Spoken Dutch swallows its small words, and informal writing often shows this on the page: _'t_ is _het_, _'k_ is _ik_, _m'n_ is _mijn_, _z'n_ is _zijn_ (his), and _d'r_ is _haar_ or _er_. You will see them all the time in chats, text messages and song lyrics. They are fine in informal writing, but in formal texts you write the full words.
The pattern
When a small word is unstressed (said quickly, without emphasis), informal Dutch writing can show the shortened sound with an apostrophe. Use these short forms only for unstressed words in informal texts.
- _'t_ = _het_, both as the article (the word for "the") and as the pronoun _het_ (it): _'t station_, _Ik weet 't niet._
- _'k_ = _ik_: _'k Ben er zo._
- _m'n_ = _mijn_ (my): _m'n jas_
- _z'n_ = _zijn_ only when it means his or its: _z'n auto_
- _d'r_ = _haar_ or _er_ (there). With _haar_ it covers both "her bag" and "I called her": _d'r tas_, _Ik heb d'r gebeld._ With _er_: _D'r is geen brood meer._
- At the start of a sentence, _'t_ and _'k_ stay lowercase and the next word gets the capital: _'t Regent_ is simply _Het regent_ with a short _het_. _M'n_ and _D'r_ just take a capital first letter.
- You will also meet _'n_ for _een_ (a) and _'m_ for _hem_ (him). Same idea.
Examples
| 't Regent zo hard dat ik de bus neem. | It's raining so hard that I'm taking the bus. |
|---|---|
| Ik wacht bij 't station tot Mei er is. | I'm waiting at the station until Mei gets there. |
| 'k Weet niet of Daan vanavond komt. | I don't know if Daan is coming tonight. |
| M'n fiets is gestolen, dus ik kom lopend. | My bike has been stolen, so I'm coming on foot. |
| Joris heeft z'n sleutels weer op kantoor laten liggen. | Joris has left his keys at the office again. |
| Yara viert zaterdag d'r verjaardag, dus ik koop nog een cadeautje. | Yara is celebrating her birthday on Saturday, so I'm buying a present. |
| Ik heb d'r gisteren gebeld, maar ze nam niet op. | I called her yesterday, but she didn't pick up. |
| Is d'r nog melk, of moet ik even naar de supermarkt? | Is there any milk left, or should I pop to the supermarket? |
Why it works this way
Dutch stresses the words that carry meaning and rushes through the small ones. In relaxed speech, _het_ sounds like "ut", _mijn_ like "mun", _zijn_ like "zun", and _ik_ can shrink to a single k sound. Unstressed _haar_ and _er_ can come out as "dur". The short spellings simply record that sound, and the apostrophe marks the swallowed part. Compare the [unstressed pronouns](#/lesson/stressed-unstressed) _we_, _je_ and _ze_: they are the unstressed versions of _wij_, _jij_ and _zij_, but they are standard words without an apostrophe, so they are fine in formal texts too.
So think of the full form as the dictionary word and the short form as a voice memo. A message to a friend can sound like a voice memo. A letter to the gemeente, a job application or the writing part of an exam needs dictionary words. Two contrasts:
- _M'n fiets is gestolen._ (text to a friend) versus _Mijn fiets is gestolen._ (report to the police)
- _Daan heeft z'n jas vergeten._ (unstressed) versus _Het was zijn idee, niet het mijne._ (stressed for contrast, so no short form)
If you speak English, take care: these forms feel more casual than contractions such as I'm or don't, which are normal in most work emails. The line is a matter of style rather than a strict rule, and some chatty newspaper columns and adverts use _m'n_ and _z'n_ on purpose. More on register in [formal and informal Dutch](#/lesson/formal-informal).
Remember: the apostrophe is a swallowed sound. Only write it where you would swallow the word when you speak, in a message that sounds like you talking.
Watch out
- Not: _We z'n al thuis._ Say: _We zijn al thuis._ (_z'n_ only replaces _zijn_ meaning his or its, never the verb)
- Not: _'T is koud vandaag._ Say: _'t Is koud vandaag._ (the capital goes to the first full word)
- Not: _Is dit z'n jas of d'r jas?_ Say: _Is dit zijn jas of haar jas?_ (a contrast needs stress, and short forms cannot carry stress)
- Not: _In de bijlage vindt u m'n cv._ Say: _In de bijlage vindt u mijn cv._ (a job application calls for full forms)
Quick check
- Choose the correct start of this chat message: _'T is bijna mijn beurt bij de huisarts._ or _'t Is bijna mijn beurt bij de huisarts._
- What does _d'r_ stand for in _Ik heb d'r fiets even geleend._: _haar_ or _er_?
- Fix the mistake in this text message: _Bas en Lotte z'n er al, waar blijf jij?_
- Fill in _mijn_ or _m'n_ in an email to the gemeente: _Hierbij stuur ik u een kopie van ... paspoort._
Answers
- _'t Is bijna mijn beurt bij de huisarts._ (after _'t_ at the start, the next word takes the capital)
- _haar_ (it says whose bike it is: her bike)
- _Bas en Lotte zijn er al, waar blijf jij?_ (_z'n_ cannot replace the verb _zijn_)
- _mijn_ (a letter to the gemeente is formal, so use the full form)
Use it today
Send a friend or classmate three short WhatsApp messages in Dutch that use _'t_, _m'n_ and _d'r_, for example about the weather, your bike or a neighbour. Then rewrite one of them with full forms, as if you were sending it to the gemeente.