# Dutch and Scandinavian referencing: APA, van der and æ, ø, å

**How do universities in the Netherlands, Flanders and the Nordic countries adapt APA, and how do they alphabetise names and national letters?** Dutch and Scandinavian referencing is mostly APA 7 in the local language: en or og between two authors in a sentence, & in brackets, z.d. or u.å. for no date, and in Norway, Denmark and Finland no comma before &. Dutch guides split on van der: APA files it under V, some under the main name. Æ, ø, å and å, ä, ö follow z.

Published 2026-09-26 by EdCitation. https://edcitation.com/newsletter/dutch-and-scandinavian-referencing

Dutch and Scandinavian referencing is, in most programmes, APA 7 written in the local language, with small national changes to the connecting words, the abbreviations and the alphabetical order. Sweden adds two systems of its own making, Harvard and Oxford, and Norway has a national APA manual. This guide is published by EdCitation, whose tools look every reference up in the publisher's record instead of writing it.

Every rule was read on 26 September 2026 in university library guides from all seven countries and at the language councils that set the alphabets. Translations in brackets are ours. Whatever the language, EdCitation's free [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) checks a finished list against the published records; the last section quotes what it returned.

## What changes when APA 7 is written in Dutch?

The connecting words, the abbreviations and the date; the four elements stay. Radboud University (2026a) says it outright: "De APA-normen mogen aangepast worden aan Nederlandse conventies" ("APA's rules may be adapted to Dutch conventions").

### "en" in a sentence, "&" in brackets

*De APA-richtlijnen uitgelegd*, written for Dutch higher education by the Werkgroep APA (2021), librarians from colleges such as HAN, Fontys and Windesheim, gives both: Jansen en De Vries (2019) in a sentence, (Jansen & De Vries, 2019) in brackets. The list keeps APA's comma before "&". Its colophon says it was made for the Netherlands and is not authorised by the American Psychological Association.

### z.d., s.d. and the small words

Radboud translates "n.d." as "z.d." (zonder datum), "Retrieved ..., from" as "Geraadpleegd op ..., van", "Ed." as "Red.", "in press" as "in druk" and a news date as (2022, 3 maart). Hogeschool Windesheim (n.d.) also writes "z.d.". In Flanders, the KU Leuven Bibliotheken 2Bergen (2022) guide writes "s.d.", for sine dato.

## How are van, de and van der alphabetised?

Three answers are in use, each written down. The rest of APA's in-text grammar is in [APA 7 in-text citations](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/apa-7-in-text-citations).

### APA's rule: file by the particle, keep the capital

Tilburg University (2026), in its English APA guide, says particles such as van, de and von are alphabetised by the particle, and to "Keep the author's preferred capitalization". Radboud University (2026b) prints the resulting order: de Bernières, L.; De Smet, K.; d'Haenens, L.; van der Waal, P. G.

### The Dutch colleges' rule: a capital, filed under V

The Werkgroep's handbook capitalises the particle, "Van den Berg, G. H.", files it under V, and cites Joke de Vries as (De Vries, 2019, p. 3), because this "sluit beter aan bij internationale toepassingen" ("fits international practice better"). APA, as Tilburg reports it, keeps whatever capital the author uses instead. Windesheim also files 'Van der Linden' under V.

### The Dutch convention: file by the main name

For Dutch authors only, Radboud University (2026a) sorts on the main word and moves the particle after the initials:

> Meulen-de Vries, G. H. van der. (2022).

In the text that author becomes (Van der Meulen-de Vries, 2022). Radboud gives two more: "Riet, P. B. in 't" cited as (In 't Riet, 2022), and "Ancona, J. d'" cited as (d'Ancona, 2022), with no capital D.

### Flanders, and who decides

The Dutch Language Union's advice service is plain: "Officiële regels zijn er niet" ("There are no official rules"). The Netherlands files by the core word, "Poel, van der"; Belgium by the full name, "Van der Poel", written as in the birth register (Taaladvies.net, 2021). Never lower a Belgian author's capital. Otherwise follow your guide, one rule for the whole list.

