Questions & Answers about Wij betalen het rekeninkje.
Why does the diminutive of rekening end in -nkje instead of just adding -tje?
Words that end in an unstressed -ing, like rekening (bill), get the suffix -kje. To make it easier to pronounce, there is a spelling change: the g at the end of the base word is dropped. Therefore, rekening + kje becomes rekeninkje.
The normal word for "bill" is de rekening. Why does this sentence use het?
All singular diminutive words in Dutch (words ending in -je, -tje, -kje, etc.) automatically become het words. Even though the base word is de rekening, the diminutive is always het rekeninkje.
Does rekeninkje mean the bill is for a very small amount of money?
Not necessarily! Dutch speakers often use diminutives to make a sentence sound friendlier, more casual, or polite. Calling a bill a rekeninkje is a very common way to soften the blow of having to pay, regardless of the actual amount.
If we were paying multiple small bills, how would we make rekeninkje plural?
To make a diminutive plural, you simply add an s to the end, making it rekeninkjes. Also, because all plural nouns in Dutch take de, the phrase would become de rekeninkjes.
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