Linking letters in Dutch compounds

Ik bestel groentesoep en een pannenkoek. (I am ordering vegetable soup and a pancake.) Both Dutch words are compounds, but only pannenkoek has a written n at the boundary. Dutch calls a sound or letter between compound parts a tussenklank or tussenletter.

There are two separate questions: does this compound normally use an extra linking sound, and how is that sound written? Use the plural rule only to choose whether an existing uh sound is written with e or en. The rule cannot show whether every new compound needs that sound.

First check whether the compound belongs to one of the narrow official exceptions below. If it does not, apply the plural test.

The plural test is useful, but it is not a machine for inventing compounds. First make sure the word normally has a linking uh sound. Then allow for these official special cases.

Do not extend the ‘only one in the world’ idea freely. The official rule limits that category to compounds with zon (sun), maan (moon), hel (hell), and (Onze-)Lieve-Vrouw (Our Lady), plus a few fixed Koninginne- (queen-) words. When in doubt, use the official word list or a dictionary.

For other compounds with an uh sound, look at the first part. Write -en- if it is a noun with a plural on -en and no alternative plural on -es. Otherwise, write -e-.

Do not use the meaning or your pronunciation of the final n. Many speakers pronounce pannenkoek almost like pannekoek, but the official spelling keeps the n.

The condition is specifically ‘no plural on -es’. A different -s plural does not block -en-: leraar (teacher) has leraren and leraars, but the compound is lerarenopleiding (teacher-training programme).

Older texts may contain pannekoek. That form was official until 1995; the current official spelling is pannenkoek (pancake).

The main -s- rule follows pronunciation: if you normally say an extra s between the parts, write it. Compare mening (opinion) + verschil (difference) → meningsverschil (difference of opinion), and meisje (girl) + kleding (clothing) → meisjeskleding (girls' clothing). The s is a link; it does not by itself make the first part plural.

A linking s is common after -ing, -heid, and -teit, but this is a tendency rather than an absolute rule. Examples are aanbiedingsprijs (offer price), gladheidsbestrijding (ice control), and universiteitsblad (university magazine). It is also common after person words such as werknemer (employee): werknemersorganisatie (employees' organisation).

The first part station (station) clearly has a linking s in stationsplein (station square). If the second part starts with an s-like sound, that sound can hide the boundary s. Keep the link in stationschef (station manager): station + chef (manager) → stationschef.

Pronunciation varies, so both spellings are accepted for some words: spellingregel or spellingsregel (spelling rule), drugbeleid or drugsbeleid (drug policy), and geluidhinder or geluidshinder (noise nuisance). Choose the usual form and stay consistent.

In other pairs, s changes the meaning rather than creating a free variant. Waternood means a water shortage, while watersnood means flooding.

A small set of familiar compounds contains -er-: kind (child) + wagen (carriage) → kinderwagen (pram), and ei (egg) + dooier (yolk) → eierdooier (egg yolk). These forms are related to the unusual plurals kinderen (children) and eieren (eggs), but -er- is not an automatic rule. The same noun can appear without it, as in eicel (egg cell). Learn or look up each compound instead of creating an -er- form from every plural on -eren.

If the normal compound has no extra sound at the boundary, write the parts together without adding a linking letter. The patterns below are common, but they cannot predict every new compound. For example, meisje (girl) ends in a vowel, but meisjeskleding (girls' clothing) still has a linking s.

For an established compound, check which boundary form is standard. A word list or dictionary is the final check, especially for a compound you have not seen before.

1. Write the compound as one word unless another spelling rule requires a hyphen.
2. Identify the established boundary form: an s, an uh sound, a fixed er form, or no extra sound.
3. Write -s- when you normally pronounce it; before an s-like sound, compare a related compound such as stationsplein (station square).
4. Write -en- for an uh sound only when the first part is a noun with a plural on -en and no plural on -es; otherwise write -e-.
5. Memorise the narrow exceptions and check an unfamiliar compound in a dictionary.