## What is the Norwegian APA manual?

It is *Norsk APA-manual*, the national adaptation of APA 7, version 1.13, published by Sikt and last updated on 7 August 2026 (Redaksjonen for norsk APA-stil, 2026). Its editorial board, from Kildekompasset, Søk & Skriv, NTNU, OsloMet and UiT, finished the adaptation on 10 June 2020 and updates it yearly; Sikt calls it "standarden for APA-stilen i Norge" ("the standard for APA style in Norway"). OsloMet (2026) names APA its most used style and links the manual, and Søk & Skriv (2026) builds its advice on it, sending anyone writing in English to APA's blog.

### What the Norwegian manual changes

1. **No comma before "&".** The manual drops APA's serial comma because it is "ikke vanlig på norsk" ("not usual in Norwegian"): Dahl, A. & Krulatz, A. (2016).
2. **"og" in a sentence.** Gilje og Grimen (1993), but (Gilje & Grimen, 1993).
3. **Norwegian words.** u.å. (uten årstall, no year), s., red., utg., and "Hentet [date] fra". Et al. stays, though some write m.fl.; a Nynorsk paper uses Nynorsk forms.
4. **Names.** A hyphenated surname files under its first part (Munthe-Kaas, H.), an unhyphenated double surname under its last (Christensen, L. S.). Particles usually count as part of the surname (von Koenigswald), with exceptions such as Beethoven, L. van.
5. **Spacing.** One and a half or double, which the manual notes departs from APA.

## How do Swedish universities use Harvard, Oxford and APA?

All three; the department chooses. Örebro universitet (2026) groups them as parentheses (APA, Harvard), numbers (Vancouver, IEEE) and footnotes (Oxford), and says a Swedish paper's list writes red., s., uppl. and u.å.

### Oxford is a footnote system

In Sweden "Oxford" means footnotes with a bibliography, with no single text. Uppsala University Library (2026c) says "Uppsala universitet har ingen officiell version av Oxford" ("Uppsala University has no official version of Oxford"), and bases its examples on Chicago's 18th edition notes and bibliography:

> ¹ Lars Magnusson, *Sveriges ekonomiska historia*, 5:e uppl. (Studentlitteratur, 2014), 23.

Later notes shorten; whether ibid. is allowed is your department's call (see [ibid, op. cit. and loc. cit.](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/ibid-op-cit-and-loc-cit-explained)). EdCitation offers Chicago author-date only, not these notes.

### Harvard with full forenames

Uppsala University Library (2026b) gives full forenames, "och" before the last author and a place of publication: Bondi, Marina och Lorés Sanz, Rosa (2014). *Abstracts in academic discourse: variation and change*. Bern: Peter Lang. That is not the Cite Them Right Harvard in the [Harvard referencing guide](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/harvard-referencing-guide).

### APA in Swedish

Uppsala University Library (2026a) uses "&" in brackets and in the list but not in running text, u.å. for no year, and m.fl. for et al., as in (Lundgren m.fl., 2007). Jönköping University (n.d.) lets a Swedish paper drop the comma before "&" if it does so consistently, but not a paper in English, and files de Beauvoir under D.

## What do Danish, Finnish and Icelandic libraries ask for?

APA 7 in the national language, with similar small changes.

### Denmark

The University of Southern Denmark's Danish APA guide writes Folkmann og Jensen (2015) in a sentence and (Folkmann & Jensen, 2015) in brackets (Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek, 2026c). Its list drops the comma before "&", as in "Dohn, N. B. & Johnsen, L. (2009)", and writes "i tryk" for in press (Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek, 2026b); a missing year is "u.å.", uden årstal (Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek, 2026a).

