Talking about a sore back | Learn Dutch in English

Dutch lesson set in a contemporary Amsterdam everyday setting: At home, two adults talk about a sore back, sitting more comfortably, and standing up slowly..

EN → NL / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Talking about a sore back to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Mijn rug doet pijn.

mine RUKH doot PINE. My back feels sore.
B

Probeer rechtop te zitten.

proh-BAIR REKHT-op tuh ZIH-tun. Try to sit up straight.
A

Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten.

ik hep vahn-DAHKH tuh LAHNG khuh-ZAY-tun. I sat too long today.
B

Rek je langzaam uit als je kunt.

rek yuh LAHNG-zahm OYT ahls yuh KUNT. Stretch slowly if you can.
A

Deze stoel zit beter.

DAY-zuh STOOL zit BAY-tur. This chair feels better.
B

Blijf daar een paar minuten.

BLIFE dahr un PAHR mee-NYOO-tun. Stay there for a few minutes.
A

Een korte rustpauze zou moeten helpen.

un KOR-tuh RUHST-pow-zuh zow MOO-tun HELP-un. A short rest should help.
B

Beweeg langzaam als je opstaat.

buh-VAYKH LAHNG-zahm ahls yuh OP-staht. Move slowly when you stand up.

Word by Word

Mijn Mijn means “my” here and shows that the back belongs to the speaker. It comes directly before rug in Mijn rug. A reusable pattern is mijn + a noun when talking about something belonging to you.
rug Rug means “back” here, the part of the body that hurts. In Mijn rug doet pijn, it identifies what is causing the discomfort. You can reuse rug with body-related expressions such as praten over je rug.
doet In Mijn rug doet pijn, doet is the verb form used in the Dutch expression for saying that the back hurts. The complete expression Mijn rug doet pijn means “My back hurts”; doet contributes the verb part of that expression. A reusable pattern is [body part] doet pijn.
pijn Pijn means “pain” here and completes Mijn rug doet pijn, the expression used to say that the back hurts. The word names the unpleasant physical feeling rather than an action. A reusable pattern is [body part] doet pijn.
Probeer Probeer means “try” here and gives a direct suggestion to one person. It is the imperative form of proberen, used at the start of Probeer rechtop te zitten. A reusable pattern is probeer te + an action.
rechtop Rechtop means “upright” or “straight up” here and describes the position in Probeer rechtop te zitten. It tells the listener how to sit. A reusable pattern is rechtop zitten when describing sitting with the upper body upright.
te In Probeer rechtop te zitten, te marks zitten as the action that the listener should try. The whole pattern means “try to sit upright,” while te connects probeer with the following action. A reusable pattern is proberen te + an infinitive.
zitten Zitten means “sit” here and is the action connected to Probeer by te. In Probeer rechtop te zitten, it refers to remaining in a seated position. A reusable pattern is te zitten after a verb such as proberen.
Ik Ik means “I” here and identifies the speaker as the person who sat too long. It is the subject of Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten. A reusable pattern is Ik + a verb when describing your own action or experience.
heb In Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten, heb is the auxiliary form used with gezeten to describe the speaker’s completed sitting. It does not mean possession in this sentence. A reusable pattern is Ik heb + a past participle.
vandaag Vandaag means “today” and places the sitting on the current day. In Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten, it comes before the remaining verb part. A reusable pattern is vandaag + a statement about something happening today.
lang Lang means “long” here and describes the duration of sitting in te lang gezeten. With te, it means “too long,” so the duration was more than was comfortable. A reusable pattern is te lang + a verb or activity when something lasts longer than wanted.
gezeten Gezeten means “sat” here and is the form used with heb in Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten. It comes from zitten and expresses the sitting that has taken place. A reusable pattern is Ik heb + a past participle such as gezeten.
Rek Rek means “stretch” here and is a direct instruction to one person in Rek je langzaam uit. It is the imperative form of rekken. A reusable pattern is rek je uit when telling someone to stretch.
je Je means “you” here and refers to the person being told to stretch. In Rek je langzaam uit, it is part of the reflexive expression for stretching yourself. A reusable pattern is je after an instruction addressed to one person.
langzaam Langzaam means “slowly” here and describes how the stretching should be done. In Rek je langzaam uit, it comes before the separable part uit. A reusable pattern is a verb followed by langzaam when advising someone to move carefully.
uit In Rek je langzaam uit, uit is the separable part that belongs with the stretching expression and helps give it the meaning “stretch out.” Its meaning comes from the complete expression, not from uit alone. A reusable pattern is the verb form followed by uit at the end of the clause.
als Als means “if” or “when” here and introduces the condition in als je kunt. The full clause means “if you can,” so the stretching is presented as optional according to the listener’s ability. A reusable pattern is als + a clause.
kunt Kunt means “can” here in als je kunt, referring to whether the listener is able to stretch. It is used with je in this clause. A reusable pattern is je kunt + an infinitive when saying that someone is able to do something.
Deze Deze means “this” here and points to the particular chair being used. In Deze stoel zit beter, it comes directly before stoel. A reusable pattern is deze + a noun when identifying something nearby or already relevant.
stoel Stoel means “chair” here, the seat that feels more comfortable for the speaker. In Deze stoel zit beter, it is the thing being compared for comfort. A reusable pattern is deze stoel when referring to a specific chair.
zit In Deze stoel zit beter, zit is the verb form used to describe how the chair feels when someone sits on it. The complete expression says that this chair is more comfortable to sit on. A reusable pattern is een stoel zit goed or beter when describing how a chair feels for sitting.
beter Beter means “better” here and says that the chair is more comfortable than another sitting option. In Deze stoel zit beter, it describes the result of sitting in this chair. A reusable pattern is iets zit beter when comparing how comfortably something can be sat on.
Blijf Blijf means “stay” or “remain” here and gives a direct instruction not to leave the current place. It is the imperative form of blijven in Blijf daar. A reusable pattern is blijf + a place word or phrase.
daar Daar means “there” here and points to the place where the listener should remain. In Blijf daar, it supplies the location for blijf. A reusable pattern is blijf daar when telling someone to remain in a particular place.
een In een paar minuten, een is part of the quantity expression meaning “a few minutes.” It does not emphasize the number one here. A reusable pattern is een paar + a plural noun.
paar Paar means “few” in een paar minuten and indicates a small number of minutes. Together with een, it forms the quantity expression “a few.” A reusable pattern is een paar + a plural noun for a small number of things.
minuten Minuten means “minutes” and gives the length of time in een paar minuten. The plural form is used because the amount is more than one minute. A reusable pattern is a number or quantity expression + minuten when stating a duration.
korte Korte means “short” here and describes the length of the rest break in een korte rustpauze. It comes directly before rustpauze. A reusable pattern is een korte + a noun when describing something brief.
rustpauze Rustpauze means “rest break,” a short period used to stop and recover. In Een korte rustpauze zou moeten helpen, it is the thing expected to help the sore back. A reusable pattern is een rustpauze nemen when referring to taking a break to rest.
zou In zou moeten helpen, zou makes the statement less direct and presents the result as an expectation: the rest break should help. Its meaning is part of the complete expression zou moeten helpen. A reusable pattern is iets zou moeten helpen when suggesting that something is expected to be useful.
moeten In zou moeten helpen, moeten contributes the idea of “should” or expected usefulness rather than a strong command. The complete expression means that the rest break is expected to help. A reusable pattern is iets zou moeten + an infinitive.
helpen Helpen means “help” here and is the action expected from the rest break in zou moeten helpen. It remains in this infinitive form after moeten. A reusable pattern is iets zou moeten helpen when saying that something is expected to help.
Beweeg Beweeg means “move” here and gives a direct instruction to move carefully. It is the imperative form of bewegen in Beweeg langzaam. A reusable pattern is beweeg + an adverb when giving advice about how to move.
opstaat In als je opstaat, opstaat means “stand up” and describes the moment when the listener rises from a seated position. It comes from opstaan and appears at the end of the als-clause. A reusable pattern is als je opstaat when referring to what happens when someone stands up.

