The pattern
When a small word is unstressed (said quickly, without emphasis), informal Dutch writing can show the shortened sound with an apostrophe. Use these short forms only for unstressed words in informal texts.
- 't = het, both as the article (the word for "the") and as the pronoun het (it): 't station, Ik weet 't niet.
- 'k = ik: 'k Ben er zo.
- m'n = mijn (my): m'n jas
- z'n = zijn only when it means his or its: z'n auto
- d'r = haar or er (there). With haar it covers both "her bag" and "I called her": d'r tas, Ik heb d'r gebeld. With er: D'r is geen brood meer.
- At the start of a sentence, 't and 'k stay lowercase and the next word gets the capital: 't Regent is simply Het regent with a short het. M'n and D'r just take a capital first letter.
- You will also meet 'n for een (a) and 'm for hem (him). Same idea.
Examples
| 't Regent zo hard dat ik de bus neem. | It's raining so hard that I'm taking the bus. |
| Ik wacht bij 't station tot Mei er is. | I'm waiting at the station until Mei gets there. |
| 'k Weet niet of Daan vanavond komt. | I don't know if Daan is coming tonight. |
| M'n fiets is gestolen, dus ik kom lopend. | My bike has been stolen, so I'm coming on foot. |
| Joris heeft z'n sleutels weer op kantoor laten liggen. | Joris has left his keys at the office again. |
| Yara viert zaterdag d'r verjaardag, dus ik koop nog een cadeautje. | Yara is celebrating her birthday on Saturday, so I'm buying a present. |
| Ik heb d'r gisteren gebeld, maar ze nam niet op. | I called her yesterday, but she didn't pick up. |
| Is d'r nog melk, of moet ik even naar de supermarkt? | Is there any milk left, or should I pop to the supermarket? |
Why it works this way
Dutch stresses the words that carry meaning and rushes through the small ones. In relaxed speech, het sounds like "ut", mijn like "mun", zijn like "zun", and ik can shrink to a single k sound. Unstressed haar and er can come out as "dur". The short spellings simply record that sound, and the apostrophe marks the swallowed part. Compare the unstressed pronouns we, je and ze: they are the unstressed versions of wij, jij and zij, but they are standard words without an apostrophe, so they are fine in formal texts too.
So think of the full form as the dictionary word and the short form as a voice memo. A message to a friend can sound like a voice memo. A letter to the gemeente, a job application or the writing part of an exam needs dictionary words. Two contrasts:
- M'n fiets is gestolen. (text to a friend) versus Mijn fiets is gestolen. (report to the police)
- Daan heeft z'n jas vergeten. (unstressed) versus Het was zijn idee, niet het mijne. (stressed for contrast, so no short form)
If you speak English, take care: these forms feel more casual than contractions such as I'm or don't, which are normal in most work emails. The line is a matter of style rather than a strict rule, and some chatty newspaper columns and adverts use m'n and z'n on purpose. More on register in formal and informal Dutch.
Remember: the apostrophe is a swallowed sound. Only write it where you would swallow the word when you speak, in a message that sounds like you talking.
Watch out
خطأWe z'n al thuis.
صوابWe zijn al thuis.
z'n only replaces zijn meaning his or its, never the verb
خطأ'T is koud vandaag.
صواب't Is koud vandaag.
the capital goes to the first full word
خطأIs dit z'n jas of d'r jas?
صوابIs dit zijn jas of haar jas?
a contrast needs stress, and short forms cannot carry stress
خطأIn de bijlage vindt u m'n cv.
صوابIn de bijlage vindt u mijn cv.
a job application calls for full forms
Quick check
- Choose the correct start of this chat message: 'T is bijna mijn beurt bij de huisarts. or 't Is bijna mijn beurt bij de huisarts.
- What does d'r stand for in Ik heb d'r fiets even geleend.: haar or er?
- Fix the mistake in this text message: Bas en Lotte z'n er al, waar blijf jij?
- Fill in mijn or m'n in an email to the gemeente: Hierbij stuur ik u een kopie van ... paspoort.
اعرض الإجابات
- 't Is bijna mijn beurt bij de huisarts. (after 't at the start, the next word takes the capital)
- haar (it says whose bike it is: her bike)
- Bas en Lotte zijn er al, waar blijf jij? (z'n cannot replace the verb zijn)
- mijn (a letter to the gemeente is formal, so use the full form)
Use it today
Send a friend or classmate three short WhatsApp messages in Dutch that use 't, m'n and d'r, for example about the weather, your bike or a neighbour. Then rewrite one of them with full forms, as if you were sending it to the gemeente.