### Finland

The University of Oulu (2026) teaches APA 7's "suomenkielistä versiota" (Finnish version): (Virtanen ym., 2025) for three or more authors, no comma before "&" in the list, toim. for editors, Teoksessa for In, a list ordered A to Ö, and "(julkaisuaika tuntematon)", publication date unknown, where English writes n.d. Finland's language institute ignores lower-case von and af, unlike APA, so "Wright, Georg Henrik von" files under W (Kotimaisten kielten keskus, n.d.-b).

### Iceland

Icelanders are listed by first name. The University of Iceland's writing centre recommends that an Icelandic paper order Icelandic authors "í stafrófsröð eftir fornafni" ("alphabetically by first name"), as in "Jóhanna Einarsdóttir. (2007).", with "og" before the last author (University of Iceland, n.d.). The Árni Magnússon Institute's spelling guide orders names the same way (Sigtryggsson, 2021); this guide's English APA list files that author under S.

## Where do æ, ø, å, ä, ö, ð and þ go in the alphabet?

After z, in each language's own order:

| Language | Last letters, in order | Other rules | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Danish | æ, ø, å | aa said as one vowel files as å (Nygaard with Nygård); ü as y, ä as æ, ö as ø, ð as d, þ as th | Dansk Sprognævn (n.d.-a, n.d.-b) |
| Norwegian | æ, ø, å | ä not used | Sigtryggsson (2021) |
| Swedish | å, ä, ö | ø not used | Sigtryggsson (2021) |
| Finnish | å, ä, ö | w after v; š and ž with s and z | Kotimaisten kielten keskus (n.d.-a) |
| Icelandic | þ, æ, ö | ð after d; in Icelandic lists å and ä file with a, ø with ö | Sigtryggsson (2021) |

We could not read Sweden's or Norway's language councils on this; the Icelandic guide states both orders. No English APA source read here says where ø goes in an English list.

## How do the countries compare?

From the guides above, read on 26 September 2026:

| Country | Common styles | Local adaptation | Particles and names | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Netherlands | APA 7 | en in a sentence; z.d.; Red.; Geraadpleegd op | APA: under the particle; Radboud, Dutch authors: under the main name | Radboud; Werkgroep APA; Tilburg |
| Flanders | APA 7 | s.d. (sine dato) | Van der Poel under V, capital kept | KU Leuven; Taaladvies.net |
| Norway | Norwegian APA 7; Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE | No comma before &; og; u.å.; s. | Double surname under the last part | Sikt manual; OsloMet |
| Sweden | APA 7, Harvard, Oxford footnotes | u.å.; m.fl.; comma before & optional | de Beauvoir under D | Uppsala; Örebro; Jönköping |
| Denmark | APA 7 | og; u.å.; i tryk; no comma before & | aa as å | SDU; Dansk Sprognævn |
| Finland | APA 7 | ym.; julkaisuaika tuntematon; toim. | von after the forename | Oulu; Kotus |
| Iceland | APA 7 | og between authors | Icelanders by first name | University of Iceland |
| Any of them | Checking the finished list | Free, no account | Names compared with the record | [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) |

## How do I build a Dutch or Nordic reference list?

Build it in English APA from the record, make your guide's changes by hand, and check it last.

1. Find your programme's guide and note its rules for "&", no date, particles and spacing.
2. Search in your own language with [Find sources](https://edcitation.com/).
3. Build each entry in APA 7 with [Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite/apa), from the DOI, ISBN or title.
4. Check every name against the title page: particles, national letters, and Icelandic first names.
5. Make the national changes: en, og or och; z.d., s.d. or u.å.; the comma before "&"; Red., red. or toim.
6. Order the list by your guide's particle rule and your language's alphabet.
7. Paste the list into [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) and resolve every "check this".

## Which EdCitation tools help with a Dutch or Nordic list?

[Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite) builds APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver only, in English, free with no account. A Dutch or Norwegian APA list starts from its APA 7 entry, adjusted by hand.

