The pattern
In standard Dutch, "them" is hen as a direct object or after a preposition, and hun as an indirect object. In everyday speech, ze does both jobs.
- Direct object, the person the action is done to: Ik zie hen. Ik bel hen morgen.
- After any preposition: met hen, voor hen, bij hen, aan hen.
- Indirect object, usually the person who receives something (English can often add "to" or "for"): Ik geef hun een boek. Ik stuur hun een mail.
- Spoken Dutch, unstressed: Ik zie ze. Ik geef ze een boek.
- As the subject, "they" is zij or ze. Hun hebben is common in speech but not standard.
- Hen and hun refer to people. For things, use ze (more in Hij, het or zij for things).
Examples
| Daan en Sanne? Ik zie hen elke ochtend op het station. | Daan and Sanne? I see them at the station every morning. |
| Als mijn ouders in december komen, ga ik met hen naar Maastricht. | When my parents come in December, I'll go to Maastricht with them. |
| De buren hebben op mijn kat gepast, dus ik geef hun een fles wijn. | The neighbours looked after my cat, so I'm giving them a bottle of wine. |
| Kun je hun even vertellen dat de vergadering om tien uur begint? | Could you tell them that the meeting starts at ten? |
| Ik heb ze net in de supermarkt gezien. | I just saw them in the supermarket. |
| Heb je ze al een appje gestuurd over vrijdag? | Have you sent them a message about Friday yet? |
| Ik heb hen uitgenodigd, niet jullie. | I invited them, not you. |
| Priya en Joris zijn ziek, dus zij komen vandaag niet. | Priya and Joris are ill, so they aren't coming today. |
Why it works this way
Think of hun as "them" with an invisible "to" or "for" built in. Most of the time it marks the receivers: the people who get something, are told something or have something done for them. You can usually say the same thing with aan or voor, and as soon as that preposition appears, you switch back to hen:
- Ik geef hun de sleutel. / Ik geef de sleutel aan hen.
- Mei bakt hun een taart. / Mei bakt een taart voor hen.
- Ik bel hen. (they do not receive anything, so hen)
Remember: hun is usually a receiver that has swallowed its aan or voor. Once you can see a preposition, write hen.
The hook does not work in reverse. Many verbs come with a fixed preposition that you can never drop, such as denken aan or wachten op: Ik denk aan hen never becomes Ik denk hun. The real rule is simpler: hun is the indirect object without a preposition. That is most often a receiver, with verbs like geven, sturen, vertellen or laten zien, but a few common verbs use hun for the people something happens to: Dat lukt hun niet (they won't manage that), Het nieuwe huis bevalt hun goed (they like the new house). Keep the preposition wherever the verb needs it (see Verbs with a fixed preposition).
If the rule feels artificial, that is because it is. Grammarians introduced the split in the seventeenth century, and it never fully reached everyday speech. Native speakers mix up hen and hun too, even in writing. So the spoken language uses ze: short, unstressed and fine as both a direct and an indirect object.
Ze has limits, though. It is the unstressed form (see Jij or je?), so it cannot carry emphasis: in Ik heb hen uitgenodigd, niet jullie you need hen. After a preposition, met ze is heard in casual speech but looks sloppy in writing.
Hun as a subject (Hun hebben gewonnen) is very common in casual speech in the Netherlands, but it is not standard Dutch and many listeners hear it as uneducated. In writing, at work and in exams, use zij or ze. The possessive hun (their, as in hun fietsen) is perfectly correct; only the subject use is a problem.
Watch out
FoutHun hebben de trein gemist.
GoedZe hebben de trein gemist.
hun is never a subject in standard Dutch
FoutIk ga met hun naar de markt.
GoedIk ga met hen naar de markt.
after any preposition: hen, even where German has "ihnen"
FoutIk help hun zaterdag met verhuizen.
GoedIk help hen zaterdag met verhuizen.
helpen takes a direct object, unlike German "helfen"
FoutDe sleutels? Ik zie hen nergens.
GoedDe sleutels? Ik zie ze nergens.
hen and hun are for people, not things
FoutIk heb hen een kaartje gestuurd.
GoedIk heb hun een kaartje gestuurd.
a card to them, so hun in careful Dutch
Quick check
- Choose: Ahmed en Yara? Ik heb gisteren met ... gegeten. (hen / hun)
- Choose: Kun jij ... het nieuwe rooster mailen? (hen / hun)
- Choose: Lotte en Carlos hebben ons enorm geholpen. Ik wil ... graag bedanken. (hen / hun)
- Choose: Mijn handschoenen? Ik heb ... in de trein laten liggen. (hen / ze)
Toon de antwoorden
- hen: after a preposition, always hen.
- hun: they receive the schedule, and the "to" is hidden.
- hen: you thank them directly; bedanken takes a direct object.
- ze: gloves are things, and hen and hun are for people.
Use it today
Think of two people you will see this week, such as your neighbours or two colleagues. Write three sentences about them: one with hen (Ik zie hen morgen), one with a preposition (Ik lunch met hen) and one with hun (Ik stuur hun een berichtje). Then say all three out loud with ze, the way you would in a casual conversation.