | diner/avondeten |
| fish | vis |
| fruit | fruit |
| ice cream | ijs |
| lamb | lam |
| lemon | citroen |
| lunch | lunch/middageten |
| meal | maaltijd |
| meat | vlees |
| oven | oven |
| pepper | peper |
| plants | planten |
| pork | varkensvlees |
| salad | salade |
| salt | zout |
| sandwich | boterham |
| sausage | worst |
| soup | soep |
| sugar | suiker |
| supper | avondmaal |
| turkey | kalkoen |
| apple | appel |
| banana | banaan |
| oranges | sinaasappels |
| peaches | perziken |
| peanut | pinda |
| pears | peren |
| pineapple | ananas |
| grapes | druiven |
| strawberries | aardbeien |
| vegetables | groenten |
| carrot | wortel |
| corn | maïs |
| cucumber | komkommer |
| garlic | knoflook |
| lettuce | sla |
| olives | olijven |
| onions | uien |
| peppers | paprika |
| potatoes | aardappelen |
| pumpkin | pompoen |
| beans | bonen |
| tomatoes | tomaten |
Definite and Indefinite Articles have a very important role in Dutch. Once you're done with the Nederlands Articles, you might want to check the rest of our Dutch lessons here: Learn Dutch. Don't forget to bookmark this page.
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