-kje

Diminutive After -ing

Level 2

When a Dutch noun ends in -ing and the stress falls on the syllable immediately preceding it, the diminutive is formed by changing -g to -k and adding -je.

How It Works

In Dutch, diminutives are used to indicate smallness or affection. For nouns ending in -ing, there is a specific rule based on word stress:

The Stress Rule: The -kje ending is only used if the stress falls on the syllable directly before the -ing. If the syllable before -ing contains a schwa (the 'uh' sound, like in wandeling), the word takes -etje instead (wandelingetje).
The Spelling Change: You must replace the final -g with a -k before adding -je. For example: woning becomes woninkje.
Gender Change: Like all diminutives, the resulting word always uses the article het. See diminutive gender for more details.

This pattern is common with nouns that describe objects or people, such as koninkje (little king) or kettinkje (little chain).

Examples (5)

de koning -> het koninkje
the king -> the little king
The stress is on the syllable immediately before -ing (KO-ning), so the -g changes to -k and we add -je.
Wat een schattig woninkje hebben jullie!
What a cute little house you have!
Word by Word: What a cute little-dwelling have you-plural!
'Woning' (dwelling) has the stress on 'wo-', so it becomes 'woninkje'.
De visser ving een klein palinkje.
The fisherman caught a small little eel.
Word by Word: The fisherman caught a small little-eel.
'Paling' (eel) follows the -kje rule because the stress is on the first syllable.
Zij draagt een zilveren kettinkje.
She is wearing a silver little chain.
Word by Word: She wears a silver little-chain.
'Ketting' (chain) ends in -ing with the stress on 'ket-', so it follows the -kje rule.
de pudding -> het puddinkje
the pudding -> the little pudding
The stress is on 'pud-', the syllable right before -ing, so the -g changes to -k and we add -je.

Common Mistakes

Keeping the 'g' in the spelling.
het koningje
het koninkje
When the stress falls on the syllable immediately before the -ing ending, the 'g' must change to a 'k' before adding -je. Writing 'ngje' is always incorrect in these cases.
Applying -kje to stressed -ing words.
het rinkje
het ringetje
If the word is monosyllabic (like 'ring' or 'ding'), the stress is on the 'ing' sound itself. These words take -etje instead of -kje.
Using 'de' instead of 'het'.
de woninkje
het woninkje
Even though 'woning' is a de-word, all diminutives in Dutch are neuter and must use 'het'. See diminutive gender for more details.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-kjeLevel 2Diminutive After -ing

Learn This First

To understand the -kje diminutive, you first need to be familiar with the basic Dutch diminutive system (-je) and how diminutives always function as neuter (het) nouns. Additionally, knowledge of syllable structure helps explain why the 'g' changes to a 'k' in words ending in an unstressed -ing.

Words in This Pattern