Choosing a light snack | Learn Dutch in English

About This Lesson

Use Choosing a light snack to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ik wil een tussendoortje.

ik WIL uhn TUS-uh-DOHR-chuh. I want a snack.

Ik heb niet veel honger.

ik hep neet vayl HONG-uhr. I am not very hungry.

Kies dan iets lichts, zoals yoghurt.

KEES dahn eets LIKHTS, ZOH-ahls YOR-ghurt. Then choose something light, like yogurt.

Hebben we ook noten?

HEH-buhn vuh OHK NOH-tuhn? Do we have nuts too?

Er liggen wat noten in de kast.

uhr LIKH-uhn vaht NOH-tuhn in duh KAHST. There are some in the cupboard.

Yoghurt met noten klinkt goed.

YOR-ghurt met NOH-tuhn klinkt GHOOT. Yogurt with nuts sounds good.

Pak een kleine kom.

pahk uhn KLAI-nuh KOM. Take a small bowl.

Het is niet te veel.

hut iss neet tuh vayl. It is not too much.

Ik maak er nu een.

ik mahk uhr NYOO uhn. I will make one now.

Laat alsjeblieft wat noten voor mij over.

laht AHL-shuh-bleeft vaht NOH-tuhn vohr may OH-vuhr. Leave some nuts for me, please.

Word by Word

Ik Ik means I and is the subject in Ik wil een tussendoortje. It is used at the beginning of a statement about yourself, such as Ik wil een tussendoortje.

wil Wil means want in Ik wil een tussendoortje. It is the form used with Ik to express a wish or intention, and Ik wil can be followed by a noun or an action.

een Een means a in Ik wil een tussendoortje, introducing one unspecified snack. It is placed directly before a singular noun.

tussendoortje Tussendoortje means snack here, specifically something eaten between regular meals. It is the noun in Ik wil een tussendoortje and can be used after een to name one snack.

heb Heb means have in Ik heb niet veel honger. With Ik, it is used in the expression for having or feeling hunger, and Ik heb can also introduce something you have.

niet Niet means not and makes the statement Ik heb niet veel honger negative. It is placed before the quantity or phrase being negated here, niet veel honger.

veel Veel means much or a lot of in Ik heb niet veel honger, referring to the amount of hunger. It can be placed before a noun to describe a large quantity, as in veel water in a new example.

honger Honger means hunger in Ik heb niet veel honger. It names the feeling being discussed and is commonly used with hebben when saying that someone feels hungry.

Kies Kies means choose in Kies dan iets lichts, such as yogurt. It is a direct instruction, and Kies can be followed by the thing being selected.

dan Dan means then in Kies dan iets lichts, linking the choice to the earlier statement about not being very hungry. It can indicate what should happen next in a conversation.

iets Iets means something in iets lichts, referring to an unspecified snack or food choice. It can be followed by a description of the thing, as in iets lichts.

lichts Lichts means light in iets lichts, describing food that is not heavy. The form lichts follows iets in this expression, and the whole phrase is useful when choosing a light option.

zoals Zoals means like or such as and introduces yoghurt as an example in zoals yoghurt. It can be followed by a noun when giving an example.

yoghurt Yoghurt means yogurt, the food suggested in Kies dan iets lichts, zoals yoghurt. It is also the first word of Yoghurt met noten, where it names the main food in the snack.

Hebben Hebben means have in Hebben we ook noten? At the beginning of this question, it comes before we to ask whether something is available. Hebben we ...? is a reusable way to ask about what is available.

we We means we in Hebben we ook noten?, referring to the two people together. It is the subject of the question and comes after Hebben in this question structure.

ook Ook means also or too in Hebben we ook noten?, adding nuts to the food already being discussed. It is useful when asking about or mentioning an additional item.

noten Noten means nuts in Hebben we ook noten? and wat noten. It is the plural food noun used for the nuts, and wat noten means some nuts.

