When two words join into one noun, the last part almost always decides between _de_ and _het_. _Het huis_ plus _de deur_ gives _de huisdeur_, and _de fiets_ plus _het pad_ gives _het fietspad_. So you usually do not need to learn the article of a compound separately: if you know the last part and its meaning, you can work it out, apart from a few exceptions that you simply learn.
The pattern
In a compound noun (one noun made of two or more words glued together), the article almost always comes from the last part. Check the head word, not the first word.
- The head word is the last part: it says what the thing actually is. A _fietspad_ is a path, not a bicycle.
- The head gives the article: _het pad_, so _het fietspad_.
- The first part only describes. It does not even have to be a noun: _slapen_ + _de kamer_ = _de slaapkamer_.
- Long compounds follow the same rule: _de voet_ + _de bal_ + _het veld_ = _het voetbalveld_.
- An extra _s_ in the middle (_het verjaardagsfeest_) changes nothing. See [Writing compound words](#/lesson/compound-spelling).
Examples
| Het huis is oud, maar de huisdeur is nieuw. | The house is old, but the front door is new. |
|---|---|
| Ik fiets elke dag over het fietspad langs het kanaal. | I cycle along the canal on the cycle path every day. |
| Sanne heeft het treinkaartje al gekocht. | Sanne has already bought the train ticket. |
| Wat is het telefoonnummer van de huisarts? | What is the GP's phone number? |
| Mei moet morgen naar het gemeentehuis. | Mei has to go to the town hall tomorrow. |
| Het verjaardagsfeest van Yara begint om acht uur. | Yara's birthday party starts at eight. |
| Lotte is het boodschappenlijstje vergeten. | Lotte has forgotten the shopping list. |
| De werkplek van Carlos is bij het raam. | Carlos's workspace is by the window. |
| Heb jij de weersverwachting voor morgen al gezien? | Have you already seen the weather forecast for tomorrow? |
Why it works this way
Think of a compound as a noun with a label stuck on the front. The label says which kind, but the noun says what it is: a _telefoonnummer_ is a number, a _gemeentehuis_ is a kind of _huis_. English also puts the main noun last (a bike path is a path), so the logic is familiar. Dutch simply lets that main noun bring its article along.
This helps enormously. Dutch builds thousands of nouns from a much smaller set of basic words. Learn _het nummer_ once and you also get _het huisnummer_ and _het telefoonnummer_. Learn _de kaart_ and you get _de landkaart_ and _de verjaardagskaart_. The small-thing ending from [Clues that a noun is a het-word](#/lesson/het-word-patterns) works the same way: _-je_ always comes last, so _de fiets_ becomes _het fietsje_. That leaves far fewer words to memorise, and [How to actually learn de and het](#/lesson/learning-de-het) deals with the rest.
The trap is your eye. You often know the first part best (_de fiets_ is a first-week word), so it jumps out at you. If you speak Spanish or Arabic, your instinct may look at the front, because those languages usually put the main noun first (the door of the house). German has the same last-part rule, but German genders often differ from Dutch ones, so check the Dutch article.
This is about as close to a real rule as Dutch gets. A rare exception is _het ogenblik_ (the moment), even though _de blik_ means "the look". And when the last part looks like two different words with different articles, you need the right word: _het fietspad_ (path), but _de schildpad_ (turtle, built on _de pad_, toad).
Remember: the last part is the boss. Find the boss, and use the boss's article.
Watch out
- Not: _het huisdeur_ Say: _de huisdeur_ (the head is _de deur_, not _het huis_)
- Not: _de fietspad_ Say: _het fietspad_ (_de fiets_ only describes, _het pad_ decides)
- Not: _de telefoonnummer_ Say: _het telefoonnummer_ (_het nummer_ is the head, whatever your own language says)
- Not: _een nieuwe fietspad_ Say: _een nieuw fietspad_ (a het-word, so no _-e_ after _een_)
Quick check
- Fill in _de_ or _het_: _... treinstation_ (from _de trein_ + _het station_).
- Fill in _de_ or _het_: _... waterfles_ (from _het water_ + _de fles_).
- Choose: _De boeken staan in (de / het) boekenkast._
- Fix the sentence: _Emma zwemt elke zaterdag in de zwembad._
Answers
- _het treinstation_: the head is _het station_.
- _de waterfles_: the head is _de fles_; _water_ only says what is in it.
- _de boekenkast_: _de kast_ decides, not _het boek_.
- _Emma zwemt elke zaterdag in het zwembad._: the head is _het bad_.
Use it today
Next time you are at the station or in the supermarket, collect five compound nouns from signs, such as _de fietsenstalling_ or _het winkelwagentje_. Split each one, check only the article of the last part, and say the whole word aloud with that article.