Trying on shoes | Learn Dutch in English

Sentence explanations

1. Deze schoenen zien er comfortabel uit.

   These shoes look comfortable.

   Deze

   these

   schoenen

   shoes

   zien … er … uit

   look / seem

   comfortabel

   comfortable

   More detail

   Deze means “these” here and points to multiple nearby or contextually known things. Dutch uses deze with plural nouns; with a singular noun, it is also used with a de-word, while dit is used with a singular het-word. Example: Deze boeken zijn nieuw. — “These books are new.” Schoenen means “shoes.” Its base form is schoen (“shoe”); schoenen is the plural form. Example: Mijn schoenen zijn nat. — “My shoes are wet.” zien er ... uit is the separated form of eruitzien, “to look” or “to appear.” In this sentence, zien is the present-tense form used with the plural subject deze schoenen, and uit appears at the end. The small word er is part of this construction, so the reusable pattern is iets ziet er + adjective + uit for “something looks + adjective.” With a singular subject, the verb changes: De jas ziet er mooi uit. — “The coat looks nice.” Comfortabel means “comfortable” here. It is an adjective describing how the shoes appear. After zien er ... uit, the adjective is used predicatively and remains comfortabel, without an added -e. Example: De stoel ziet er comfortabel uit. — “The chair looks comfortable.” Together, Deze schoenen identifies the shoes, and zien er comfortabel uit says that they appear comfortable. The complete meaning is: “These shoes look comfortable.” The following context refers back to the shoes with Ze (“they”).

2. Ze zijn gemaakt voor lange wandelingen.

   They are made for long walks.

   Ze

   they

   zijn gemaakt

   are made

   voor

   for

   lange

   long

   wandelingen

   walks

   More detail

   Ze means “they” here and refers to the shoes identified by the surrounding context. In Dutch, ze is the unstressed third-person plural pronoun; its form does not show the gender of the things referred to. For a single person or thing, Dutch commonly uses hij, zij/ze, or het according to the referent. zijn gemaakt expresses “are made.” zijn is the present-tense plural form of zijn (“to be”), and gemaakt is the past participle of maken (“to make”). Together they form a passive construction: the shoes are presented as the things made for a purpose, without saying who made them. Compare the reusable pattern X is/zijn gemaakt voor Y (“X is/are made for Y”); is is used with a singular subject and zijn with a plural subject. voor means “for” in the purpose or suitability pattern gemaakt voor .... It introduces what the item is intended or suitable for. For example: Deze tas is gemaakt voor reizen. — “This bag is made for traveling.” lange means “long” here. It is the inflected form of the adjective lang, used before the plural noun wandelingen. Dutch adjectives in this position commonly take -e; the noun’s number and the determiner context help determine the form. The basic comparison is lang (“long”), langer (“longer”), langst (“longest”). wandelingen means “walks.” It is the plural of wandeling (“walk” or “walk as an activity”); the ending -en marks the plural here. A singular example is een wandeling — “a walk”; plural: lange wandelingen — “long walks.” Assembled, Ze zijn gemaakt voor lange wandelingen. means “They are made for long walks.” The plural pronoun refers to the shoes, and the passive pattern states their intended use: long walks.

3. Kan ik ze hier passen?

   Can I try them on here?

   Kan ik

   Can I

   ze

   them

   hier

   here

   passen

   try on

   More detail

   Kan ik is a reusable Dutch yes/no question pattern meaning “Can I ...?” Here kan is the present-tense first-person singular form of kunnen (“can, be able to”), and ik means “I”. In a statement, the order is Ik kan ...; in this question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Kan ik ...? With this meaning, the pattern asks for permission. Example: Kan ik even zitten? — “Can I sit for a moment?” ze is the unstressed object pronoun meaning “them” here. The fixed translation identifies it as the items that the speaker wants to try on; its object role belongs to its relationship with passen, not simply to its position in the sentence. In other contexts, ze can have other grammatical uses, so this sentence-specific meaning should not be generalized to every occurrence of ze. Example: Ik zie ze. — “I see them.” hier is the adverb “here”. It specifies the place where the action is to happen and can be reused independently. Example: Wacht hier. — “Wait here.” passen is the infinitive of passen. With wearable items in this context, it means “to try on”; in other contexts, passen can mean “to fit”. After the modal verb kan, Dutch uses the infinitive: kan ... passen. Example: Kan ik deze schoenen passen? — “Can I try these shoes on?” Together, Kan ik asks for permission, ze refers to the items, hier gives the place, and passen states the action. The complete meaning is: “Can I try them on here?”

4. Gebruik dit bankje als je ze aantrekt.

   Use this bench while you put them on.

   Gebruik

   use

   dit

   this

   bankje

   bench

   als

   while

   je

   you

   ze

   them

   aantrekt

   put on

   More detail

   Gebruik is the imperative of gebruiken (“to use”). It gives a direct instruction to one person. For example: Gebruik deze stoel. — “Use this chair.” dit means “this” and is the demonstrative used with a singular neuter noun. Here it agrees with bankje; it is not the subject of the sentence. Dutch also has deze for singular common-gender nouns and for plural nouns: deze stoel (“this chair”), deze schoenen (“these shoes”). bankje means “bench” here. It is the diminutive form of bank, formed with -je; the diminutive often presents something as small or can give it a familiar, neutral tone. The form is neuter, which is why the sentence uses dit bankje. Example: Het bankje is vrij. — “The bench is free.” als introduces the time condition translated here as “while.” In Dutch, als can also introduce a condition meaning “if”; the surrounding meaning determines which reading applies. Here it links using the bench with putting the items on. je is the informal singular subject pronoun “you.” In the subordinate clause, it is the subject of aantrekt. Dutch also has jij, which can add emphasis: Jij trekt ze aan. — “You put them on.” ze is the object pronoun “them” in this sentence. The supplied translation and context establish that it refers to the plural items being tried on, without requiring a more specific noun. ze can have other grammatical roles in Dutch, so its exact function comes from its position and the sentence structure. aantrekt comes from the separable verb aantrekken, “to put on” clothing or other wearable items. In a main clause, the parts separate: Je trekt ze aan. — “You put them on.” After als, the verb appears together at the end of the subordinate clause: als je ze aantrekt — “while you put them on.” The form aantrekt is the present-tense form with singular je; the prefix aan- remains attached in this subordinate-clause position. Together, Gebruik dit bankje means “Use this bench.” The clause als je ze aantrekt adds the time relation “while you put them on.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Use this bench while you put them on.”

