Adjectives used as nouns in Dutch (de zieke, het mooie)
How a Dutch adjective plus -e becomes a noun on its own: de zieke (the sick person), het mooie (the nice thing), iets moois.
Dutch can turn an adjective into a noun by dropping the noun and keeping the describing word: de zieke means the sick person, from de zieke man (the sick man). The listener supplies the missing noun from context. This works for people and for abstract qualities alike: het mooie van deze stad (the nice thing about this city).
How the adjective becomes a noun
Give the adjective its normal -e ending and use it on its own; the article tells you what kind of thing it is. People take de, abstract qualities take het.
- A person with the quality → de + adjective + -e: de zieke (the sick person), de oude (the old one), de blinde (the blind person).
- An abstract quality or a general 'thing' → het + adjective + -e: het goede (the good), het mooie (the nice part), het moeilijke (the difficult thing).
- A vague 'something' → iets/niets/wat + adjective + -s: iets moois (something beautiful), niets nieuws (nothing new). This is the -s form you already know.
| From | As a noun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| de zieke man | de zieke | the sick person |
| de zieke mensen | de zieken | the sick (people) |
| het mooie deel | het mooie | the nice part |
| — (direct -s form, no noun dropped) | iets moois | something beautiful |
When such a person-noun becomes plural, it takes -n: de zieke → de zieken (the sick), de bekende → de bekenden (the acquaintances), de gevangene → de gevangenen (the prisoners).
When to use it
- To name a group of people by a shared quality, without repeating the noun: de rijken en de armen (the rich and the poor), de jongeren (the young / young people).
- To talk about an abstract quality with het: Het mooie van het werk is de vrijheid. (The nice thing about the job is the freedom.)
- To answer 'which one?' by keeping only the adjective: Welke jas wil je? De rode. (Which coat do you want? The red one.)
- In fixed superlative phrases: het beste (the best), het ergste (the worst), op zijn best (at its best).
Mistakes to avoid
English says the sick or the rich with no ending, so learners forget the Dutch marker. The nominal adjective still needs -e, and its plural still needs -n: it is de zieken, not de ziek or de ziekes; de armen, not de arms. Keep the same spelling changes as any adjective: de doden (the dead) from dood, where the spelling drops one o in the open syllable (dood → dode → doden); the vowel stays long.
- What does *de zieke* mean?
- the sickness
- the sick person
- to be sick
- the hospital
*De zieke* is the adjective *ziek* (sick) used as a noun for a person → the sick person, from *de zieke man*.
- Vul in: *In het ziekenhuis liggen veel ___.* (ziek, plural)
- zieke
- zieken
- ziekes
- ziek
A person-noun made from an adjective takes *-n* in the plural → *de zieken* (the sick people).
- Which article fits an abstract quality: *___ mooie van de zomer* (the nice thing about summer)?
- de
- het
- een
- geen
Abstract qualities used as nouns take *het* → *het mooie van de zomer*. People would take *de* (*de zieke*).
- *Welke fiets wil je? ___* (the new one)
- De nieuw.
- De nieuwe.
- Het nieuwe.
- Een nieuw.
*Fiets* is a de-word, so the stand-in noun keeps *de* and the *-e* ending → *De nieuwe.* (the new one).
- Which is correct for something beautiful?
- iets mooie
- iets mooi
- iets moois
- iets moie
After *iets* the adjective takes *-s*, forming a 'something' noun → *iets moois* (something beautiful).
Test yourself
Question 1 of 5
What does de zieke mean?