Er Er introduces the statement about what is located somewhere in Er liggen wat noten in de kast. It works with a verb and the located item, followed here by the location in de kast.

liggen Liggen means are lying or are located in Er liggen wat noten in de kast. It describes the position of the nuts in the cupboard, and Er liggen ... in ... is a useful pattern for locating plural items.

wat Wat means some in wat noten, referring to an unspecified amount of nuts. It can be placed before a plural noun to give a small or unspecified quantity.

in In means in and marks the location of the nuts in Er liggen wat noten in de kast. It is followed by the place where something is located.

de De means the in de kast, identifying the particular cupboard being discussed. It is placed before the noun kast in this phrase.

kast Kast means cupboard in Er liggen wat noten in de kast. It names the place where the nuts are located and can follow de when referring to a specific cupboard.

met Met means with in Yoghurt met noten, showing that the yogurt is combined with nuts. It can connect two ingredients or items, as in a noun met noun pattern.

klinkt Klinkt means sounds in Yoghurt met noten klinkt goed. Together with goed, klinkt goed expresses a positive reaction to an idea or suggestion. A new example is Dat klinkt goed, meaning that sounds good.

goed Goed means good in klinkt goed, where it gives a positive evaluation of the yogurt with nuts. The reusable expression klinkt goed is used to say that an idea or suggestion seems appealing.

Pak Pak means take or get in Pak een kleine kom. It is a direct instruction to take the bowl, and Pak can be followed by the object being taken.

kleine Kleine means small in een kleine kom, describing the size of the bowl. It comes before the noun kom as part of the noun phrase.

kom Kom means bowl in Pak een kleine kom. It names the container to take, and it follows the article and description in een kleine kom.

Het Het means it in Het is niet te veel, referring to the item or portion being discussed. It is the subject of the statement and can begin a sentence with Het is ... to describe something.

te Te means too in te veel, indicating that the amount would be excessive. The expression te veel is used before or with a quantity to say that there is more than wanted.

maak Maak means make or prepare in Ik maak er nu een, referring to preparing the snack. It is the form used with Ik, and Ik maak can be followed by the thing being prepared.

nu Nu means now in Ik maak er nu een, showing that the snack will be prepared at this moment. It can be placed in a sentence to specify when an action happens.

Laat Laat means leave in Laat alsjeblieft wat noten voor mij over. It is a direct request to keep some nuts remaining, and Laat ... over is a useful pattern for asking someone not to use everything.

alsjeblieft Alsjeblieft means please in Laat alsjeblieft wat noten voor mij over. It makes the direct request more polite and is commonly placed inside a request.

voor Voor means for in voor mij, marking the person who should receive or benefit from the nuts. It is followed here by the person phrase mij.

mij Mij means me in voor mij, identifying the person for whom some nuts should be left. It is used after voor in this request, as in voor mij.

over Over works with Laat ... over in Laat alsjeblieft wat noten voor mij over to mean leave something remaining. In this request, it shows that some nuts should still be available for the speaker.

Grammar Points

iets + adjective ending in -s

iets lichts

EETS LIKHTS

something light

After iets, an adjective often gets the ending -s: iets lichts. This differs from English, which has no such ending.

Laat ... over

Laat mij iets over.

LAHT may eets OH-vuhr

Leave something for me.

Overlaten is separable: in a main clause, laat comes first and over moves to the end.

Dutch Vocabulary

dan adv

DAHN then

hebben verb

HEH-buhn to have Hebben

honger noun

HONG-uhr hunger

iets pron

EETS something

kiezen verb

KEE-zuhn to choose Kies

licht adj

LIKHT light lichts

noot noun

NOHT nut noten

tussendoortje noun

TUS-uh-DOHR-chuh snack

veel det

VAYL much

willen verb

WIL-uhn to want wil

yoghurt noun

YOR-ghurt yogurt

zoals conj

ZOH-ahls like

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I want a snack.

Show Answer

Ik wil een tussendoortje.

I am not very hungry.

Show Answer

Ik heb niet veel honger.

Then choose something light, like yogurt.

Show Answer

Kies dan iets lichts, zoals yoghurt.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

light

Show Answer

lichts

Show Answer

zoals

hunger

Show Answer

honger

much

Show Answer

veel