---
title: "Worden: become, and the passive"
level: B1
chapter: "Verbs in time"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/worden
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Worden: become, and the passive

_Worden_ means become, and you use it to say that someone or something changes: _Ik word moe_ (I'm getting tired), _Zij wordt arts_ (she's becoming a doctor). Its forms are _word_, _wordt_ and _worden_ in the present, _werd_ and _werden_ in the past, and _zijn_ plus _geworden_ in the perfect. The same verb also builds the passive, a sentence about what happens to something rather than who does it: _Het pakket wordt bezorgd_ (the parcel is being delivered).

## The pattern

> _Worden_ describes a change, while _zijn_ describes the state itself. Combined with a past participle (a form like _gewerkt_ or _bezorgd_), _worden_ forms the passive.

- Present: _ik word_, _jij wordt_, _u wordt_, _hij wordt_, _wij worden_, _jullie worden_, _zij worden_. _Word_ and _wordt_ sound the same, so the t is a spelling matter: see [D, t or dt](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/d-t-or-dt).
- When the subject _jij_ or _je_ comes after the verb, the t drops: _Word jij ook moe?_ Compare _Wordt je broer ook moe?_, where _je broer_ is the subject and the t stays.
- Past: _werd_ for one person or thing (_ik werd_, _Sanne werd_), _werden_ for more than one (_wij werden_, _de buren werden_).
- Perfect (the past built with _hebben_ or _zijn_) of _worden_ meaning become: _zijn_ plus _geworden_, as in _Hij is arts geworden._ In the perfect passive, you use _zijn_ plus the other verb's participle and usually leave out _geworden_: _Het pakket is bezorgd._ More in [The passive in the perfect](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/passive-perfect).
- With a job or role, Dutch usually leaves out _een_: _Zij wordt arts._ Add an adjective and _een_ returns: _Zij wordt een goede arts._ See [When Dutch uses no article](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/no-article).

## Examples

| Fatima **wordt** arts, net als haar moeder. | Fatima is becoming a doctor, just like her mother. |
| Daan **wordt** zaterdag veertig, dus we geven een feestje. | Daan turns forty on Saturday, so we're throwing a party. |
| Joris **is** boos, want zijn trein heeft weer vertraging. | Joris is angry, because his train is delayed again. |
| Joris **wordt** boos als zijn trein weer vertraging heeft. | Joris gets angry when his train is delayed again. |
| Toen de huisarts mijn naam riep, **werd** ik ineens zenuwachtig. | When the GP called my name, I suddenly got nervous. |
| Op weg naar het station **werden** we drijfnat. | On the way to the station we got soaking wet. |
| Priya **is** dit jaar teamleider **geworden**. | Priya became team leader this year. |
| Je pakket **wordt** morgen tussen negen en twaalf **bezorgd**. | Your parcel will be delivered tomorrow between nine and twelve. |

## Why it works this way

_Zijn_ shows how things are at one moment; _worden_ shows them changing. English spreads that one idea over many verbs: get angry, turn forty, go quiet, grow old, become a doctor. Dutch usually needs just one: _boos worden_, _veertig worden_, _stil worden_, _oud worden_, _arts worden_.

A change points forward, so the present of _worden_ often comes out in English as "will be" or "going to be". _Morgen wordt het warm_ means it will be warm tomorrow, and _Wat wil je later worden?_ asks a child what they want to be when they grow up.

In the perfect, Dutch tends to use _zijn_ for verbs that describe a change of state, such as _beginnen_ and _sterven_. _Worden_ is change in its purest form, so it always takes _zijn_.

The passive grows from the same idea. In _Het pakket wordt bezorgd_, the parcel does nothing itself: something happens to it, and who does it matters less. [The passive with worden](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/passive) takes this further.

Remember: _zijn_ is a photo, _worden_ is a video. If you could film the change happening, you probably need _worden_.

## Watch out

- Not: _Ik krijg moe._ Say: _Ik word moe._ (getting tired is _moe worden_; English "get" leads you astray)
- Not: _Hij heeft arts geworden._ Say: _Hij is arts geworden._ (_worden_ always takes _zijn_ in the perfect)
- Not: _Ik word morgen komen._ Say: _Ik kom morgen._ (German speakers: _worden_ is not a future helper; use the present or _zullen_)
- Not: _Mijn broer word in juni vader._ Say: _Mijn broer wordt in juni vader._ (with _hij_ or a name as subject, write the stem plus t)
- Not: _Het werdt al donker._ Say: _Het werd al donker._ (the past form _werd_ never takes an extra t)

## Quick check

1. Fill in the right form of _worden_: _Lotte ... volgende week dertig._
2. Choose _werd_ or _werden_: _Toen de juf binnenkwam, ... de kinderen meteen stil._
3. Fix the sentence: _Ahmed heeft vorig jaar vader geworden._
4. Choose _Word_ or _Wordt_: _... jij ook zo moe van lange vergaderingen?_

## Answers

1. _wordt_: _Lotte_ is one person, so stem plus t.
2. _werden_: the subject _de kinderen_ is plural.
3. _Ahmed is vorig jaar vader geworden._ (_worden_ takes _zijn_ in the perfect)
4. _Word_: the subject _jij_ comes right after the verb, so the t drops.

## Use it today

Write three sentences about how your life has changed since you came to the Netherlands: one with _word_ or _wordt_, one with _werd_, and one with _ben ... geworden_. For example: _Sinds ik in Utrecht woon, ben ik een echte fietser geworden._

## Questions learners ask

**What is the difference between zijn and worden in Dutch?**

Zijn describes a state and worden describes a change into that state. Ik ben moe means I am tired, while Ik word moe means I am getting tired.

**How do you conjugate worden in Dutch?**

In the present it is ik word, jij wordt, hij wordt, wij worden. In the past it is werd for one person or thing and werden for more than one. In the perfect, worden meaning become takes zijn plus geworden, as in Ik ben moe geworden.

**Does worden mean will in Dutch?**

No, worden means become, and unlike German werden it is not used with an infinitive to form the future; use the present tense or zullen instead. The present of worden often translates as will be, though: Het wordt morgen warm means it will be warm tomorrow.

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.