Report a Missing Wallet Safely | Learn Dutch in English

Dutch lesson set in a contemporary Amsterdam everyday setting: After losing a wallet, one adult gets help preparing safe identifying details before calling the cafe..

EN → NL / Level: B1

About This Lesson

Use Report a Missing Wallet Safely to practice Dutch conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden en ik had hem voor het laatst in het café.

ick kahn mine por-tuh-muh-NAY neet VIN-duhn un ick hut hem voor ut LAHST in ut kah-FAY. I can't find my wallet, and I last had it at the cafe.
B

Maak voordat je belt een beschrijving van hoe de portemonnee eruitziet.

mahk vohr-DAHT yuh belt uhn buh-SKHRY-ving vun hoo duh por-tuh-muh-NAY uh-ROYT-zeet. Before you call, prepare a description of what the wallet looks like.
A

Het is een kleine zwarte portemonnee met een versleten hoek.

hut iss uhn KLY-nuh ZVAR-tuh por-tuh-muh-NAY mut uhn fur-SLAY-tun hook. It's a small black wallet with a worn corner.
B

Zo kan het personeel controleren zonder naar privégegevens te vragen.

zoh kahn ut pur-suh-NAYL con-troh-LAY-run zun-dur nar pree-VAY-guh-GAY-vuns tuh VRAH-ghun. That should help the staff check without asking for private details.
A

Ik bel en leg uit wanneer ik merkte dat hij weg was.

ick bell un lekh OYT veh-NAIR ick MERK-tuh daht hay vaykh vuhs. I'll call and explain when I noticed it was missing.
B

Noem een paar spullen die erin zitten, maar deel geen gegevens uit persoonlijke documenten.

noom uhn pahr SPUH-lun dee uh-RIN ZIT-tun, mahr dayl ghayn guh-GAY-vuns oyt pur-soh-NAH-luh doh-kyoo-MEN-tun. Mention a few items inside, but don't share details from personal documents.
A

Er zitten een foto en een opgevouwen briefje in.

ur ZIT-tun uhn FOH-toh un uhn op-guh-VOW-dun BREEF-yuh in. It has a photo and a folded note inside.
B

Die details zouden genoeg moeten zijn om hem veilig te identificeren.

dee DAY-tails ZOW-dun guh-NOOK MOH-tun zayn um hem VAY-lukh tuh ee-den-ti-fee-SAY-run. Those details should be enough to identify it safely.
A

Als ze hem hebben, kan ik een tijd afspreken om hem op te halen.

als zuh hem HAH-bun, kahn ick uhn tayt AHF-spray-kun um hem op tuh HAH-lun. If they have it, I can arrange a time to pick it up.
B

Bel nu, en ik kijk je tas nog een keer na terwijl je wacht.

bell noo, un ick kike yuh tahs nokh uhn KARE nah tur-VYLE yuh vakht. Call now, and I'll check your bag again while you wait.

