Finding and choosing juice | Learn Dutch in English

Dutch lesson set in a contemporary Amsterdam everyday setting: In a shop, a customer asks staff where the juice is and chooses a recommended bottle..

EN → NL / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Finding and choosing juice to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Pardon, waar is het sap?

pahr-DON, vahr iss ut sahp? Excuse me, where is the juice?
B

Het staat in dit vak, naast de koude dranken.

ut STAHT in dit vahk, nahst duh KOW-duh DRANG-kuhn. It's in this section, next to the cold drinks.
A

Wat raadt u aan?

vaht rahdt oo ahn? What do you recommend?
B

Dit sap heeft een frisse smaak en is makkelijk te drinken.

dit sahp hayft un FRISS-uh smahk en iss MAHK-uh-luk tuh DRING-kuhn. This juice has a fresh taste and is easy to drink.
A

Dan neem ik die fles.

dahn NAYM ik dee FLESS. Then I'll get that bottle.

Word by Word

Pardon Pardon means “excuse me” and is used in “Pardon, waar is het sap?” to politely get someone’s attention. It is useful when asking a shop employee for help. A common reuse is “Pardon, …” at the beginning of a polite question.
waar Waar means “where” in “waar is het sap?” and asks about the juice’s location. It appears at the beginning of a question about a place. Use the pattern “waar is …?” when asking where something is in a shop.
is Is expresses “is” in “waar is het sap?” and connects het sap with its location. Together with waar, it forms a question about where something is. It is useful when asking staff to locate a product.
het Het means “the” before sap in “het sap,” referring to a specific juice product. Here it forms the noun phrase “het sap.” Use “het” before a noun when referring to a specific item such as a product in a shop.
sap Sap means “juice” in “het sap.” In this dialogue, it is the product the customer is looking for and later discusses. It can be reused when asking about or choosing juice in a shop.
staat Staat means “is located” in “Het staat in dit vak,” describing where the item is. The phrase uses staat to say that the juice is located in a particular section. It is useful when telling someone where an item can be found.
in In means “in” in “in dit vak” and places the juice inside or within that section. It introduces the location “dit vak.” Use “in + place” to say where something is located.
dit Dit means “this” in “dit vak,” pointing to the section being indicated by the shop employee. It identifies a nearby or currently indicated place. Use “dit + noun” when referring to something specific near the speaker or already being shown.
vak Vak means “section” or “shelf area” in “dit vak.” It identifies the part of the shop where the juice is located. It is useful when directing a customer to a particular shop section.
naast Naast means “next to” in “naast de koude dranken,” showing the juice’s position in relation to the cold drinks. It introduces the nearby reference point. Use “naast + noun” when describing one item’s location beside another.
de De means “the” before “koude dranken” in “naast de koude dranken.” It refers to the specific category of cold drinks beside which the juice is located. Use “de + noun phrase” for a specific item or category.
koude Koude means “cold” in “koude dranken,” describing the drinks as cold. It appears before the noun it describes. The pattern “koude + noun” is useful when identifying chilled products in a shop.
dranken Dranken means “drinks” in “de koude dranken,” naming the product category next to the juice. Here it refers to the cold-drinks section of the shop. It is useful when directing someone to a category of beverages.
Wat Wat means “what” in “Wat raadt u aan?” and introduces a question asking for a recommendation. It appears at the beginning of the question. A customer can use this question when asking shop staff which product to choose.
raadt Raadt expresses “recommends” in “Wat raadt u aan?” The recommendation meaning belongs to the full separable verb phrase raadt … aan, whose citation form is aanraden. It is useful when asking someone for a product recommendation.
u U means formal singular “you” in “Wat raadt u aan?” and addresses the shop employee politely. It is the person whose recommendation is being requested. Use u when speaking respectfully to one person in a service situation.
aan Aan is the separable particle that completes the verb in “Wat raadt u aan?”; the meaning “recommend” comes from the full phrase, not from aan by itself. The citation form of this verb is aanraden. Keep the particle at the end in this question when asking staff for a recommendation.
heeft Heeft means “has” in “Dit sap heeft een frisse smaak,” linking the juice with its taste. It introduces the quality that is being attributed to the product. The pattern “X heeft Y” is useful when describing what a food or drink has.
een Een means “a” in “een frisse smaak,” introducing one described taste. It comes before the noun phrase frisse smaak. Use “een + noun phrase” when describing a product with one characteristic.
frisse Frisse means “fresh” in “een frisse smaak,” describing the taste of the juice. It modifies smaak and helps explain why the drink is recommended. The pattern “frisse + noun” is useful when describing the quality of food or drinks.
smaak Smaak means “taste” or “flavor” in “een frisse smaak.” It names the quality being used to describe the juice. It is useful when recommending a drink by describing its flavor.
en En means “and” in “een frisse smaak en is makkelijk te drinken,” joining two pieces of information about the juice. It connects the description of its taste with the statement about drinking it. Use “X en Y” to give two related product details.
makkelijk Makkelijk means “easy” in “makkelijk te drinken,” describing the juice as easy to drink. The complete pattern “makkelijk te drinken” gives the product description; makkelijk alone does not carry the whole construction. Use “makkelijk te + verb” when describing an action that is easy to do.
te Te marks the infinitive in “te drinken” after makkelijk. It helps form the pattern “makkelijk te drinken,” meaning that drinking the juice is easy. This pattern is useful when describing how easy an action is.
drinken Drinken means “drink” in “te drinken” and refers to consuming the juice. Here it completes the pattern “makkelijk te drinken.” It is useful when describing a beverage and the action of consuming it.
Dan Dan means “then” in “Dan neem ik die fles,” signaling the customer’s decision after hearing the recommendation. It links the advice to the next action. Use sentence-initial “Dan …” when announcing what you will do as a result.
neem Neem means “take” or “get” in “neem ik die fles,” expressing the customer’s choice of the bottle. The citation form is nemen. The pattern “Dan neem ik …” is useful when choosing and buying a product.
ik Ik means “I” in “Dan neem ik die fles” and identifies the customer as the person making the choice. After sentence-initial Dan, it follows neem in this sentence. It is useful when stating your own decision in a shop.
die Die means “that” in “die fles,” pointing to the particular bottle that has just been recommended. It identifies the bottle rather than introducing an unspecified one. Use “die + noun” when choosing an already identified item.
fles Fles means “bottle” in “die fles,” naming the container the customer chooses. It is the object of neem in the final decision. It is useful when selecting a bottled drink in a shop.

