Capital letters in Dutch: names, languages, and dates
Write Nederlands (Dutch) and Pasen (Easter) with capitals, but write maandag (Monday), januari (January), and zomer (summer) in lowercase.
Ik spreek Nederlands, maar mijn les is op maandag. (I speak Dutch, but my class is on Monday.) Dutch uses a capital for Nederlands because it is a language name. It keeps maandag lowercase because it is a day of the week.
Use capitals for sentence starts and unique names
Anna woont in Amsterdam. (Anna lives in Amsterdam.) Anna and Amsterdam are proper names: names for one particular person or place. Names of organisations and brands are proper names too.
| Sentence opening | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A letter | Capitalise the first word | Morgen ga ik naar Utrecht. (Tomorrow I am going to Utrecht.) |
| An apostrophe | Keep the shortened word lowercase; capitalise the next full word | 's Avonds lees ik. (In the evening I read.) |
| A number or symbol | Keep the following word lowercase | 25 mensen wachten buiten. (Twenty-five people are waiting outside.) |
Use capitals for languages and place-based words
Sara spreekt Nederlands en kijkt naar een Franse film. (Sara speaks Dutch and watches a French film.) Capitalise the name of a language or dialect. Also capitalise a name for an inhabitant or specific people, and a word that still points directly to a place.
| Category | Dutch example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Language or dialect | Nederlands, Fries | Dutch, Frisian |
| Inhabitant or specific people | een Belg, Nederlanders | a Belgian, Dutch people |
| Word based on a place | een Franse film, de Amsterdamse grachten | a French film, the Amsterdam canals |
The capital can disappear when a word no longer points directly to the place. Write Franse wijn (French wine), but een glas bordeaux (a glass of Bordeaux wine) when bordeaux names the type of wine.
Use lowercase for days, months, seasons, religions, and most movements
De cursus begint op maandag 6 januari. (The course starts on Monday, 6 January.) Words that divide time into days, months, seasons, and periods stay lowercase inside a sentence. Names of religions and cultural, social, or artistic movements stay lowercase too.
| Category | Write | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Day | maandag, vrijdag | Monday, Friday |
| Month | januari, augustus | January, August |
| Season | lente, winter | spring, winter |
| Historical period | middeleeuwen | Middle Ages |
| Religion, believer, or religious adjective | islam, moslim, islamitisch | Islam, Muslim, Islamic |
| Cultural, social, or artistic movement | socialisme, romantiek | socialism, Romanticism |
Ordinary texts use the lowercase forms in the table. Specialist history and art texts may treat a period as a proper name and use capitals. A movement with its own proper name keeps that spelling: De Stijl (The Style).
A lowercase word still takes a capital at the start of a sentence: Maandag begint de cursus. (The course starts on Monday.) See days, months, and dates for the full date pattern.
Use capitals for official holiday names; use lowercase for related words
Met Pasen zoeken we paaseieren. (At Easter we look for Easter eggs.) Pasen is the name of the holiday, so it starts with a capital. The related compound is written paaseieren, with a lowercase first letter.
| Use | Write | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name of the holiday | Pasen (Easter), Kerstmis (Christmas), Koningsdag (King’s Day) | The name itself takes a capital |
| Informal or shortened label | kerst (Christmas), eerste kerstdag (Christmas Day) | The official spelling uses lowercase |
| Related compound | paasei (Easter egg), kerstboom (Christmas tree), nieuwjaarsreceptie (New Year’s reception) | The compound does not name the holiday itself |
Write both letters of ij as capitals
IJmuiden and IJsselmeer start with IJ, not Ij. Dutch treats ij as a unit for capitalisation. If a word beginning with ij starts a proper name or sentence, both letters become capitals: IJs smelt. (Ice melts.) Read more about ij in the Dutch alphabet.
See also
Practise lowercase calendar words in days, months, and dates. Review ij in the Dutch alphabet, and see the apostrophe for shortened sentence openings. The shortened 's stays lowercase. Capitalise the next full word: 's Avonds lees ik. (In the evening I read.)
- Which sentence is written correctly?
- De cursus begint op Maandag 6 Januari.
- De cursus begint op maandag 6 januari.
- de cursus begint op maandag 6 januari.
- De cursus begint op maandag 6 Januari.
The first word starts with a capital. The day *maandag* (Monday) and the month *januari* (January) stay lowercase.
- Complete: *Zij spreekt vloeiend ___.* (She speaks Dutch fluently.)
- nederlands
- Nederlands
- de nederlands
- Nederlandse
Names of languages take a capital, so *Nederlands* is correct. *Nederlandse* is the adjective form in *de Nederlandse taal* (the Dutch language), so it does not fit this sentence.
- Which sentence follows the holiday rules?
- Met pasen zoeken we Paaseieren.
- Met Pasen zoeken we Paaseieren.
- Met Pasen zoeken we paaseieren.
- Met pasen zoeken we paaseieren.
The holiday name *Pasen* (Easter) takes a capital. The related compound *paaseieren* (Easter eggs) starts with a lowercase letter.
- Which sentence opening is correct?
- 'S avonds lees ik.
- 's avonds lees ik.
- 's Avonds lees ik.
- 'S Avonds lees ik.
When a sentence starts with an apostrophe, the shortened form *'s* stays lowercase and the next full word takes the capital: *'s Avonds* (in the evening).
- Complete the place name: *We varen op het ___.* (We are sailing on Lake IJssel.)
- Ijsselmeer
- ijsselmeer
- IJsselMeer
- IJsselmeer
At the start of a proper name, both letters of *ij* become capitals: *IJsselmeer*. The rest of the name stays lowercase.
Test yourself
Question 1 of 5
Which sentence is written correctly?