Chapter 14: Indefinite Article - 'een' (a/an)

Introduction: Referring to Non-Specific Nouns

While the definite articles de and het mean "the" and refer to specific nouns, the indefinite article een means "a" or "an" and refers to a general, non-specific singular noun. It's used when you're talking about one instance of something, but not a particular one that the listener already knows.

The Simplicity of 'een'

Compared to the challenge of choosing between de and het, the indefinite article een is wonderfully simple:

It is used for all singular nouns, regardless of whether they are de-words or het-words in their definite form.
There is only one form: een.

Rule: Use een before any singular noun when you mean "a" or "an".

Examples

de man (the man) -> een man (a man)
het huis (the house) -> een huis (a house)
de fiets (the bicycle) -> een fiets (a bicycle)
het boek (the book) -> een boek (a book)
de tafel (the table) -> een tafel (a table)
het kind (the child) -> een kind (a child)

In Sentences:

Ik zie een kat op straat. (I see a cat on the street.) - Any cat, not a specific one.
Hij leest een interessant boek. (He is reading an interesting book.) - We don't know which book specifically.
Wij kopen een huis. (We are buying a house.) - Referring generally to the act of buying a house.
Is dat een appel? (Is that an apple?)

Pronunciation: 'een' vs. 'één'

This is an important distinction:

een (article "a/an"): Pronounced with an unstressed, short vowel sound, similar to the 'u' in English "fun" or the schwa sound /ə/ (like the 'a' in "about"). It sounds like /ən/.
Example: Ik heb een hond (/ɪk hɛp ən hɔnt/).
één (number "one"): Written with accent marks and pronounced with a long, stressed 'ee' sound, similar to the 'ai' in English "pain". It sounds like /eːn/.
Example: Ik heb één hond, geen twee. (I have one dog, not two.) (/ɪk hɛp eːn hɔnt.../).

In normal speech, when you mean "a" or "an", use the short, unstressed pronunciation. Only use the long, stressed pronunciation (and write één) when you specifically want to emphasize the number 1.

No Plural Indefinite Article

In English, we sometimes use "some" for an indefinite plural (e.g., "I see some dogs"). In Dutch, there is no direct equivalent indefinite article for plurals. You simply use the noun without any article, or sometimes use words like enkele (a few) or sommige (some), but often no word is needed.

Ik zie honden. (I see dogs.)
Hij koopt boeken. (He buys books.)

The indefinite article een ("a/an") is used before singular de-words and het-words. Remember its unstressed pronunciation /ən/ unless you mean the number "one" (één).