Separable verbs are one of the defining features of Dutch: opstaan (to get up), meenemen (to take along), aankomen (to arrive). In a normal main clause their particle splits off and flies to the end — ik sta om zeven uur op, neem je paraplu mee. So when you need the noun built from such a verb, a reasonable English instinct is to keep the two parts separate, the way English writes getting up or the taking along as words. That instinct is wrong. When a separable verb is nominalised, the particle rejoins the stem and the resulting noun is written solid, as one word: het opstaan, de aankomst, de aanvaller. There is no space and no hyphen. This page gives you the three ways to build these nouns and locks in the one rule that governs all of them.
Route 1: het + infinitive (the nominalised infinitive)
Any verb's infinitive can become a het-noun meaning "the act of ___ing" (this is conversion; see the related page). With a separable verb, the infinitive you nominalise is the solid dictionary form — particle in front, glued on — so the noun is solid too. Opstaan → het opstaan; meenemen → het meenemen; afwassen → het afwassen.
Het opstaan valt me 's winters altijd zwaar.
Getting up is always hard for me in winter. The verb splits in a clause (ik sta op), but the noun is solid: het opstaan.
Het meenemen van eigen drinken is hier niet toegestaan.
Bringing your own drinks is not allowed here. 'Het meenemen', one word, particle attached.
Na het afwassen ga ik even zitten.
After doing the dishes I'll sit down for a bit. 'Het afwassen', solid.
Like every nominalised infinitive, these are automatically het-words — the gender is guaranteed. And like every conversion, the particle never detaches in this form: you will never see het nemen mee or het staan op.
Route 2: result nouns in -ing and -st
Many separable verbs have a dedicated result/action noun built with a suffix — most often -ing (a de-word) or -st (also usually de). Again the particle stays attached and the noun is solid.
| Verb | Noun | Gender | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| aankomen | de aankomst | de | arrival |
| opleiden | de opleiding | de | education / training |
| uitnodigen | de uitnodiging | de | invitation |
| afspreken | de afspraak | de | appointment / agreement |
| uitgaan | de uitgang | de | exit |
| ingaan | de ingang | de | entrance |
| opstaan | de opstanding | de | resurrection |
Notice that opstaan yields two nouns with different senses: the plain nominalised infinitive het opstaan (the everyday "getting up") and the derived de opstanding (the religious "resurrection"). The derivation route often carries the more specialised meaning.
De aankomst van de trein is vertraagd.
The train's arrival is delayed. From 'aankomen' → 'de aankomst', solid, de-word.
Ik heb om drie uur een afspraak bij de tandarts.
I have a dentist's appointment at three. From 'afspreken' → 'de afspraak'.
De uitgang is aan de achterkant van het gebouw.
The exit is at the back of the building. From 'uitgaan' → 'de uitgang'; compare 'de ingang' (entrance).
Heb je de uitnodiging voor het feest al gekregen?
Have you got the invitation to the party yet? From 'uitnodigen' → 'de uitnodiging', a de-word via -ing.
Route 3: agent nouns in -er
To name the person who does the action, add -er to the stem — and once more the particle rejoins at the front, solid. Meelopen (to walk along / go with the flow) → de meeloper; aanvallen (to attack) → de aanvaller; opvolgen (to succeed/follow) → de opvolger. All agent nouns of this kind are de-words.
| Verb | Agent noun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aanvallen | de aanvaller | attacker / (football) striker |
| opvolgen | de opvolger | successor |
| meelopen | de meeloper | follower / yes-man |
| deelnemen | de deelnemer | participant |
| toeschouwen | de toeschouwer | spectator |
Hun beste aanvaller scoorde twee keer.
Their best striker scored twice. From 'aanvallen' → 'de aanvaller', solid.
De directeur stelde zijn opvolger voor.
The director introduced his successor. From 'opvolgen' → 'de opvolger'.
Hij is geen leider, gewoon een meeloper.
He's no leader, just a follower. From 'meelopen' → 'de meeloper'.
The one rule, restated
Across all three routes the principle is identical: the particle that splits off in a finite clause comes back and attaches when the verb becomes a noun, and the noun is written solid. The only thing that changes between routes is the suffix and the gender:
- het + infinitive → always het (het opstaan, het meenemen)
- -ing / -st result noun → usually de (de aankomst, de uitnodiging)
- -er agent noun → always de (de aanvaller, de opvolger)
Common Mistakes
❌ het staan op is 's winters zwaar
Incorrect — the particle must rejoin and the noun be solid: het opstaan.
✅ het opstaan is 's winters zwaar
getting up is hard in winter — the nominalised infinitive is solid, particle attached.
❌ de komst aan van de trein
Incorrect — the result noun is solid: 'de aankomst', not split.
✅ de aankomst van de trein
the arrival of the train — particle attached, one word.
❌ het meenemen van eigen drinken → het nemen mee
Incorrect — a nominalised separable verb never splits; the particle stays in front.
✅ het meenemen van eigen drinken
bringing your own drinks — 'het meenemen', solid.
❌ de opstaan in plaats van de opstanding
Incorrect — the religious sense uses the derived noun 'de opstanding', not the bare infinitive.
✅ de opstanding
the resurrection — the -ing derivation carries the specialised meaning.
❌ de meenemen / het aanvaller
Incorrect — wrong genders: agent nouns in -er are de (de aanvaller), nominalised infinitives are het (het meenemen).
✅ het meenemen / de aanvaller
the act of taking along (het) / the attacker (de) — match the gender to the route.
Key Takeaways
- A separable verb splits in a finite clause (ik sta op) but rejoins and goes solid the instant it becomes a noun: het opstaan.
- Three routes: het + infinitive (always het), -ing/-st result noun (usually de: de aankomst, de uitnodiging), and -er agent noun (always de: de aanvaller, de opvolger).
- The noun is one word — never space or hyphenate the particle (de uitgang, not de gang uit).
- The derivation route can carry a specialised sense the plain infinitive does not: het opstaan (getting up) vs de opstanding (resurrection).
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Separable Verbs: OverviewA2 — What separable verbs are, how to recognise them by stress (ÓPbellen, not opBELlen), and how the particle behaves across infinitive, present, and participle — the hub for every separable-verb page.
- Conversion and Back-FormationC1 — Dutch changes a word's class without any affix: an infinitive becomes a neuter noun (het eten, het zwemmen), an adjective becomes a noun (het goede, een blinde), and a noun becomes a verb (fietsen, mailen, appen). This page covers conversion and its rarer cousin back-formation (stofzuigen), with the gender and inflection rules that follow.
- Agent and Instrument NounsB1 — Dutch builds 'one who does X' and 'thing that does X' from verbs with a small set of suffixes — above all -er (bakker, opener), plus -aar (leraar, handelaar) and historically female -ster (verpleegster). This page explains which suffix attaches where, why almost all of them are de-words, and the errors English speakers make.
- Word Formation in Dutch: OverviewB1 — Dutch builds new words three ways: compounding (gluing words solid, like keukentafel), derivation (adding prefixes and suffixes, like verwerken or vrijheid), and conversion (using a word as a different part of speech, like het eten). This page orients you to all three and shows how parsing a word into its pieces lets you decode and even predict the meaning, gender, and plural of words you have never seen.
- Noun Suffixes and GenderB1 — Dutch noun suffixes are the single most reliable shortcut to de/het. Suffixes like -ing, -heid, -tie, -teit, and -ist make de-words; suffixes like -je, -sel, -isme, -ment, and -um make het-words. This page gives the full tables, the one genuine trap (-schap, which is mostly de but het in landschap), and how to use suffixes to predict an article you have never heard.