In Dutch, a compound (a noun built from two or more words) is written as one word: _voetbalveld_, _fietsenstalling_, _huisartsenpost_. Sometimes a small linking sound glues the parts together, written _-s-_ or _-en-_. A hyphen is the exception: the main cases are two vowels that would run into each other, as in _auto-ongeluk_, many place names like _Noord-Holland_, and compounds with letters, digits or most abbreviations, like _tv-programma_.
The pattern
A compound noun is one word. You may need a linking _-s-_ or _-en-_ between the parts, and a hyphen mainly where two vowels clash, in many place names and next to letters, digits or most abbreviations.
- One thing, one word: _het voetbalveld_, _de klantenservice_. The last part says what it is, the first part says which kind.
- Linking _-s-_: write it when you hear it: _het dorpsplein_, _het verjaardagsfeest_. No s in your mouth, no s on paper: _het stadhuis_, _het fietspad_.
- Linking _-en-_: if you hear a neutral e between the parts and the first part has a plural ending only in _-en_, write _-en-_: _de boekenkast_ (_boeken_), _de pannenkoek_ (_pannen_). A few words keep just _-e-_, such as _de zonnebril_, because there is only one sun.
- Hyphen for clashing vowels: when the end of the first part and the start of the second could be read as one vowel sound: _het auto-ongeluk_, _de zee-egel_.
- Hyphen in place names: a direction word in front of the name of a region or country: _Noord-Holland_, _Zuid-Afrika_, _Oost-Europa_. _Zee_ is not a name, so _de Noordzee_ is one word.
- Hyphen with letters, digits and abbreviations: _het T-shirt_, _het 06-nummer_, _het tv-programma_. An abbreviation you say letter by letter takes a hyphen. One you say as a word joins up if it is written in lowercase, like _de pincode_, but keeps the hyphen if it has capitals: _een NAVO-land_.
Examples
| Carlos staat elke zaterdag langs het voetbalveld omdat zijn zoon een wedstrijd heeft. | Carlos stands by the football pitch every Saturday because his son has a match. |
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| Daan zet zijn fiets in de fietsenstalling bij het station. | Daan puts his bike in the bicycle parking at the station. |
| 's Ochtends is het druk op het fietspad langs het kanaal. | In the morning the cycle path along the canal is busy. |
| Er is vanavond een markt op het dorpsplein, dus ik ga even kijken. | There is a market on the village square tonight, so I'm going to have a look. |
| Bas vraagt of je zaterdag op zijn verjaardagsfeest komt. | Bas is asking if you're coming to his birthday party on Saturday. |
| Fatima bakt pannenkoeken omdat haar dochter jarig is. | Fatima is making pancakes because it's her daughter's birthday. |
| Sanne heeft een nieuwe boekenkast gekocht, maar die past niet door de deur. | Sanne bought a new bookcase, but it doesn't fit through the door. |
| In het weekend bel je de huisartsenpost, want de praktijk is dan dicht. | At the weekend you call the out-of-hours GP service, because the practice is closed then. |
| Ahmed was te laat omdat er een auto-ongeluk op de snelweg was. | Ahmed was late because there was a car accident on the motorway. |
| Priya woont in Haarlem, de hoofdstad van Noord-Holland. | Priya lives in Haarlem, the capital of North Holland. |
Why it works this way
Think of a compound as a label for one thing. The last part is the main word, and everything in front narrows it down: a _boekenkast_ is a kind of _kast_. That is also why the whole word takes the article of its last part: _het voetbalveld_, because of _het veld_ (see [Compound nouns take the article of the last part](#/lesson/compound-gender)).
English often leaves a space (football pitch, birthday party). In Dutch, a space breaks the label in two, and readers stumble. The mistake is so common that Dutch has a name for it: _de Engelse ziekte_, the English disease.
The linking letters are glue, not meaning. The _-en-_ looks like a plural, but a _pannenkoek_ is baked in one pan, and many speakers do not even pronounce the n. The spelling simply borrows the plural (see [Plurals with -en](#/lesson/plural-en)) so you can work it out on paper. The _-s-_ goes back to an old possessive ending and today simply follows the sound. There is no complete rule, but words ending in _-heid_ almost always take one: _het gezondheidscentrum_.
The hyphen is a small fence. Without it, _autoongeluk_ shows _oo_, and your eye reads one long vowel. The same fence keeps letters and digits readable: _tvprogramma_ is hard to decode. Within a word that is not a compound, such as a plural, Dutch uses a trema instead: _zeeën_ (more in [The trema in ë and ï, and the hyphen](#/lesson/trema-and-hyphen)).
Remember: one thing, one word. Then ask four quick questions: do I hear an _s_, does the first part have a plural in _-en_, would two vowels bump into each other, and is there a letter, digit or abbreviation?
Watch out
- Not: _het voetbal veld_ Say: _het voetbalveld_ (a compound is one word, whatever English does)
- Not: _de pannekoek_ Say: _de pannenkoek_ (the plural is _pannen_, so write the n even if you don't say it)
- Not: _het verjaardagfeest_ Say: _het verjaardagsfeest_ (you hear an s, so you write one)
- Not: _het autoongeluk_ Say: _het auto-ongeluk_ (the two o's would merge into one long vowel)
- Not: _Noord Holland_ Say: _Noord-Holland_ (a direction word before a region name gets a hyphen)
Quick check
- Fill in nothing, _-e-_ or _-en-_: _Yara koopt een nieuwe hond...mand._
- Fix the sentence: _We hebben morgen om tien uur een team vergadering._
- Fix the sentence: _Joris werkt bij een radioomroep in Hilversum._
- Fix the sentence: _Ahmed werkt in Eindhoven, in Noord Brabant._
Answers
- _hondenmand_: the plural of _hond_ is _honden_.
- _We hebben morgen om tien uur een teamvergadering._: one thing, one word.
- _Joris werkt bij een radio-omroep in Hilversum._: the two o's would merge.
- _Ahmed werkt in Eindhoven, in Noord-Brabant._: a direction word before a region name.
Use it today
Collect three compound words from signs at the station, in the supermarket or on the website of your _gemeente_, for example _vertrektijden_ or _statiegeldautomaat_. Split each one into its parts and note the glue: nothing, _-s-_, _-en-_ or a hyphen.