### Cite a source with a Dutch DOI

From the DOI of a Dutch article with three particle surnames, APA returned, exactly:

> van Leeuwen, A., van Dam, K., & van Ruysseveldt, J. (2019). Werkdruk: Vriend of vijand? De rol van doeloriëntatie bij de appraisal van werkdruk. Gedrag & Organisatie, 32(4). https://doi.org/10.5117/2019.032.004.002

Its in-text form was "(van Leeuwen et al., 2019)". Both follow APA, keeping the authors' lower case. The Werkgroep's handbook would capitalise all three particles, and a Dutch sentence would read "Van Leeuwen et al. (2019)". There are no pages because neither the record nor the publisher's page gives any.

### Cite a source with a Norwegian DOI

From the DOI of Bøhn et al. (2021), a Norwegian nursing study, APA returned:

> Bøhn, K., Amundsen, S. M., Laine, K., Hvidtjørn, D., & Pay, A. D. (2021). Feber under fødsel og antibiotikabehandling – en kvalitetssikringsstudie. Sykepleien Forskning, (86080), e-86080. https://doi.org/10.4220/Sykepleienf.2021.86080

The ø and the dash came through, but the record lacks the volume, which the journal gives as 16. In Norwegian APA, add it, drop the comma before "&" and write "Artikkel e-86080".

### Verify references on five national entries

[Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) is the best tool for the last step: it checks each entry against the publisher's record, a lookup no chatbot can do, and never shows one it could not check as not found. Five entries, pasted as their guides print them, came back four verified and one "check this":

- **Bøhn et al., copied from the Norwegian manual:** "check this", "The publisher's record also names Hvidtjørn, who is not in your entry. Check the authors." The manual prints the fourth author as Hvidbjørn; the journal's page and Crossref both give Hvidtjørn.
- **Jóhanna Einarsdóttir. (2007), in Icelandic order, no DOI:** verified, "Title, year and first author match a published record."
- **Dahl and Krulatz (å), Van Leeuwen et al. in the Werkgroep's capitals, and Ylitapio-Mäntylä et al. (ä):** all verified.

### Find sources in Dutch and Norwegian

[Find sources](https://edcitation.com/) searches about 300 million published works. "werkdruk leraren basisonderwijs" (teachers' workload in primary schools) returned 242 records, led by a 2023 *Pedagogische Studiën* article on adaptive learning materials; fifth was the workload article above, about working adults generally. "sykepleiestudenter veiledning i praksis" returned 2,954, led by a 2009 article on teacher-training placements, with three nursing studies next. There is no language filter.

EdCitation never writes any part of a student's paper. Pro, $8 a month, adds [References from a file](https://edcitation.com/tools/references-from-a-file); Max, $24 a month, adds Theoretics QA, which judges a paper against its brief ([pricing](https://edcitation.com/pricing)). See also [German citation styles](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/german-citation-styles) and [Spanish citation styles](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/spanish-citation-styles).

## Quick questions

### Do I write "en" or "&" in APA in Dutch?

Both. The Dutch handbook writes "Jansen en De Vries (2019)" in a sentence, "(Jansen & De Vries, 2019)" in brackets, and "&" in the list.

### What does u.å. mean in a reference?

U.å. means no year in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish references. Dutch guides write z.d., KU Leuven s.d., and Finnish "julkaisuaika tuntematon".

### Is van der Poel filed under V or P?

APA files it under V, keeping the author's capital; Radboud files Dutch authors under P; Belgian practice files the full name under V.

### Does EdCitation build Norwegian or Dutch APA?

No. EdCitation's [Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite/apa) builds APA 7 in English; start there, make your guide's changes by hand, and check the list with [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references).

### Where does Ø go in a Norwegian reference list?

After z, in the order æ, ø, å, so Ødegård follows Zahl. Swedish ends å, ä, ö, and Icelandic ends þ, æ, ö.