5. Ze voelen een beetje klein aan.

   They feel a little small.

   Ze

   they

   voelen … aan

   feel

   een beetje

   a little

   klein

   small

   More detail

   Ze means “they” here. The fixed translation establishes a plural referent, and the supplied context supports reading it as the items being put on. Dutch ze can also mean “she” in other contexts; stressed zij can be used for emphasis. voelen ... aan is the separated form of the Dutch verb aanvoelen, meaning “to feel” or “to seem by feeling.” In the present tense, the plural subject takes voelen, while the separable part aan appears at the end: Ze voelen ... aan. The singular form is voelt. Example: De stof voelt zacht aan. — “The fabric feels soft.” een beetje means “a little” or “slightly,” softening the description. Example: Ik ben een beetje moe. — “I am a little tired.” klein means “small.” It is the basic adjective form, not a comparative; the comparative is kleiner, “smaller”: Dit paar is kleiner. — “This pair is smaller.” Here, klein describes how the items feel, rather than asserting a measured size. Together, Ze voelen een beetje klein aan. means “They feel a little small.” The reusable pattern is subject + aanvoelen + een beetje + adjective, with separable aan at the end: De schoenen voelen ruim aan. — “The shoes feel spacious.”

6. Probeer dit grotere paar.

   Try this larger pair.

   Probeer

   try

   dit

   this

   grotere

   larger

   paar

   pair

   More detail

   Probeer means “try” here and is the imperative of proberen (“to try”). The imperative addresses one person in this sentence; Dutch commonly uses the verb stem for this form: Probeer! = “Try!” The infinitive proberen is used after another verb, for example: Ik wil het proberen. — “I want to try it.” dit means “this.” It is a demonstrative used with a singular neuter noun. Here it points to the singular noun paar, giving the meaning “this pair.” The form contrasts with deze, which is used with singular common-gender nouns and with plural nouns. grotere means “larger.” It is the comparative form related to groot (“large”): groot → groter → grootste (“large” → “larger” → “largest”). In this sentence, the comparative modifies paar attributively and has the -e form: een groter paar (“a larger pair”), but dit grotere paar (“this larger pair”). The comparison says that this pair is larger than a relevant comparison point, without specifying that point in the sentence. paar means “pair.” It is a singular noun; its plural is paren (“pairs”). In this utterance it is the noun modified by both dit and grotere. Together, Probeer dit grotere paar. forms an imperative: Probeer (“try”) + dit grotere paar (“this larger pair”). The complete meaning is “Try this larger pair.”

7. Dit paar zit beter.

   This pair feels better.

   Dit

   this

   paar

   pair

   zit

   fits; sits

   beter

   better

   More detail

   Dit means “this” here and identifies one pair. It is the neuter singular demonstrative used with paar, because het paar is a neuter noun. For a singular common-gender noun, use deze; for any plural noun, use deze. For example, deze schoen means “this shoe,” while dit paar means “this pair.” paar means “pair” here: two matching items considered together, such as a pair of shoes. Its plural is paren. Example: Ik koop een paar schoenen. — “I am buying a pair of shoes.” zit is the third-person singular present form of zitten (“to sit”). In this sentence, zitten is used idiomatically for how clothing, shoes, or another wearable item fits or feels on someone, not for literal sitting. The form agrees with singular dit paar: het paar zit. Example: Deze schoenen zitten goed. — “These shoes fit well.” beter means “better” and is the comparative form of goed (“good; well”). It compares the fit or feel of this pair with another relevant option. The useful chain is goed — beter — best (“good/well” — “better” — “best”). Example: Deze jas zit beter. — “This coat fits better.” Together, dit paar identifies the pair being assessed, and zit beter says that it fits or feels better than the comparison option understood from the situation. Thus the whole utterance means: “This pair feels better.”

8. Die maat zit goed.

   That size looks right on you.

   Die

   that

   maat

   size

   zit

   fits

   goed

   well; right

   More detail

   Die points to a specific singular common-gender noun: die maat means “that size.” Dutch uses die with singular de-words and with plural nouns; dat is used with singular het-words. A nearby contrast is deze (“this”) for a singular common-gender noun. The form here does not identify who is wearing the item; that participant comes from the fixed translation and the situation. maat means “size” here, as in a clothing or footwear size. Its plural is maten. Example: Welke maat heb je? — “What size do you have?” zit is the present-tense form of zitten for hij, zij, or het, and also for a singular noun such as die maat. Its basic meaning is “sits,” but with clothing, shoes, or another wearable item, zitten can describe how the item fits or feels when worn. Example: Deze schoenen zitten goed. — “These shoes fit well.” goed means “well” in this combination and gives a positive assessment of the fit. The comparative is beter (“better”), and the opposite is slecht (“badly” or “poorly”). Here goed does not mean that the size itself is morally or generally “good”; together with zit, it says that the size fits suitably. Together, die maat identifies the specific size, while zit goed says that it fits well on the person wearing the item. The complete meaning is “That size looks right on you.”