The pattern
When a stressed short vowel stays short, double the single consonant after it before an ending that starts with a vowel. Otherwise, write one.
- Plurals: de kat, de katten
- Verbs: ik stop, wij stoppen
- Adjectives: dik, een dikke jas
- Before -t it stays single: hij stopt
- Two different consonants already: no change, de hond, de honden
- ch, ng and x never double: lachen, zingen, boxen
- A few words get a long vowel instead and keep one consonant: de dag, de dagen, de weg, de wegen
Examples
| Daan heeft een bal, maar Bas heeft drie ballen. | Daan has a ball, but Bas has three balls. |
| Ik zit hier en jullie zitten daar. | I am sitting here and you are sitting there. |
| Joris stopt bij het stoplicht en wij stoppen ook. | Joris stops at the traffic light and we stop too. |
| Priya koopt een fles melk en twee flessen water. | Priya buys a bottle of milk and two bottles of water. |
| Ahmed draagt een dikke jas. | Ahmed is wearing a thick coat. |
| Wij lachen en zingen voor Lotte, want ze is jarig. | We laugh and sing for Lotte, because it is her birthday. |
Why it works this way
One consonant between two vowels starts the next syllable (see open and closed syllables). So balen would split as ba-len, and the a would end an open syllable (one that ends in a vowel), where a stressed single a, e, o or u is usually read long. A second l closes the syllable: bal-len, with a short a.
One letter changes the word: de mannen (the men), de manen (the moons).
In a small group of words the vowel really does become long before the ending: de dag has a short a, de dagen a long one. The spelling of the singular does not warn you, so learn these plurals as you meet them.
English writes ball and will. Dutch writes bal and wil; only a few loanwords, such as jazz, end in a double consonant. The pairs ch and ng never double, even though the vowel stays short.
The rule is about stressed vowels. Some unstressed last syllables keep one consonant: de perzik, de perziken.
Remember: one consonant closes the short vowel, its twin starts the ending. No vowel after it, no twin.
Watch out
FalschIk will koffie.
RichtigIk wil koffie.
the verb form wil ends in one l
FalschWij ziten in de trein.
RichtigWij zitten in de trein.
short i, so the t doubles
Falschtwee flesen water
Richtigtwee flessen water
short e, so the s doubles
FalschHij stoppt hier.
RichtigHij stopt hier.
-t is not a vowel, so the p stays single
Quick check
- Write the plural: een bus, twee ...
- Choose: Wij (bakken / baken) een taart voor Bas.
- Fix the sentence: Ik stopp om vijf uur.
- Fill in the gap: ik zing, wij ...
Antworten zeigen
- bussen (short u, so the s doubles)
- bakken (short a, so the k doubles)
- Ik stop om vijf uur. (the stem stop ends in one p)
- zingen (ng never doubles)
Use it today
Write a Dutch shopping list with four plurals, such as twee flessen melk or drie potten jam, and check every short vowel before -en.