A short break | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use A short break to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ik ben moe.

ik ben MOO. I feel tired.

Laten we een korte pauze nemen.

LAH-tun wuh un KOR-tuh POW-zuh NAY-mun. Let's take a short break.

Is deze stoel vrij?

iss DAY-zuh stool FRAY? Is this chair free?

Je kunt hier zitten.

yuh kunt heer ZIT-un. You can sit here.

Ik heb een kleine snack meegenomen voor de pauze.

ik hep un KLAY-nuh snak MAY-guh-NOH-mun voor duh POW-zuh. I brought a small snack for the break.

Ik haal wat water.

ik HAHL wut WAH-tur. I'll get some water.

Het is hier rustig.

hut iss heer RUHS-tukh. This place feels quiet.

Dan kunnen we hier even rusten.

dahn KUN-un wuh heer AY-vun RUHS-tun. Then we can rest here for a bit.

Word by Word

Ik Ik means “I” in Ik ben moe, Ik heb een kleine snack meegenomen, and Ik haal wat water. It is the speaker’s subject, placed before the verb in these statements.

ben ben means “am” in Ik ben moe and expresses the speaker’s state. It is the form used with Ik here; Ik ben + a state or description is a reusable pattern.

moe moe means “tired” in Ik ben moe. It describes the speaker after ben, so this is useful for saying how you feel when you need rest.

Laten Laten begins the suggestion Laten we een korte pauze nemen, meaning “Let’s take a short break.” Laten we is used to suggest a shared activity, with the activity before nemen.

we we means “we” in Laten we een korte pauze nemen and refers to the speaker and the other person together. It is the subject of a shared suggestion or action.

een een means “a” in een korte pauze and een kleine snack. It introduces one non-specific break or snack, rather than a particular one already identified.

korte korte means “short” in een korte pauze. It describes pauze and comes directly before the noun; the same position can be used for another description before a noun.

pauze pauze means “break” in een korte pauze and de pauze. It names the rest period, and voor de pauze shows that something is intended for that break.

nemen nemen means “take” in Laten we een korte pauze nemen, the usual expression for taking a break here. In the suggestion pattern Laten we ... nemen, nemen comes after the activity or object.

Is Is means “is” at the beginning of Is deze stoel vrij? It starts a question about the chair’s current availability; Is ...? is a reusable way to ask whether something is a certain way.

deze deze means “this” in Is deze stoel vrij? It points to the particular chair being discussed and comes before stoel in this question.

stoel stoel means “chair” in Is deze stoel vrij? It names the seat whose availability is being checked, and deze stoel means “this chair.”

vrij vrij means “free” or “available” in Is deze stoel vrij? Here it asks whether another person may use the chair, rather than describing its physical condition.

Je Je means “you” in Je kunt hier zitten. It addresses the other person directly and is placed before kunt in this statement.

kunt kunt means “can” in Je kunt hier zitten and gives permission or says that sitting is possible. It is followed by the person, place, and the action in Je kunt hier zitten.

hier hier means “here” in Je kunt hier zitten and refers to the place where the chair is. It comes before the action zitten in this sentence.

zitten zitten means “sit” in Je kunt hier zitten. It follows kunt to name the action that is possible or permitted, as in Je kunt ... zitten.

heb heb is the “have” form in Ik heb een kleine snack meegenomen. Together with meegenomen, it helps say that the speaker brought a snack along; Ik heb ... meegenomen is a reusable pattern for saying you brought something.

kleine kleine means “small” in een kleine snack. It describes snack and is placed before the noun, so it identifies the snack as small.

snack snack means “snack” in een kleine snack. It names the food brought for the break, and een kleine snack refers to one non-specific snack.

meegenomen meegenomen means “brought along” in Ik heb een kleine snack meegenomen. With heb, it describes the snack that the speaker brought; the object appears before meegenomen in this sentence.

voor voor means “for” in voor de pauze and shows the purpose or occasion of the snack. The reusable phrase voor de pauze places the intended break after voor.

de de means “the” in de pauze. It refers to the specific break already understood in the conversation, as in voor de pauze.

haal haal means “get” or “fetch” in Ik haal wat water. The speaker uses it to announce getting water, and Ik haal + an object is a reusable way to say what you will get.

wat wat means “some” in wat water and gives a non-specific amount. It comes before water when referring to some water rather than a defined quantity.

water water means “water” in Ik haal wat water. It is the thing the speaker plans to get, and wat water means “some water.”

Het Het means “it” in Het is hier rustig and forms the subject of this general statement about the place. It does not refer to a separately named object in the dialogue.

rustig rustig means “quiet” or “calm” in Het is hier rustig. It describes the surroundings, so this expression is useful when saying that a place feels calm.

Dan Dan means “then” in Dan kunnen we hier even rusten. It connects the quiet situation with the next suggestion, showing that resting follows from what was just said.

kunnen kunnen means “can” or “be able to” in Dan kunnen we hier even rusten. It is followed by we and the action rusten; we kunnen + an infinitive is a reusable pattern for saying what is possible.

even even means “for a bit” or “briefly” in hier even rusten. It limits the duration of the resting, and it can be placed before an action to show that the action will be short.

rusten rusten means “rest” in Dan kunnen we hier even rusten. It follows kunnen as the action that is possible, and the phrase even rusten describes taking a short rest.

Grammar Points

Laten we + infinitief

Laten we een korte pauze nemen.

LAH-tun wuh un KOR-tuh POW-zuh NAY-mun.

Let's take a short break.

Use “laten we” followed by an infinitive to make a suggestion, similar to “let’s” in English.

een + adjectief op -e + zelfstandig naamwoord

een kleine snack

un KLAY-nuh snak

a small snack

An adjective before a common-gender noun usually takes -e after “een”: kleine snack.

Dutch Vocabulary

deze det

DAY-zuh this

deze stoel

klein adj

KLAYN small kleine

een kleine snack

kort adj

KORT short korte

een korte pauze

laten verb

LAH-tun to let; used to make a suggestion with 'laten we'

Laten we een korte pauze nemen.

moe adj

MOO tired

Ik ben moe.

nemen verb

NAY-mun to take

pauze nemen

pauze noun

POW-zuh break

een korte pauze

snack noun

snak snack

een kleine snack

stoel noun

stool chair

Is deze stoel vrij?

vrij adj

FRAY free; available

Is deze stoel vrij?

zijn verb

ZAYN to be ben

Ik ben moe.

zitten verb

ZIT-un to sit

Je kunt hier zitten.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I feel tired.

Show Answer

Ik ben moe.

Let's take a short break.

Show Answer

Laten we een korte pauze nemen.

Is this chair free?

Show Answer

Is deze stoel vrij?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to take

Show Answer

nemen

chair

Show Answer

stoel

free; available

Show Answer

vrij

short

Show Answer

korte