Hij, zij or het? Referring to things in Dutch
How to say 'it' in Dutch. When a thing is hij, het or ze, the old feminine words that take zij, and how die, dat and er help you out.
In English, a table, a book and an idea are all "it". In Dutch, a table is hij. That surprises almost every learner: why would furniture be "he"? The answer lies in the old gender system of Dutch, and in how people actually speak today. This post explains what to say in conversation, what you'll see in formal writing, and a couple of handy tricks to avoid the problem altogether.
The basic rule
Dutch pronouns for things follow the article of the noun, not the meaning.
| The noun | Subject | Object | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| de-word, singular | hij | hem | De trein is laat. Hij komt om tien over half. — The train is late. It's coming at twenty to. |
| het-word, singular | het | het | Het boek is goed. Ik heb het gisteren gelezen. — The book is good. I read it yesterday. |
| any plural | ze | ze | Waar zijn mijn sleutels? Ik zie ze niet. — Where are my keys? I can't see them. |
More examples with de-words:
- Waar is mijn telefoon? Ik kan hem niet vinden. — Where's my phone? I can't find it.
- Die jas is mooi. Hoeveel kost hij? — That coat is nice. How much does it cost?
- Mijn fiets is kapot. Ik breng hem morgen naar de winkel. — My bike is broken. I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow.
So het only refers back to het words. Wrong: De sleutel? Het ligt op tafel. Right: De sleutel? Hij ligt op tafel.
For plurals of things, use ze. The forms hen and hun as object pronouns are only for people (see object pronouns). Wrong: Ik heb hen gekocht (about shoes). Right: Ik heb ze gekocht. — I bought them.
Why hij? The old masculine and feminine
Dutch used to have three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Neuter nouns are today's het words. Masculine and feminine nouns merged into today's de words, but the pronouns kept a memory of the old split: masculine nouns took hij/hem, feminine nouns took zij/haar.
In the Netherlands, most speakers no longer feel which de words were feminine. The result: in everyday speech, almost every de-word is hij. De tafel, de lamp, de deur, de auto: all hij.
In Belgium, many speakers still feel the difference more strongly, so you'll hear zij for things more often there. See Flemish vs Dutch.
Feminine words in formal writing
There's one group where zij/haar is still common, especially in written and formal Dutch: abstract nouns with typically feminine suffixes.
| Suffix | Examples |
|---|---|
| -heid | de vrijheid, de gezondheid, de overheid |
| -ing | de regering, de vergadering, de oplossing |
| -tie, -sie | de organisatie, de situatie, de discussie |
| -teit | de universiteit, de kwaliteit |
| -ij, -erij | de maatschappij, de bakkerij |
| -schap (de-words) | de wetenschap, de vriendschap |
In a newspaper or official letter you'll see things like:
- De regering heeft haar plannen gepresenteerd. — The government has presented its plans.
- De universiteit is trots op haar studenten. — The university is proud of its students.
- De organisatie past haar beleid aan. — The organisation is adjusting its policy.
In speech, people use hij for many of these too, or avoid the choice (see the next section). The official word list of the Dutch Language Union (Taalunie) marks many de words as "m/v" (masculine or feminine), which means both hij and zij are accepted for them. A practical approach:
- Speaking: use hij/hem for de-words. You'll sound natural.
- Formal writing: with -heid, -ing, -tie, -teit and similar words, especially organisations, zij/haar is the safe traditional choice.
- Never use zij for a word you don't know is feminine just because it "feels" female. Grammatical gender has nothing to do with meaning.
Words for people follow real gender, not the article: het meisje is normally zij: Het meisje? Ze zit in de tuin. — The girl? She's in the garden.
The easy way out: die and dat
Here's what native speakers do all the time: instead of hij, het or ze, they use the demonstratives die and dat, usually at the start of the sentence.
- die for de-words and all plurals
- dat for het-words
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Wat vind je van die jas? — What do you think of that coat? | Die is mooi. — It's nice. |
| Ken je dat restaurant? — Do you know that restaurant? | Ja, dat is heel goed. — Yes, it's very good. |
| Waar is de vergadering? — Where's the meeting? | Die is in zaal 3. — It's in room 3. |
| Heb je de foto's gezien? — Have you seen the photos? | Nee, die heb ik nog niet gezien. — No, I haven't seen them yet. |
This is very natural Dutch, not lazy. It also neatly sidesteps the hij/zij question for words like vergadering. And when you want to stress "it", you have to use dat, because het can't be stressed: Dat boek? Dat heb ik al gelezen. — That book? I've already read it.
Dat is also used for whole situations or ideas, whatever the noun: Dat is waar. — That's true. Dat weet ik niet. — I don't know (that).
Remember the matching rule when you point at one specific thing: Die is mooi for a coat (de jas), Dat is mooi for a shirt (het shirt).
Possessives for things: zijn, haar, hun and ervan
"Its" in Dutch follows the same logic as the pronouns:
- de-word (masculine) or het-word: zijn
- de-word treated as feminine: haar
- plural: hun
Examples:
- Het huis heeft zijn charme. — The house has its charm.
- Amsterdam is bekend om zijn grachten. — Amsterdam is famous for its canals.
- De bomen verliezen hun bladeren. — The trees are losing their leaves.
- De gemeente informeert haar inwoners. — The municipality informs its residents.
Note that hun is fine as a possessive for things; it's only the object pronoun hen/hun that's limited to people.
Often, though, Dutch avoids a possessive for things altogether and uses ervan ("of it") or just the article:
- Mooie jas! Wat is de prijs ervan? — Nice coat! What's the price of it?
- Ik ken dat liedje, maar de titel weet ik niet meer. — I know that song, but I can't remember its title.
Prepositions: er instead of hem and het
One more important point: after a preposition, you normally don't use hem, het or ze for things. You use er + preposition instead.
- Waar is de stoel? Ik zit erop. — Where's the chair? I'm sitting on it.
- Is dat je pen? Mag ik ermee schrijven? — Is that your pen? Can I write with it?
- Ik heb een probleem. Ik denk er steeds aan. — I have a problem. I keep thinking about it.
In casual speech you'll sometimes hear op hem about a thing, but erop is the standard form, and it works for de-words, het-words and plurals alike. Our post on the word er explains the details.
Quick summary
- de-word → hij/hem; het-word → het; plural → ze.
- In speech in the Netherlands, nearly all de-words are hij.
- In formal writing, words in -heid, -ing, -tie, -teit, -ij often take zij/haar, especially organisations.
- Die (de-words, plurals) and dat (het-words) work as "it": Die is mooi.
- "Its" = zijn (masculine and het-words), haar (feminine), hun (plural), or ervan.
- After a preposition, use er + preposition: erop, ermee, eraan.
Practise it
Learn which nouns take de and het in Articles, spot the typical de-word endings in De-word patterns, and master erop, ermee and friends in The word er. You can also drill articles with the de/het trainer.