Deze, die, dit, dat: Dutch demonstratives explained
Learn when to use deze, die, dit and dat in Dutch, how they work as pronouns, why Dutch says 'Dit zijn mijn kinderen', plus zo'n and zulke.
"This" and "that" are among the first words you need in a shop, at home or when pointing at a photo. English has two forms for the singular and two for the plural: this/these and that/those. Dutch has four words too — deze, die, dit, dat — but they are organised differently. The choice depends on two questions: is it near or far, and is the noun a de word, a het word or a plural?
The basic system
| de words | het words | plural (all) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| near (this / these) | deze | dit | deze |
| far (that / those) | die | dat | die |
So dit and dat are only for singular het words. Everything else — de words and all plurals — uses deze and die.
- Deze stoel is kapot. — This chair is broken. (de stoel)
- Dit huis is te duur. — This house is too expensive. (het huis)
- Die jas is mooi. — That coat is nice. (de jas)
- Dat boek is spannend. — That book is exciting. (het boek)
- Deze schoenen zijn nieuw. — These shoes are new.
- Die kinderen zijn lief. — Those children are sweet.
Because plurals are always de words, a het word switches when it becomes plural: dit huis but deze huizen, dat kind but die kinderen. If you're unsure about the article of a noun, our guide to de or het will help.
Tip: A handy memory hook: the two words with a t (dit, dat) go with het, which also has a t.
Near and far
Near versus far works much like in English, in space and in time.
- Deze fiets hier is van mij, die fiets daar is van Sanne. — This bike here is mine, that bike over there is Sanne's.
- deze week — this week
- dit jaar — this year
- die dag — that day
- in die tijd — in those days
You can add hier and daar for extra clarity, especially when pointing: Ik wil deze hier, niet die daar. — I want this one here, not that one there.
Adjectives after a demonstrative always end in -e, also with het words: dit mooie huis, dat kleine kind, deze oude fiets. Compare een mooi huis, where there's no -e. See adjective endings.
Demonstratives without a noun
Just like English "this one" or "that one", Dutch demonstratives can stand alone as pronouns. Dutch doesn't need a word for "one":
- Welke jas neem je? Deze of die? — Which coat are you taking? This one or that one?
- Ik vind dit leuker. — I like this one better. (talking about het shirt)
Die and dat as "he", "she", "it"
In spoken Dutch, die and dat are often used instead of hij, zij or het, especially at the start of a sentence, to pick up something you just mentioned. It's very common and completely normal:
- Ken je Peter? Die woont naast ons. — Do you know Peter? He lives next door to us.
- Waar is mijn telefoon? O, die ligt op tafel. — Where's my phone? Oh, it's on the table.
- Heb je dat boek gelezen? Dat is echt goed. — Have you read that book? It's really good.
- Die is mooi! — That one's nice! (pointing at a de word, e.g. a lamp)
The same de/het rule applies: die for de words, people and plurals, dat for het words.
Dat for ideas and situations
Dat (and sometimes dit) refers to a whole idea, a fact or a situation, regardless of any noun:
- Dat is waar. — That's true.
- Dat weet ik niet. — I don't know (that).
- Dat klopt. — That's right.
- Dit is belangrijk: kom op tijd. — This is important: be on time.
Tip: After a preposition, dit and dat (meaning "this/that thing") turn into hier- and daar-: Wat doe je daarmee? — What are you doing with that? Wrong: met dat. More in the word er.
Dit zijn, dat zijn: introducing things and people
Here is a big difference from English. When you introduce or identify something with zijn ("to be"), Dutch uses dit or dat — even for plurals and for de words and people. The verb agrees with what follows.
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| Dit is mijn broer. | This is my brother. |
| Dit zijn mijn kinderen. | These are my children. |
| Dat is mijn moeder. | That's my mother. |
| Dat zijn mijn ouders. | Those are my parents. |
| Wat is dat? | What's that? |
| Wie zijn dat? | Who are they / those people? |
Wrong: Deze zijn mijn kinderen. That sounds like "these ones (out of a group) are my children", which isn't what you mean when you introduce them.
Compare: when deze/die is used as a determiner with a noun, normal rules apply: Deze kinderen zijn van mijn zus. — These children are my sister's.
The same goes for het: Het zijn mijn sleutels. — They're my keys. Het is een mooie dag. — It's a nice day.
Zo'n and zulke: "such a" and "such"
Zo'n (short for zo een) means "such a" or "a … like that". Zulke is the plural.
| Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| zo'n | singular countable nouns (de and het) | Ik wil ook zo'n fiets. — I want a bike like that too. |
| zulke | plurals and uncountable de words | Ik wil ook zulke schoenen. — I want shoes like that too. |
| zulk | uncountable het words | Ik hou van zulk weer. — I love weather like this. |
- Het is zo'n leuk huis! — It's such a nice house!
- Je hebt zulke mooie ogen. — You have such beautiful eyes.
- Zulk mooi weer hadden we niet verwacht. — We didn't expect such nice weather.
In everyday speech you'll also hear zo'n with plurals (zo'n mooie schoenen), but in careful Dutch zulke is the correct choice there.
Zo'n before a number means "about": Er waren zo'n twintig mensen. — There were about twenty people.
Die: demonstrative or relative?
Die has a second job: it's also a relative pronoun ("who", "which", "that"). You can tell them apart by the word order.
- Die man woont hier. — That man lives here. (demonstrative: verb in second position)
- De man die hier woont, is aardig. — The man who lives here is nice. (relative: the verb woont goes to the end of its clause)
The relative version always comes right after a noun and starts a subordinate clause. Likewise dat can be a relative pronoun (het huis dat we kopen) or the conjunction "that" (Ik denk dat het regent. — I think that it's raining). See relative pronouns for the full story.
Diegene, degene and datgene
You'll meet these longer forms in writing. They mean "the one (who)" or "that (which)" and are almost always followed by a relative clause:
- Degene die het laatst vertrekt, doet het licht uit. — The last one to leave turns off the light.
- Diegene die dit heeft gedaan, moet zich melden. — Whoever did this must come forward.
- Datgene wat je zoekt, ligt in de kast. — What you're looking for is in the cupboard.
Degene is the most common; diegene and datgene are formal. In speech, people usually say Wie het laatst vertrekt, … or Wat je zoekt, ….
Quick summary
- Deze (this/these) and die (that/those) go with de words and all plurals.
- Dit (this) and dat (that) go only with singular het words.
- An adjective after any demonstrative ends in -e: dit mooie huis.
- Demonstratives can stand alone: deze of die?
- In speech, die and dat often replace hij/zij/het: Die woont naast ons.
- Introducing with zijn: Dit is mijn broer, Dit zijn mijn kinderen — never deze zijn.
- Zo'n + singular, zulke + plural, zulk + uncountable het word.
- Relative die sends the verb to the end: de man die hier woont.
Practise it
Use deze, die, dit and dat with real nouns in Articles, introduce people with Dit is… and Dit zijn… in Family, and point at things you want to buy in Shopping. Related reading: personal pronouns.