Word by Word

Ik Ik means “I” and is the subject referring to the speaker in Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden. It is used when stating your own action, ability, or situation.
kan Kan expresses the speaker’s ability to find the wallet in Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden. It is a modal verb followed by the infinitive vinden; use this pattern when saying that you can or cannot do something.
mijn Mijn means “my” and shows that the portemonnee belongs to the speaker. It comes directly before the noun it describes and is useful when identifying your own belongings.
portemonnee Portemonnee means “wallet,” the missing object being discussed. Use it when reporting, describing, or asking about a wallet.
niet Niet negates the action in Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden, so the speaker cannot find the wallet. Here it stands before the infinitive phrase and is useful for saying that an action is not happening or is unsuccessful.
vinden Vinden means “find” in Ik kan mijn portemonnee niet vinden. It is the infinitive after kan; use it when talking about locating a person or object.
en En means “and” and joins the statement about not finding the wallet with the statement about where it was last had. Use it to connect related actions, facts, or descriptions.
had Had means that the speaker possessed or was carrying the wallet at an earlier time in ik had hem voor het laatst in het café. It is the past form of hebben and is useful for explaining the last known possession or location of something.
hem Hem refers back to the wallet in ik had hem voor het laatst in het café, meaning “it” in this context. It is used after the verb as the object pronoun for the previously mentioned portemonnee.
voor Voor contributes the meaning “for” in the time expression voor het laatst, referring to the most recent occasion. Use this expression when describing when or where something was last seen or had.
het In het café, het is the definite article meaning “the”; sentence-initially it appears as Het in Het is een kleine zwarte portemonnee. Use it before the noun café and as the subject form in a statement identifying something.
laatst Laatst means “last” in voor het laatst, referring to the most recent time. This expression is useful when giving the last known place or moment connected with an object.
in In marks the location of the wallet in het café, meaning “in the café.” Use it before a place when saying that something is located inside or within that place.
café Café means “cafe,” the place where the speaker last had the wallet. Use it to identify a place where an object was seen, left, or possibly found.
Maak Maak is an instruction meaning “prepare” in Maak voordat je belt een beschrijving. It is the imperative form of maken and is useful when telling someone to prepare or create something.
voordat Voordat means “before” and places the preparation before the phone call in Maak voordat je belt een beschrijving. It introduces a clause about an earlier action; the verb belt comes at the end of that clause.
je Je means “you” as the person who will call in voordat je belt. Here it is the subject of the clause and is used when addressing one person directly.
belt Belt means “call” in voordat je belt, referring to the person’s phone call. It is the finite form of bellen in the subordinate clause and is useful for describing when someone calls.
een Een means “a” before the singular noun beschrijving in een beschrijving. It introduces one unspecified description and is used before a singular countable noun.
beschrijving Beschrijving means “description,” here a description of the wallet’s appearance. Use it when giving identifying information about an object, person, or situation.
van Van links the description to what is being described in een beschrijving van hoe de portemonnee eruitziet. It commonly introduces the subject or content of a description.
hoe Hoe means “how” and introduces the question about the wallet’s appearance in hoe de portemonnee eruitziet. Use it to ask or explain the manner, form, or appearance of something.
eruitziet Eruitziet means “looks like” in hoe de portemonnee eruitziet. It is the finite form of eruitzien and appears as one word at the end of this subordinate clause; use this expression when describing appearance.
is Is links the wallet to its description in Het is een kleine zwarte portemonnee, meaning “is.” It is a form of zijn used for identifying or describing something.
kleine Kleine describes the wallet as small in een kleine zwarte portemonnee. It comes before the noun and is useful for giving a physical detail that helps identify an object.
zwarte Zwarte describes the wallet as black in een kleine zwarte portemonnee. It is placed before the noun and is useful when giving an object’s color as identifying information.
met Met means “with” and introduces the wallet’s distinguishing feature in met een versleten hoek. Use it to add a characteristic, part, or accompanying object.
versleten Versleten describes the corner as worn in een versleten hoek. It gives a condition or appearance detail and is useful when describing damage or visible wear.
hoek Hoek means “corner,” here one corner of the wallet. Use it when identifying a specific part or feature of an object.
Zo Zo means “that way” or “so” in Zo kan het personeel controleren, referring to the description just given and its useful result. It can introduce a consequence or show how an action helps.
personeel Personeel means “staff,” referring to the people working at the cafe. It is useful when talking about employees acting together in a workplace or service setting.
controleren Controleren means “check” in Zo kan het personeel controleren, referring to checking whether the wallet has been found. It is an infinitive after kan and is useful for verifying information or an object.
zonder Zonder introduces the action that is omitted in zonder naar privégegevens te vragen, meaning “without.” With te vragen, it explains that the staff can check while avoiding a request for private information.
naar Naar is used with vragen in naar privégegevens te vragen, indicating what information someone might ask for. The reusable pattern is vragen naar something when asking for or about a particular item.
privégegevens Privégegevens means “private details” or “private information,” referring to sensitive information that should not be shared. It is useful when setting a boundary around personal information in a conversation.
bel Bel has two forms in the dialogue: Ik bel means “I call” or “I’ll call,” while sentence-initial Bel nu is an instruction meaning “call now.” The form is useful both for reporting your own call and for directly telling someone to call.
leg Leg contributes to the expression leg uit, meaning “explain” in Ik bel en leg uit. Together with uit it forms the separable verb uitleggen; use it when saying that you will clarify information to someone.
uit Uit completes leg uit, which means “explain” in Ik bel en leg uit wanneer ik merkte dat hij weg was. It is the separable particle of uitleggen and should be kept with the verb when reusing this meaning.
wanneer Wanneer means “when” and introduces the time information in wanneer ik merkte dat hij weg was. Use it to connect an action with the time at which another event happened.
merkte Merkte means “noticed” in wanneer ik merkte dat hij weg was, referring to the past moment when the speaker became aware of the loss. It is useful for explaining when you first realized or observed something.
hij Hij refers back to the wallet in hij weg was, meaning “it” here rather than referring to a male person. It is used as the subject pronoun when describing what happened to the previously mentioned portemonnee.