Grammar Points

een + bijvoeglijk naamwoord + zelfstandig naamwoord

een frisse smaak

un FRISS-uh SMAHK

a fresh taste

Na een krijgt het bijvoeglijk naamwoord vóór een zelfstandig naamwoord meestal -e: frisse.

bijvoeglijk naamwoord + te + infinitief

makkelijk te drinken

MAHK-uh-luk tuh DRING-kuhn

easy to drink

Na een bijvoeglijk naamwoord zoals makkelijk gebruik je te vóór het hele werkwoord.

Dutch Vocabulary

aanraden verb
AHN-rah-dun to recommend raadt ... aan
drank noun
DRANGK drink; beverage dranken
fris adj
FRISS fresh frisse
koud adj
KOWT cold koude
naast prep
nahst next to
pardon intj
pahr-DON excuse me
sap noun
sahp juice het sap
smaak noun
SMAHK taste; flavor een frisse smaak
staan verb
stahn to stand; to be located staat
vak noun
vahk section; compartment dit vak
waar adv
vahr where
wat pron
vaht what

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Excuse me, where is the juice?

Show AnswerPardon, waar is het sap?

What do you recommend?

Show AnswerWat raadt u aan?

Then I'll get that bottle.

Show AnswerDan neem ik die fles.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

excuse me

Show Answerpardon

drink; beverage

Show Answerdranken

to stand; to be located

Show Answerstaat

cold

Show Answerkoude