Capital letters in Dutch, when to use them and when not
Dutch capital letters explained. Names, van and de in surnames, countries and languages, days and months, holidays, IJ, 's avonds and u.
Dutch uses fewer capital letters than English. Days, months, titles and the word for "I" are all lowercase. On the other hand, Dutch has a few capital rules English doesn't have at all: the double capital in IJsland, and the capital that jumps to the second word in 's Avonds. This guide goes through the system step by step.
The basic rule
Dutch uses a capital letter in two situations:
- At the start of a sentence.
- For names (proper nouns) and words derived from geographical names.
Everything else is lowercase. That sounds the same as English, but the details differ, so here are the big differences at a glance.
| English | Dutch | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | lowercase ik | Morgen ga ik naar Gent. — Tomorrow I'm going to Ghent. |
| Monday, May | lowercase | maandag 5 mei — Monday 5 May |
| Mr, Doctor, King (before a name) | lowercase | meneer Jansen, dokter Bakker, koning Willem-Alexander |
| Book titles: Every Main Word | only the first word | De ontdekking van de hemel (a novel by Harry Mulisch) |
| Dutch, English (languages) | capital, same as English | Ik leer Nederlands. — I'm learning Dutch. |
| you (polite) | lowercase u | Kunt u mij helpen? — Can you help me? |
Start of the sentence, and the 's rule
The first word of a sentence gets a capital: Het regent. — It's raining.
But what if the sentence starts with a shortened word that begins with an apostrophe, like 's (from des) or 't (from het)? Then the apostrophe word stays lowercase and the next word gets the capital:
- 's Avonds kijk ik tv. — In the evening I watch TV.
- 's Ochtends drink ik koffie. — In the morning I drink coffee.
- 't Is koud vandaag. — It's cold today.
Inside a sentence everything is lowercase again: Ik werk 's avonds. — I work in the evenings. Read more about where 's avonds comes from in old case forms.
Numbers work differently: when a sentence starts with a number written as digits, the number can't take a capital and the next word stays lowercase. 3 mensen at the start of a sentence looks odd, so it's better to write the number out: Drie mensen waren te laat. — Three people were late.
Names: people, places and surnames
Names of people, cities, countries, rivers, streets, parks and so on get a capital. For geographical names with a common noun in them, the whole name is usually capitalised as one name:
- de Noordzee — the North Sea
- het Vondelpark — the Vondelpark
- de Kalverstraat — the Kalverstraat
- de Waddeneilanden — the Wadden Islands
The article de or het in front stays lowercase.
Van, de and ten in surnames
Dutch surnames often contain little words like van, de, van der or ten (called tussenvoegsels). In the Netherlands the rule is:
- With a first name or initial in front: lowercase. Jan van Dijk, A. de Vries, Sanne ten Brink.
- Without a first name or initial: capital on the first little word. meneer Van Dijk, mevrouw De Vries, De heer Ten Brink is er niet.
Only the first little word gets the capital: mevrouw Van den Berg. In Belgium the rules are different: names are written exactly as registered, for example Van Damme always with a capital. See Dutch names and surnames for much more.
Countries, nationalities and languages
These all get a capital, just like in English. Dutch also capitalises adjectives made from geographical names:
| Country | Language / adjective | Person |
|---|---|---|
| Nederland | Nederlands | een Nederlander, een Nederlandse |
| België | Belgisch | een Belg |
| Engeland | Engels | een Engelsman, een Engelse |
| Frankrijk | Frans | een Fransman, een Française |
| Duitsland | Duits | een Duitser, een Duitse |
- We eten Franse kaas. — We're eating French cheese.
- Ze is Duits, maar ze spreekt perfect Nederlands. — She's German, but she speaks perfect Dutch.
The same goes for regions and cities: Amsterdamse grachten (Amsterdam canals), Friese paarden (Frisian horses).
Compass points are lowercase when they're just directions: in het noorden van het land — in the north of the country. They get a capital when they're part of a name: Noord-Holland, Zuid-Afrika, het Midden-Oosten.
Days, months, seasons and holidays
Days, months and seasons are lowercase in Dutch (unless they start a sentence), even at the start of a date:
- maandag, dinsdag, zaterdag
- januari, juli, december
- de lente, de zomer, de herfst, de winter
- Op vrijdag 12 juni is de winkel dicht. — On Friday 12 June the shop is closed.
Holidays, though, are names, so they get a capital: Kerstmis, Pasen, Pinksteren, Koningsdag, Bevrijdingsdag.
- Met Pasen gaan we naar oma. — At Easter we're going to grandma's.
- Op Koningsdag is alles oranje. — On King's Day everything is orange.
But compound words with a holiday in them are ordinary nouns, so they're lowercase: de kerstboom (Christmas tree), de kerstvakantie (Christmas holiday), het paasei (Easter egg). The short form kerst is also lowercase: Wat doe je met kerst? — What are you doing for Christmas? A few other days are written lowercase too, such as oudejaarsavond (New Year's Eve), nieuwjaarsdag (New Year's Day) and the feast sinterklaas (5 December), although the saint himself is Sinterklaas: Wat krijg je voor sinterklaas? When in doubt, check a dictionary. More in days and months and Dutch holidays and traditions.
Titles, ik and u
Titles and forms of address are lowercase, even right before a name:
- meneer Bakker, mevrouw Smit — Mr Bakker, Mrs Smit
- dokter Visser, professor De Jong — Doctor Visser, Professor De Jong
- koning Willem-Alexander, minister-president — King Willem-Alexander, prime minister
Abbreviated titles are lowercase as well: dhr. Bakker, mevr. Smit.
The pronoun ik is lowercase, unlike English "I": Morgen bel ik je. — Tomorrow I'll call you. Polite u is lowercase too: Hoe gaat het met u? — How are you? You may see a capital U in old texts or religious language, but not in normal modern Dutch. See formal and informal you.
IJ: the double capital
The combination ij counts as one letter in this situation. At the start of a word that needs a capital, both letters are capitalised:
- IJsland — Iceland
- de IJssel — the IJssel river
- IJmuiden — IJmuiden (a port town)
- IJs is lekker in de zomer. — Ice cream is nice in summer.
Wrong: Ijsland, Ijs is lekker. This only applies to ij. A word starting with ui or ei just gets one capital: Eindhoven, Uitgeest.
Abbreviations and brands
Abbreviations that are pronounced letter by letter usually keep capitals when they come from a name: de NS (Dutch railways), de EU, de VS (USA), de KLM. Ordinary abbreviations are lowercase: btw (VAT), a.u.b. (please), bijv. (e.g.), o.a. (among others). See written abbreviations for the full list.
Brand and company names have a capital: Albert Heijn, Philips, een Volvo.
Quick summary
- Capitals at the start of a sentence and for names; otherwise lowercase.
- ik, u, days, months, seasons and titles before names (meneer, dokter, koning) are lowercase.
- Sentence starting with 's or 't: capital on the next word: 's Avonds, 't Is.
- Surnames: Jan van Dijk, but meneer Van Dijk without a first name (Netherlands rule).
- Countries, languages, nationalities and their adjectives: Nederland, Nederlands, Franse kaas.
- Holidays get a capital (Pasen, Koningsdag), but compounds don't (kerstboom, paasei).
- IJ gets a double capital: IJsland.
- Compass points are lowercase unless part of a name: het noorden, but Noord-Holland.
Practise it
Write country and language names in Countries, practise lowercase days and months in Months, and learn the holiday names in Holidays.