Finding a Wallet and Keys | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Finding a Wallet and Keys to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden.

ick kahn mine por-tuh-moh-NAY uh-nicht VIN-duh. I can't find my wallet.

Heb je in je rugzak gekeken?

HEB yuh in yuh RUKH-zahk guh-KAY-kuhn? Did you check inside your backpack?

Ik heb al in het voorvak gekeken.

ick heb ahl in uht VOHR-vahk guh-KAY-kuhn. I checked the front pocket already.

Probeer het kleine vakje bij de rits.

pruh-BAYR uht KLY-nuh VAHK-yuh by duh RITS. Try the small pocket near the zipper.

Ik heb hem daar gevonden.

ick heb um dahr guh-VON-duhn. I found it there.

Doe de rits dicht voordat je gaat.

DUH duh RITS DIKHT vohr-DAHT yuh ghaht. Close the zipper before you go.

Ik heb mijn sleutels nog nodig.

ick heb mine SLUH-tuls nokh NOH-dikh. I still need my keys.

Ze zitten in het zijvak.

zay ZI-tun in uht ZAY-vahk. They're in the side pocket.

Word by Word

Ik Ik means “I” here: the speaker is talking about themself. It is used as the subject before the verb, as in Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden. Use Ik when you describe your own action or situation.

kan Kan means “can” or “am able to” here, expressing ability to find something. It is followed by the infinitive vinden at the end of Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden. Use kan with an action you are able to do.

mijn Mijn means “my” and shows that the wallet belongs to the speaker. It comes directly before portemonnee in mijn portemonnee. Use mijn before an item that belongs to you.

portemonnee Portemonnee means “wallet,” the item the speaker cannot find. In mijn portemonnee, it names the object being looked for. Use it when talking about a wallet in an everyday situation.

niet Niet means “not” and makes the statement negative: the speaker cannot find the wallet. In Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden, it comes before the final action word vinden. Use niet to say that an action or situation is not happening.

vinden Vinden means “find” here and is the action that the speaker is unable to complete. After kan, the exact form vinden appears at the end of Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden. Use kan ... vinden when talking about being able to find something.

Heb Heb means “have” here as the helping verb in the question Heb je in je rugzak gekeken? It helps ask whether the checking has already happened. The same verb appears as lowercase heb in Ik heb al in het voorvak gekeken and Ik heb hem daar gevonden.

je Je means “you” here. In Heb je in je rugzak gekeken?, it identifies the person being asked, and in je rugzak it also means “your.” Use je for an informal person being addressed or for their belongings.

in In means “in” or “inside” and locates the checking within the backpack. It appears in in je rugzak and in het voorvak. Use in before a place or container when something is inside it.

rugzak Rugzak means “backpack,” the container being checked for the wallet. In je rugzak, it follows in and identifies where the search takes place. Use it when talking about carrying or looking inside a backpack.

gekeken Gekeken means “looked” or “checked” here, referring to checking inside the backpack or pocket. It is used with heb in Heb je in je rugzak gekeken? and Ik heb al in het voorvak gekeken. The corresponding citation form is kijken.

al Al means “already” here and shows that the front pocket was checked before this moment. It appears in Ik heb al in het voorvak gekeken. Use al when reporting that something has happened earlier than now.

het Het means “the” here in het voorvak and het kleine vakje. It comes before these specific compartments. Use het before a noun when the noun takes this article in the expression you are using.

voorvak Voorvak means “front pocket,” the first compartment the speaker checked. It appears in in het voorvak, showing the place where the checking happened. Use it when identifying the front compartment of a bag.

Probeer Probeer means “try” here and gives a direct suggestion to check another pocket. It is the first word in Probeer het kleine vakje bij de rits. Use it when telling someone to attempt an action or check another option.

kleine Kleine means “small” and describes the pocket being suggested. In het kleine vakje, it comes before vakje and identifies which compartment to try. Use kleine before an item when describing it as small.

vakje Vakje means “small pocket” or “small compartment,” specifically the one near the zipper. It appears in het kleine vakje bij de rits. Use it for a small section inside a bag or another object.

bij Bij means “near” or “by” here and locates the small pocket next to the zipper. In bij de rits, it is followed by the thing used as the location reference. Use bij when one item is close to another.

