Lesson 3 of 50 · A0 to A1 · Free
Pronouns, polite Dutch and the verb zijn
Dutch gets easier the moment you stop repeating people's names.
A group photo introduces the pronouns and the one verb you cannot avoid. And zij means she or they. Context decides, every time.
13 minutes. No account needed for lesson 1. No rush.
03Today you will
- 1Talk about someone without saying their name again
- 2Use zijn with one person and with a whole room
- 3Choose between jij and u without freezing
- 4Hear which zij someone means
The 12 words you actually use
Dutch first, said out loud. Say each word before you flip the card, then check yourself. Every card speaks.
je
yuh
je
you (casual)
Ben je nieuw hier? Are you new here?
trap word
hij
hay
hij
he
Hij is jong. He is young.
trap word
zij
zay
zij
she, or they
Zij is blij. She is happy.
wij
vay
wij
we
Wij zijn studenten. We are students.
jullie
YULL-ee
jullie
you (more than one)
Jullie zijn leuk. You are nice.
u
ew
u
you (formal)
U bent de leraar. You are the teacher.
zijn
zayn
zijn
to be
Wij zijn hier. We are here.
blij
blay
blij
happy
Ik ben blij. I am happy.
leuk
luhk
leuk
nice, fun
Het huis is leuk. The house is nice.
mooi
moy
mooi
beautiful
Amsterdam is mooi. Amsterdam is beautiful.
oud
owt
oud
old
De man is oud. The man is old.
de leraar
duh LAY-rahr
de leraar
the teacher
De leraar is leuk. The teacher is nice.
zijn, the verb you cannot avoid
zijn means to be, and it changes shape with the person. Learn these as whole phrases, not as a table to recite. Note that u takes bent, the same as jij.
- one
- ik ben · jij bent · hij is · zij is
- more
- wij zijn · jullie zijn · zij zijn
The ij sound
hij, zij, wij, blij and zijn all carry the same ij. It sounds like the ay in say, never like ee. Get this one sound and a third of this lesson starts sounding Dutch instead of read aloud.
One photo, six people
Noor shows you a photo from her new class. Read it once for the shape. Read it again out loud.
- 01
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 02
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 03
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 04
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 05
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 06
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 07
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 08
tap the Dutch to check yourself
Helper words in this story
- de foto the photo
- studenten students
- mijn my
- vrienden friends
- en and
Thirty seconds. Prove it.
Three words from this lesson. Answer before you doubt yourself.
Prove it · 1 of 3
hij
All 20 words in this lesson
je
you
hij
he
zij
she
ze
she
wij
we
we
we
jullie
you (plural)
zij
they
ze
they
u
you (formal)
zijn
to be
de leraar
the teacher
blij
happy
leuk
nice, fun
mooi
pretty
oud
old
jong
young
de voetballer
the footballer
de premier
the prime minister
de student
the student
Hear all 20, then say them back
The interactive lesson plays every word, walks the story line by line, records your voice next to a native one, and remembers the ones you find hard. Lesson 1 needs no account.
- I can talk about someone without repeating their name
- I can use zijn with one person and with many
- I can tell the two zij apart by the verb
- I can choose between jij and u without freezing
- I can call someone young, old, happy or nice
Fifty fifty. We build it. You show up.
