Building Compound Words
In Dutch, you can combine two nouns to create a new, single word. The gender of a compound noun (whether it takes de or het) is always determined by its final word.
For example, de stad (the city) combined with het centrum (the center) becomes het stadscentrum.
When gluing words together, Dutch often uses a linking sound, most commonly -s- or -en-.
The Linking '-s-'
An -s- often connects two nouns, especially when the first word is a location or concept like a city, station, or village.
| Yesterday I went to the city center. | Gisteren ging ik naar het stadscentrum. |
| The city bus stops on the corner of the street. | De stadsbus stopt op de hoek van de straat. |
| Everyone must respect this traffic rule. | Iedereen moet deze verkeersregel respecteren. |
The Linking '-en-'
The linking -en- is typically used when the first noun's plural only ends in -en. You can think of it as putting the first word into its plural form before attaching the second word.
For example, boek (book) takes the plural boeken. When you combine it with kast (cupboard), it becomes boekenkast (bookcase). Similarly, kat (cat) connects to bak (box) to form kattenbak.
| I have made a large bookcase. | Ik heb een grote boekenkast gemaakt. |
| You must clean the litter box now. | Je moet de kattenbak nu schoonmaken. |
| The small dog always sleeps in the dog bed. | De kleine hond slaapt altijd in de hondenmand. |
| My brother is renting an expensive student room. | Mijn broer huurt een dure studentenkamer. |