de De means “the” here in de rits. It comes before the specific zipper being mentioned. Use de before a noun when the noun takes this article in the expression you are using.

rits Rits means “zipper,” the fastening beside the small pocket and the thing that should be closed before leaving. It appears in bij de rits and Doe de rits dicht. Use it when talking about a zipper on a bag or piece of clothing.

hem Hem means “it” here and refers back to the wallet that was being searched for. In Ik heb hem daar gevonden, it is the item that was found there. Use hem for this object when referring back to it in this sentence pattern.

daar Daar means “there” and points to the small pocket mentioned immediately before. In Ik heb hem daar gevonden, it identifies the place where the wallet was found. Use daar to refer to a location that is clear from the conversation.

gevonden Gevonden means “found” here and reports the completed discovery of the wallet. It appears with heb in Ik heb hem daar gevonden. The corresponding citation form is vinden.

Doe Doe means “do” here as a direct instruction, but with dicht it forms the instruction to close the zipper: Doe de rits dicht. Use this expression when telling someone to close the zipper before they leave.

dicht Dicht means “closed” or “shut” here and completes Doe de rits dicht, meaning to close the zipper. It describes the desired closed state of the zipper. Use it in this closing instruction when securing a bag.

voordat Voordat means “before” and introduces the action that must happen first: closing the zipper before going. It connects Doe de rits dicht with voordat je gaat. Use voordat to place one action earlier than another.

gaat Gaat means “go” here in voordat je gaat, referring to the person addressed leaving. It follows je in this clause after voordat. Use je gaat when talking about where or when the person you address goes.

sleutels Sleutels means “keys,” the items the speaker still needs after finding the wallet. In mijn sleutels, it identifies the speaker’s keys. Use it when talking about keys as a group.

nog Nog means “still” here and shows that the keys remain necessary even though the wallet has been found. It appears in Ik heb mijn sleutels nog nodig. Use nog when a situation or need continues up to the present.

nodig Nodig means “needed” or expresses “need” here in Ik heb mijn sleutels nog nodig. Together with heb, it says that the speaker still requires the keys. Use this pattern when stating that you need a particular item.

Ze Ze means “they” here and refers to the keys mentioned in the previous line. In Ze zitten in het zijvak, it is the subject of the location statement. Use Ze to refer back to plural items such as the keys.

zitten Zitten means “are located” here, describing where the keys are in the bag. In Ze zitten in het zijvak, it is used with a location introduced by in. Use it to say where an item or items are situated.

zijvak Zijvak means “side pocket,” the location of the keys. It appears in in het zijvak, identifying the compartment where they are located. Use it when specifying the side compartment of a bag.

Grammar Points

hebben gevonden

heb gevonden

heb guh-VON-duhn

have found

The auxiliary heb comes before the past participle gevonden in the perfect tense.

Doe ... dicht

Doe ... dicht

DUH ... DIKHT

Close ...

Dicht comes after the object because dichtdoen is a separable verb.

Dutch Vocabulary

hebben gevonden phrase

HEB-un guh-VON-duhn have found heb gevonden

Ik heb hem daar gevonden

kijken verb

KYE-kuhn to look; to check gekeken

in je rugzak gekeken

klein adj

KLYN small kleine

het kleine vakje

portemonnee noun

por-tuh-moh-NAY wallet

mijn portemonnee

proberen verb

pruh-BAYR-un to try Probeer

Probeer het kleine vakje

rits noun

RITS zipper

de rits

rugzak noun

RUKH-zahk backpack

je rugzak

sleutel noun

SLUH-tul key sleutels

mijn sleutels

vakje noun

VAHK-yuh small pocket

het kleine vakje

vinden verb

VIN-duh to find

niet vinden

voorvak noun

VOHR-vahk front pocket

het voorvak

zijvak noun

ZAY-vahk side pocket

het zijvak

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I can't find my wallet.

Show Answer

Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden.

Did you check inside your backpack?

Show Answer

Heb je in je rugzak gekeken?

I found it there.

Show Answer

Ik heb hem daar gevonden.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to find

Show Answer

vinden

key

Show Answer

sleutels

front pocket

Show Answer

voorvak

wallet

Show Answer

portemonnee