weg Weg means “away” or “missing” in hij weg was, describing the wallet as no longer present. Use it with something that is unavailable or not in its expected place.
was Was means “was” in hij weg was and describes the wallet’s earlier condition. It is a past form of zijn and comes at the end of this subordinate clause.
Noem Noem is an instruction meaning “mention” or “name” in Noem een paar spullen. It is the imperative form of noemen and is useful when asking someone to provide specific examples or items.
paar Paar means “few” in een paar spullen, indicating a small number of items. The common pattern een paar is used before a plural noun when giving a short list or approximate quantity.
spullen Spullen means “items” or “things,” referring to belongings inside the wallet. It is useful for talking generally about personal objects without naming every item.
die Lowercase die links spullen to the relative clause in die erin zitten, meaning “that” or “which”; sentence-initial Die in Die details means “those” and refers to the details just mentioned. Use it either to introduce information about a noun or to point back to plural information.
erin Erin means “inside it,” referring to the wallet in die erin zitten. It is useful when the container is already clear and you want to say that something is inside it.
zitten Zitten means “are in” in Er zitten een foto en een opgevouwen briefje in, describing the contents of the wallet rather than people sitting. The pattern er zitten ... in is useful for listing what a container holds.
maar Maar means “but” and contrasts mentioning harmless identifying items with not sharing private document details. Use it to connect two statements where the second limits or contrasts with the first.
deel Deel is an instruction meaning “share” in deel geen gegevens. It is the imperative form of delen and is useful when telling someone to disclose or not disclose information.
geen Geen means “no” or “not any” before gegevens in geen gegevens. It negates the noun phrase itself and is useful when saying that zero items or no information should be shared.
gegevens In privégegevens, gegevens contributes the meaning “details” or “data,” referring to information that can identify or describe someone. It is also useful in expressions about sharing or requesting information, such as gegevens uit documenten.
persoonlijke Persoonlijke means “personal” in persoonlijke documenten and describes the documents as belonging to or concerning an individual. It comes before the noun and is useful for distinguishing private material from general information.
documenten Documenten means “documents,” referring here to personal papers inside the wallet. Use it when talking about official or written items whose contents may contain private information.
Er Sentence-initial Er introduces the statement about what is inside the wallet in Er zitten een foto en een opgevouwen briefje in. This construction is useful for presenting or listing contents without making the container the grammatical subject.
foto Foto means “photo,” one of the items inside the wallet. Use it when giving a concrete, non-sensitive identifying detail about something that is missing.
opgevouwen Opgevouwen means “folded” and describes the condition of the briefje in een opgevouwen briefje. It is useful for adding a visible physical detail to an object description.
briefje Briefje means “note,” referring to the small written item inside the wallet. Use it when identifying a short written message or piece of paper.
zouden Zouden expresses a cautious expectation in Die details zouden genoeg moeten zijn, meaning that the details should probably be sufficient. Together with moeten, it softens the statement rather than presenting the result as a guarantee.
genoeg Genoeg means “enough” in zouden genoeg moeten zijn, referring to a sufficient amount of identifying information. It is useful for saying that something meets the necessary level or requirement.
moeten Moeten contributes the meaning “should” in zouden genoeg moeten zijn, expressing an expected result. In this modal combination it helps say that the details are expected to be sufficient, rather than giving a strict command.
zijn Zijn means “be” in genoeg moeten zijn and links the details with the description genoeg. It is the infinitive after moeten and is useful in statements about what something is or should be.
om Om introduces the purpose in om hem veilig te identificeren, meaning “in order to.” The construction om ... te + infinitive is useful for explaining the goal of an action.
veilig Veilig means “safely” in hem veilig te identificeren, describing the manner in which the wallet should be identified. It is useful when emphasizing that an action should avoid unnecessary risk.
te Te marks the infinitive identificeren in om hem veilig te identificeren. Together with om, it forms a purpose construction used to say what an action is intended to achieve.
identificeren Identificeren means “identify,” referring to recognizing the wallet from its safe identifying details. It is an infinitive after te and is useful when confirming which object is being discussed.
Als Als means “if” and introduces the condition Als ze hem hebben. It is useful for describing what will happen only when a certain situation is true.
ze Ze means “they” here, referring to the cafe staff or people who may have the wallet. It is the subject of the conditional clause and is useful when referring to several people without naming them again.
hebben Hebben means “have” in Als ze hem hebben, referring to possession of the wallet by the staff. It is the verb at the end of the conditional clause and is useful for checking whether someone has an object.
tijd Tijd means “time” in een tijd afspreken, referring to a mutually agreed time for collection. Use it when arranging when an appointment or meeting will happen.
afspreken Afspreken means “arrange” or “agree on” in een tijd afspreken. It is useful when two people set a time or make a practical appointment together.
op Op completes ophalen in op te halen, contributing to the meaning “pick up.” It is the separable particle and remains together with halen when describing the purpose of collecting an object.
halen Halen contributes to ophalen, which means “pick up” in hem op te halen. Here it refers to going to collect the wallet, not simply obtaining something in an unspecified way.
nu Nu means “now” in Bel nu, specifying that the call should happen immediately. Use it when giving the current time as the moment for an action.
kijk Kijk means “check” in ik kijk je tas nog een keer na, referring to inspecting the bag. It is the first-person form of kijken and is useful when reporting that you are looking at or checking something.
tas Tas means “bag,” the object being checked in ik kijk je tas nog een keer na. Use it when referring to a bag that may contain a missing item.
nog Nog means “again” in nog een keer, showing that the bag has already been checked and will be checked once more. Use it with een keer to express repetition.
keer Keer means “time” or “occasion” in nog een keer, where the whole expression means “again.” It is useful for counting or referring to an occurrence of an action.
na Na completes the separable verb nakijken in kijk je tas nog een keer na, meaning “check” or “inspect.” It appears at the end of the main clause, and the full verb is useful when examining something carefully.
terwijl Terwijl means “while” and introduces the simultaneous action in terwijl je wacht. Use it to show that one action takes place during another.
wacht Wacht means “wait” in terwijl je wacht, referring to the person waiting during the bag check. It is the form of wachten used with je and is useful in situations where someone remains until another action is finished.