Grammar Points

proberen + te + infinitief

Probeer rechtop te zitten.

proh-BAIR REKHT-op tuh ZIH-tun.

Try to sit upright.

After proberen, use te plus the infinitive: proberen te zitten.

als + bijzin

Als je kunt, blijf daar.

ahls yuh KUNT, BLIFE dahr.

If you can, stay there.

In an als-clause, the conjugated verb comes after the subject: als je kunt.

Dutch Vocabulary

doen verb
doon to hurt; to do doet

Mijn rug doet pijn.

gezeten verb
khuh-ZAY-tun sat; been sitting

Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten.

je pron
yuh you

Rek je langzaam uit als je kunt.

lang adv
LAHNG long

Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten.

langzaam adv
LAHNG-zahm slowly

Rek je langzaam uit als je kunt.

pijn noun
PINE pain

Mijn rug doet pijn.

proberen verb
proh-BAY-run to try Probeer

Probeer rechtop te zitten.

rechtop adv
REKHT-op upright; straight

Probeer rechtop te zitten.

rekken verb
REK-un to stretch Rek

Rek je langzaam uit als je kunt.

rug noun
RUKH back

Mijn rug doet pijn.

vandaag adv
vahn-DAHKH today

Ik heb vandaag te lang gezeten.

zitten verb
ZIH-tun to sit; to be seated te zitten

Probeer rechtop te zitten.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

My back feels sore.

Show AnswerMijn rug doet pijn.

Try to sit up straight.

Show AnswerProbeer rechtop te zitten.

I sat too long today.

Show AnswerIk heb vandaag te lang gezeten.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to try

Show AnswerProbeer

pain

Show Answerpijn

to hurt; to do

Show Answerdoet

long

Show Answerlang