## References

- Bøhn, K., Amundsen, S. M., Laine, K., Hvidtjørn, D., & Pay, A. D. (2021). Feber under fødsel og antibiotikabehandling – en kvalitetssikringsstudie. *Sykepleien Forskning*, *16*(86080), Article e-86080. [https://doi.org/10.4220/Sykepleienf.2021.86080](https://doi.org/10.4220/Sykepleienf.2021.86080)
- Dansk Sprognævn. (n.d.-a). *§ 1. Bogstaverne*. Retskrivningsordbogen. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from [https://ro.dsn.dk/?type=rulesearch&paragraf=1&stykke=1](https://ro.dsn.dk/?type=rulesearch&paragraf=1&stykke=1)
- Dansk Sprognævn. (n.d.-b). *§ 4. Alfabetisk rækkefølge*. Retskrivningsordbogen. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from [https://ro.dsn.dk/?type=rulesearch&paragraf=4&stykke=1](https://ro.dsn.dk/?type=rulesearch&paragraf=4&stykke=1)
- Hogeschool Windesheim. (n.d.). *Onderdelen bronvermelding*. APA-richtlijnen 7e editie. [https://windesheim.libguides.com/c.php?g=694664&p=4985341](https://windesheim.libguides.com/c.php?g=694664&p=4985341)
- Jönköping University. (n.d.). *Vanliga frågor om referenslistan*. APA – Referenshantering. [https://guides.library.ju.se/apa/vanliga-fragor](https://guides.library.ju.se/apa/vanliga-fragor)
- Kotimaisten kielten keskus. (n.d.-a). *Aakkoset*. Kielitoimiston ohjepankki. [https://kielitoimistonohjepankki.fi/ohje/aakkoset/](https://kielitoimistonohjepankki.fi/ohje/aakkoset/)
- Kotimaisten kielten keskus. (n.d.-b). *Aakkostus: artikkeleita ja etuliitteitä sisältävät nimet*. Kielitoimiston ohjepankki. [https://kielitoimistonohjepankki.fi/ohje/aakkostus-artikkeleita-ja-etuliitteita-sisaltavat-nimet/](https://kielitoimistonohjepankki.fi/ohje/aakkostus-artikkeleita-ja-etuliitteita-sisaltavat-nimet/)
- KU Leuven Bibliotheken 2Bergen. (2022). *Refereren in APA-stijl: APA 7de editie 2020* [PDF]. [https://bib.kuleuven.be/training-en-tutorials/citeren/bestanden/StijlgidsAPA](https://bib.kuleuven.be/training-en-tutorials/citeren/bestanden/StijlgidsAPA)
- Örebro universitet. (2026, March 16). *Referenssystem och referensguider*. Universitetsbiblioteket. [https://www.oru.se/ub/stod-till-studenter/akademiskt-skrivstod/skrivguide/referenssystem-och-referensguider/](https://www.oru.se/ub/stod-till-studenter/akademiskt-skrivstod/skrivguide/referenssystem-och-referensguider/)
- OsloMet – storbyuniversitetet. (2026). *APA og referering*. Universitetsbiblioteket. [https://www.oslomet.no/ub/apa-referering](https://www.oslomet.no/ub/apa-referering)
- Radboud University. (2026a, March 7). *APA en Nederlandse conventies*. Verwijzen naar literatuur volgens APA 7th ed. [https://libguides.ru.nl/apa7/nederlandse-conventies](https://libguides.ru.nl/apa7/nederlandse-conventies)
- Radboud University. (2026b, March 7). *Referentielijst: algemeen en volgorde*. Verwijzen naar literatuur volgens APA 7th ed. [https://libguides.ru.nl/apa7/referentielijst-algemeen-en-volgorde](https://libguides.ru.nl/apa7/referentielijst-algemeen-en-volgorde)
- Redaksjonen for norsk APA-stil. (2026). *Norsk APA-manual: En nasjonal standard for norskspråklig APA-stil basert på APA 7th* (Versjon 1.13). Sikt. [https://sikt.no/norsk-apa-referansestil](https://sikt.no/norsk-apa-referansestil)
