Iets moois, iets lekkers, adjectives with -s in Dutch
Why Dutch says iets lekkers and niets nieuws, how to spell the -s form, and how adjectives become nouns, as in de armen and het leuke is.
Zullen we iets lekkers kopen? — Shall we buy something tasty? That little -s at the end of lekkers puzzles many learners. It's not a plural and not a possessive: it's a special adjective form that Dutch uses after words like iets and niets. In this post you'll learn when to add it, how to spell it, and how Dutch turns adjectives into nouns in other ways too: de armen, het leuke is…, het mooiste.
Something nice: iets + adjective + -s
In English, the adjective comes after "something": something nice, nothing new. Dutch does the same, and adds -s to the adjective:
- Ik wil iets lekkers. — I want something tasty.
- Er is niets nieuws. — There's nothing new.
- Heb je iets leuks gedaan? — Did you do anything fun?
- Dat is niks bijzonders. — That's nothing special.
The words that trigger this -s are words of quantity:
| Word | Example |
|---|---|
| iets | iets moois — something beautiful |
| niets / niks | niets ergs — nothing bad |
| wat (informal "something") | Zullen we wat leuks doen? — Shall we do something fun? |
| veel | veel goeds — a lot of good |
| weinig | weinig nieuws — little that's new |
| genoeg | genoeg leuks — enough fun things |
| allerlei | allerlei moois — all sorts of lovely things |
The -s form is the same for every adjective and every situation: no de/het, no plural, no other ending.
A very common fixed expression: Veel liefs! — Lots of love! (at the end of a message).
Spelling the -s form
You simply add -s to the basic form of the adjective. Because the -s doesn't add a syllable, the spelling of the stem doesn't change.
| Adjective | -s form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mooi | moois | iets moois — something beautiful |
| lekker | lekkers | iets lekkers — something tasty |
| groot | groots | iets groots — something big |
| raar | raars | iets raars — something strange |
| duur | duurs | niets duurs — nothing expensive |
| lief | liefs | veel liefs — lots of love |
| goed | goeds | niets goeds — nothing good |
| ander | anders | iets anders — something else |
Points to notice:
- Long vowels stay double: groot → groots, raar → raars. Compare the -e form, where the vowel becomes single: grote, rare. See Dutch spelling rules.
- f and s stay f and s: lief → liefs, not lievs. Again, compare the -e form lieve.
- Iets groots happens to look exactly like the adjective groots (grand, magnificent), but in iets groots it's simply the -s form of groot: something big.
Adjectives that already end in -s
If the adjective already ends in -s, you don't add another one:
- iets vies — something disgusting (vies)
- iets fris — something cool / a cold drink (fris)
- iets Frans — something French
- iets grijs — something grey
So: Wil je iets fris drinken? — Would you like a cold drink? Wrong: iets frisses.
Comparatives work too
The comparative gets the same -s:
- Heb je niets beters te doen? — Don't you have anything better to do?
- Ik heb nog nooit iets mooiers gezien. — I've never seen anything more beautiful.
Superlatives don't follow iets; for those, see het mooiste below.
Word order
The -s adjective comes straight after iets, niets and so on. Anything else follows:
- Ik heb iets leuks voor je gekocht. — I bought something nice for you.
- Is er nog iets lekkers te eten? — Is there anything tasty left to eat?
Don't put the adjective before iets. Wrong: lekker iets.
Adjectives as nouns: de armen, een bekende
Dutch can also turn an adjective into a noun by adding the normal -e ending and an article. When this refers to people, it works like a regular noun, with a plural in -n:
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| de zieke | de zieken | the sick person / the sick |
| de arme | de armen | the poor person / the poor |
| de rijke | de rijken | the rich person / the rich |
| de oudere | de ouderen | the older person / the elderly |
| een bekende | bekenden | an acquaintance / a celebrity |
| de volwassene | de volwassenen | the adult / adults |
- De rijken worden rijker en de armen worden armer. — The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
- Ze is een bekende van mijn moeder. — She's an acquaintance of my mother's.
English often needs "person" or "people" here; Dutch doesn't.
Leaving out the noun
When the noun is clear from context, Dutch simply drops it and keeps the adjective with its ending:
- Welke jas wil je? De blauwe. — Which coat do you want? The blue one.
- Ik neem het grote glas, jij het kleine. — I'll take the big glass, you take the small one.
English needs "one"; Dutch doesn't have an equivalent here. Wrong: de blauwe een.
Het leuke is…: abstract ideas
With het + adjective + -e, Dutch talks about "the … thing" or "the … part":
- Het leuke is dat iedereen meedoet. — The nice thing is that everyone joins in.
- Het rare is dat niemand het weet. — The strange thing is that nobody knows.
- Het nadeel is de prijs, maar het goede is de locatie. — The downside is the price, but the good thing is the location.
This is a great structure for giving opinions.
Het mooiste: superlatives as nouns
Superlatives work the same way:
- Het mooiste van Nederland zijn de grachten. — The most beautiful thing about the Netherlands is the canals.
- Dat is het beste wat je kunt doen. — That's the best thing you can do.
- Het moeilijkste is het begin. — The hardest part is the beginning.
Notice wat after the superlative: het beste wat…. In careful writing you'll also see het beste dat…; both are accepted.
When the superlative is the predicate ("this one is the nicest"), both -st and -ste are correct:
- Deze jas is het mooist. / Deze jas is het mooiste. — This coat is the nicest.
Finally, the fixed pattern op zijn + superlative means "at its…": Amsterdam is op zijn mooist in het voorjaar. — Amsterdam is at its most beautiful in spring. More on these forms in comparatives and superlatives.
Quick summary
- After iets, niets/niks, wat, veel, weinig, genoeg, allerlei: adjective + -s: iets lekkers, niets nieuws.
- Just add -s to the base form: mooi → moois, groot → groots, lief → liefs.
- Adjectives ending in -s don't get another: iets vies, iets fris.
- Comparatives too: iets beters.
- People: de zieke / de zieken, de armen, een bekende.
- Drop the noun: de blauwe (the blue one).
- Abstract: het leuke is…; superlative: het mooiste, het beste wat….
Practise it
Drill the -s form in Iets moois, use het leuke is and het beste to say what you think in Giving opinions, and ask for iets lekkers at the shop in Groceries.