Grammar Points

eruitzien in een bijzin: eruitziet

Ik wil weten hoe het eruitziet.

ick vil VAY-tun hoo ut uh-ROYT-zeet.

I want to know what it looks like.

In een bijzin staat de vervoegde vorm van het scheidbare werkwoord eruitzien aan het einde.

om + te + scheidbaar werkwoord: op te halen

We kunnen afspreken om de tas op te halen.

vuh KUH-nun AHF-spray-kun um duh tahs op tuh HAH-lun.

We can arrange to pick up the bag.

Bij een doel of afspraak staat te tussen de delen van het scheidbare werkwoord ophalen.

Dutch Vocabulary

beschrijving noun
buh-SKHRY-ving description
café noun
kah-FAY cafe
controleren verb
con-troh-LAY-run to check
eruitziet verb
uh-ROYT-zeet looks; appears
hoek noun
hook corner
leg uit phrase
lekh OYT explain
personeel noun
pur-suh-NAYL staff
portemonnee noun
por-tuh-muh-NAY wallet
privégegevens noun
pree-VAY-guh-GAY-vuns private details; personal data
versleten adj
fur-SLAY-tun worn
vinden verb
VIN-duhn to find
voor het laatst phrase
voor ut LAHST last; for the last time

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

corner

Show Answerhoek

staff

Show Answerpersoneel

looks; appears

Show Answereruitziet

wallet

Show Answerportemonnee