- Sigtryggsson, J. B. (2021). Stafróf og stafrófsröð. In *Íslensk réttritun* (chap. 8). Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum. [https://rettritun.arnastofnun.is/kafli/8/](https://rettritun.arnastofnun.is/kafli/8/)
- Søk & Skriv. (2026, September 19). *APA 7th*. [https://www.sokogskriv.no/referansestiler/apa-7th.html](https://www.sokogskriv.no/referansestiler/apa-7th.html)
- Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek. (2026a, July 1). *Hvis referencen mangler oplysninger*. APA 7th-guiden. [https://libguides.sdu.dk/apa7/manglende_elementer](https://libguides.sdu.dk/apa7/manglende_elementer)
- Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek. (2026b, July 1). *Referencelisten*. APA 7th-guiden. [https://libguides.sdu.dk/apa7/referencelisten](https://libguides.sdu.dk/apa7/referencelisten)
- Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek. (2026c, July 1). *Referencer i teksten*. APA 7th-guiden. [https://libguides.sdu.dk/apa7/referencer_in-text](https://libguides.sdu.dk/apa7/referencer_in-text)
- Taaladvies.net. (2021, May 12). *Alfabetische rangschikking van namen*. [https://taaladvies.net/alfabetische-rangschikking-van-namen/](https://taaladvies.net/alfabetische-rangschikking-van-namen/)
- Tilburg University. (2026, July 1). *3.3 Order of reference list entries*. Citing sources according to APA guidelines. [https://libguides.uvt.nl/apa-manual/order-references](https://libguides.uvt.nl/apa-manual/order-references)
- University of Iceland. (n.d.). *Nöfn höfunda*. Ritver. [https://ritver.hi.is/is/apa-heimildaskra-og-saetin-fimm-hofundarsaetid/nofn-hofunda](https://ritver.hi.is/is/apa-heimildaskra-og-saetin-fimm-hofundarsaetid/nofn-hofunda)
- University of Oulu. (2026, September 24). *APA7-viittaustyyli*. Tieteellisen tiedonhankinnan opas. [https://libguides.oulu.fi/tieteellinentiedonhankinta/apa](https://libguides.oulu.fi/tieteellinentiedonhankinta/apa)
- Uppsala University Library. (2026a, September 8). *Källhänvisningar i löpande text*. Referera enligt APA 7. [https://libguides.ub.uu.se/apa7/lopande-text](https://libguides.ub.uu.se/apa7/lopande-text)
- Uppsala University Library. (2026b, July 2). *Referenslistan*. Referera enligt Harvard. [https://libguides.ub.uu.se/harvard/referenslista](https://libguides.ub.uu.se/harvard/referenslista)
- Uppsala University Library. (2026c, July 2). *Referera enligt Oxford / Chicago / fotnoter*. [https://libguides.ub.uu.se/oxford-chicago-fotnoter](https://libguides.ub.uu.se/oxford-chicago-fotnoter)
- van Leeuwen, A., van Dam, K., & van Ruysseveldt, J. (2019). Werkdruk: Vriend of vijand? De rol van doeloriëntatie bij de appraisal van werkdruk. *Gedrag & Organisatie*, *32*(4). [https://doi.org/10.5117/2019.032.004.002](https://doi.org/10.5117/2019.032.004.002)
- Werkgroep APA. (2021). *De APA-richtlijnen uitgelegd: Een praktische handleiding voor bronvermelding in het hoger onderwijs* (3e herziene editie) [PDF]. SURF. [https://auteursrechten.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/De-APA-richtlijnen-uitgelegd-3e-editie.pdf](https://auteursrechten.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/De-APA-richtlijnen-uitgelegd-3e-editie.pdf)