Basic routines and family | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Basic routines and family to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ik ga naar bed.

ik KHAH nahr BET. I am going to bed.

Ik word vroeg wakker.

ik wawrt VROOKH WAK-uhr. I wake up early.

Ik ga naar mijn werk.

ik KHAH nahr mine WEHRK. I go to work.

Ik ga naar school.

ik KHAH nahr SKHOHL. I go to school.

Ik ben bij mijn familie.

ik BEN bye mine fa-MEE-lee. I am with my family.

Dit is mijn vriend.

dit iss mine VREENT. This is my friend.

Word by Word

Ik “Ik” means “I” and is the person doing the action in the dialogue. It comes at the start of the sentences “Ik ga naar bed” and “Ik word vroeg wakker”. Use it when speaking about yourself, especially in a routine such as going to bed or waking up.

ga “ga” means “go” or “am going” here and is the form of gaan used with “Ik”. It appears in “Ik ga naar bed” and “Ik ga naar mijn werk”, with naar followed by the destination. Use this form to describe going somewhere in a daily routine.

naar “naar” means “to” and marks the destination in “Ik ga naar bed”, “Ik ga naar mijn werk”, and “Ik ga naar school”. It comes before the place or destination. Use it when saying where you are going, such as when commuting, attending school, or going to bed.

bed “bed” means “bed” in the routine expression “naar bed”. The phrase “Ik ga naar bed” describes going to bed, with naar marking the destination. Use it when talking about the end of the day or preparing to sleep.

word “word” contributes the idea of becoming or getting in “Ik word vroeg wakker”, which means that I wake up early. It is the form of worden used with “Ik”, and wakker completes the expression about becoming awake. Use this construction to describe waking up as part of a morning routine.

vroeg “vroeg” means “early” in “Ik word vroeg wakker”. It specifies when the waking-up happens and comes before wakker in this expression. Use it when describing a morning routine that starts early.

wakker “wakker” means “awake” and describes the state reached in “Ik word vroeg wakker”. Together with word, it forms the dialogue expression for waking up, while wakker supplies the idea of being awake. Use it when talking about waking or being awake.

mijn “mijn” means “my” and shows that the following noun belongs to or is connected with the speaker. It appears before werk, familie, and vriend in “mijn werk”, “mijn familie”, and “mijn vriend”. Use it before a noun when referring to something or someone connected with you.

werk “werk” means “work” in “Ik ga naar mijn werk”. In this sentence it is the destination the speaker is going to, and mijn identifies it as the speaker’s work. Use it when describing a routine of travelling to work.

school “school” means “school” in “Ik ga naar school”. It follows naar because the sentence names the destination. Use it when talking about going to school as part of a daily routine.

ben “ben” means “am” in “Ik ben bij mijn familie” and is the form of zijn used with “Ik”. It states the speaker’s situation or location, while bij identifies who the speaker is with. Use it to say that you are with someone or in a particular situation.

bij “bij” means “with” or “at” in “Ik ben bij mijn familie”. It marks the people or place where the speaker is present, and here it is followed by mijn familie. Use it when describing being with a person or group.

familie “familie” means “family” in “Ik ben bij mijn familie”. It names the group of people the speaker is with, while mijn shows the connection to the speaker. Use it when talking about spending time with family.

Dit “Dit” means “this” and points to the person being identified in “Dit is mijn vriend”. It appears at the beginning of the sentence to introduce or identify someone. Use it when presenting someone who is nearby or being indicated.

is “is” means “is” or “be” in “Dit is mijn vriend”. It links Dit with the identification mijn vriend, completing the statement about who the person is. Use “Dit is” when introducing or identifying someone.

vriend “vriend” means “friend” in “Dit is mijn vriend”. The word mijn before it shows that the friend is connected with the speaker. Use it when introducing a friend to another person.

Grammar Points

naar bed gaan

Ik ga naar bed.

ik KHAH nahr BET.

I go to bed.

Dutch uses the fixed expression “naar bed gaan” for going to bed; “ga” is the present-tense form of “gaan”.

worden + adjective

Ik word vroeg wakker.

ik wawrt VROOKH WAK-uhr.

I wake up early.

“Worden” can mean “to get/become”; “word wakker” is the Dutch construction for waking up.

Dutch Vocabulary

bed noun

bet bed

Ik ga naar bed.

bij prep

bye with; at

Ik ben bij mijn familie.

gaan verb

KHAHN to go ga

Ik ga naar bed.

ik pron

ik I Ik

Ik ga naar bed.

mijn det

mine my

Ik ga naar mijn werk.

naar prep

nahr to

Ik ga naar bed.

school noun

SKHOHL school

Ik ga naar school.

vroeg adv

VROOKH early

Ik word vroeg wakker.

wakker adj

WAK-uhr awake

Ik word vroeg wakker.

werk noun

wehrk work

Ik ga naar mijn werk.

worden verb

WOR-duhn to become; to get word

Ik word vroeg wakker.

zijn verb

zine to be ben

Ik ben bij mijn familie.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I am going to bed.

Show Answer

Ik ga naar bed.

I wake up early.

Show Answer

Ik word vroeg wakker.

I go to work.

Show Answer

Ik ga naar mijn werk.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

school

Show Answer

school

awake

Show Answer

wakker

to become; to get

Show Answer

word

work

Show Answer

werk