The absence of rules applies to het-nouns as well as to de-nouns. But there a few guidelines for _de_ nouns.
De-nouns hints
- Plural nouns
All plural nouns take the article 'de' regardless of whether their singular forms are _de_ or _het_ words.
de planeten | the planets | de potloden | the pencils
de druppels | the drops | de boten | the boats
de gedachten | the thoughts | de kinderen | the children
de handen | the hands | de lijnen | the lines
- Obviously feminine or masculine nouns
Although most words are not obviously feminine or masculine, 'de' is the article used for feminine and masculine nouns. Some words leave no doubt about their genders, which makes it easy to see that they take 'de'.
de vrouw | the woman | de man | the man
de teef | the bitch (female dog!) | de hengst | the stallion
de koningin | the queen | de koning | the king
de meid | the maid | de jongen | the boy
- Nouns ending in -ing (feminine)
These nouns are derived from verbs.
de betaling | the payment | de verovering | the conquest
de uitnodiging | the invitation | de rekening | the bill
de betovering | the spell | de opening | the opening
de ontdekking | the discovery | de hervorming | the reform
But _het_ ding (the thing); this word does not derive from a verb.
- Nouns ending in -tie, -thie, and -sie (feminine)
de politie | the police | de petitie | the petition
de executie | the execution | de tractatie | the treat
de sympathie | the sympathie | de empathie | the empathy
de visie | the vision | de fusie | the merge
- Nouns ending in -or (masculine)
de motor | the motor | de generator | the generator
de monitor | the monitor | de perforator | the perforator
de professor | the professor | de factor | the factor
de alligator | the alligator | de radiator | the radiator
- Persons
Nouns that refer to persons are almost always _de_ nouns. This makes sense, since generally speaking, persons are either feminine or masculine. Because family members are all persons, they are all _de_ words:
de moeder | the mother | de vader | the father
de dochter | the daughter | de zoon | the son
de kleindochter | the granddaughter | de kleinzoon | the grandson
de tante | the aunt | de oom | the uncle
de nicht | the cousin (f) , niece | de neef | the cousin (m), nephew
de grootmoeder | the grandmother | de grootvader | the grandfather
de oma | the grandma | de opa | the grandpa
But: we say _het_ kind (the child).
- Nouns ending in -aar (masculine)
These are derived from verbs
de handelaar | the trader | de molenaar | the miller
de veroveraar | the conqueror | de tovenaar | the wizard
de leugenaar | the liar | de dienaar | the servant
de minnaar | the lover | de ambtenaar | the civil servant
- Nouns ending in -eur (masculine)
Usually of a Latin origin.
de programmeur | the programmer | de acteur | the actor
de adviseur | the consultant | de profiteur | the parasite
de amateur | the amateur | de directeur | the chief executive
de auteur | the author | de instructeur | the instructor
- Words ending in -er (masculine)
Just like in English, the most common ending for agents of a verb (to work - a worker, to sing - a singer).
de verkoper | the seller, salesman | de danser | the dancer
de slager | the butcher | de bakker | the baker
de dokter | the doctor | de schrijver | the writer
de zanger | the singer | de dromer | the dreamer
- Female endings
These nouns fall under the category 'obviously feminine nouns'.
de verkoopster (verkoper) | the saleswoman | de danseres (danser) | the dancer (f)
de actrice (acteur) | the actress | de zangeres (zanger) | the singer (f)
de keizerin (keizer) | the empress | de directrice (directeur) | the chief executive (f)
de minnares | the lover (f) , mistress | de kokkin (kok) | the cook (f)