The pattern
A capital letter starts a sentence or a name. Languages, nationalities and adjectives from place names count as names; days, months and the polite u do not.
- Small: days and months, such as dinsdag, zaterdag, maart, oktober.
- Capital: languages, nationalities and adjectives made from countries and places: Engels, Arabisch, een Nederlander, Spaanse wijn.
- Capital: names of people, places, streets and institutions: Fatima, Rotterdam, de Kalverstraat, de Belastingdienst. Holidays are names too: Koningsdag, Pasen.
- Small: ordinary nouns, even important ones: de gemeente, de huisarts.
- IJ: when ij starts a name or a sentence, both letters go up: IJmuiden.
- Small: the polite u (formal "you"), and ik (I) inside a sentence.
Examples
| Mijn verjaardag is in juli. | My birthday is in July. |
| Op woensdag gaat Sanne naar de markt. | On Wednesday Sanne goes to the market. |
| Priya spreekt Engels en een beetje Nederlands. | Priya speaks English and a little Dutch. |
| Carlos is een Spanjaard. | Carlos is a Spaniard. |
| Joris eet graag Nederlandse kaas. | Joris likes eating Dutch cheese. |
| IJs is lekker in de zomer. | Ice cream is lovely in summer. |
| Yara woont in IJmuiden. | Yara lives in IJmuiden. |
| Goedemiddag, kunt u mij helpen? | Good afternoon, can you help me? |
| Daan werkt bij de Belastingdienst in Utrecht. | Daan works for the tax office in Utrecht. |
Why it works this way
A capital in Dutch says: this is a name, one specific person, place or organisation.
- de stad (any city) versus Utrecht (one city)
- de universiteit (any university) versus de Universiteit Utrecht (one institution)
Languages, nationalities and adjectives like Nederlandse belong to a place on the map: Nederlands goes with Nederland, Spaans and Spanjaard with Spanje. That link earns them the capital.
Days and months have no such link. Dutch files them with ordinary time words like ochtend (morning) and zomer (summer). English already writes morning and summer small; Dutch simply adds Monday and January to the same drawer. More in Days, months and dates.
The pair ij behaves almost like one letter (see ui, eu, ij, ei, ou, au, oe, ie), so it goes up as a pair. The water behind Amsterdam's central station is even called het IJ.
The polite u shows respect through the word itself, not through a capital. You may see U in prayers or very old-fashioned letters, but your email to the gemeente uses u. See U or jij for when to use it.
Remember: a capital marks the start of a sentence, a name, or a word tied to a place on the map. Days and months stay small.
Watch out
NotTot Maandag!
SayTot maandag!
days are lowercase
NotIk spreek een beetje nederlands.
SayIk spreek een beetje Nederlands.
languages always take a capital, unlike in Spanish or French
NotIjsland
SayIJsland
ij is capitalised as a pair
NotKunt U mij helpen?
SayKunt u mij helpen?
the polite u is lowercase in everyday writing
NotIk heb een nieuwe Fiets.
SayIk heb een nieuwe fiets.
ordinary nouns are lowercase, unlike in German
Quick check
- Fix the sentence: Het is vaak koud in Februari.
- Choose: Mei komt uit China. Ze spreekt ... (chinees or Chinees)
- Choose: Bas gaat in augustus naar ... (Ijsland or IJsland)
- Fix the sentence: Kunt U de Huisarts bellen?
Show the answers
- Het is vaak koud in februari. (months are lowercase)
- Chinees (languages take a capital)
- IJsland (both letters of ij become capitals)
- Kunt u de huisarts bellen? (the polite u and ordinary nouns are lowercase)
Use it today
Write a short message to a neighbour or colleague in Dutch with three facts: where you come from, which languages you speak and which day you are free this week. Then check every capital: does it start a sentence, or is it a name, a language, a nationality or an adjective from a place name like Nederlandse? If not, make it small, and make sure every language and nationality does have its capital.