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Dutch Verb Leren ('to Learn / to Teach') - Smartphones Page

Conjugation
Sample Sentences
Verbs Combined
English 'Learning'
Other Words for Teaching
Related Words

'Leren' click to hear 2 'to teach' // 'to learn' is a weak verb of the non-'t kofschip click to hear class: verb stems not  ending in T, K, F, S, CH and P have simple past endings -DE and -DEN and its past participle ending is -D - more

overview
leren to learn / to teach
ik leer I'm learning
wij leren we're learning
ik leerde I learned
wij leerden we learned
ik heb geleerd I have learned
click to hear 2

simple present tense
leren to learn / to teach
ik leer I'm learning
jij leert you're learning (singular, informal you)
hij leert he's learning
wij leren we're learning
jullie leren you are learning (plural, informal you)
zij leren they are learning
U leert you are learning (polite you)
click to hear 2

simple past tense
(leren) to learn / to teach
ik leerde I learned
jij leerde you learned
hij leerde he learned
wij leerden we learned
jullie leerden y'all learned
zij leerden they learned
U leerde you learned
click to hear 2 3

Ik leer click to hear 2 I'm learning // I'm teaching

Ik heb geleerd click to hear 2 I have learned, I've been taught / (I have taught)
auxiliary verb for the perfect tenses hebben

Ik heb leren ... click to hear 2 3 I have learned to ...
(more below)

Sample Sentences

['Learning Words']
woordjes leren click to hear
(learning words - a children's dictionary)

Nederlands leren click to hear learning Dutch Harder werken aan Nederlands leren click to hear Work harder on learning Dutch - a resolution Dus je wilt Nederlands leren? click to hear So you want to learn Dutch? De beste plaats om Nederlands te leren. click to hear The best place for learning Dutch. ‑>>

Er is zoveel te leren click to hear 2 3 There is so much to learn Er is nog zoveel te leren click to hear 2 3 There is still so much to learn

Leren click to hear 2 can mean 'to teach' or 'to learn.' Which one is ususally clear from the context. The 'to teach' meaning is often combined with a personal pronoun or a name:

Leer de regels click to hear Learn the rules Leer me de regels click to hear Teach me the rules Ik heb veel geleerd click to hear 2 3 I have learned [much] many things, a lot Ik heb jullie veel geleerd click to hear 2 I have taught you guys many things

Ik leer jullie Nederlands click to hear 2 I'm teaching you (guys) Dutch
As I said,  'leren' can mean both 'to teach' and 'to learn' - and Dutch  'jullie' can be both the possessive 'your,' and the dative (and nominative and accusative) - so (theoretically) the line above could also mean 'I'm learning your Dutch, I'm learning the Dutch that you (guys) speak'

uit het hoofd leren click to hear 2 to learn by [head] heart, by rote, commit to memory

De tijd zal 't leren click to hear 2 time will [teach] tell

leren van fouten click to hear 2 3 learning from mistakes Ik heb 't van jou geleerd click to hear 2 [I've learned it from you] It was taught to me by you, You taught it to me Heb je d'r wat van geleerd? click to hear 2 Did you learn something from it? Did it teach you something? Wat heb je ervan geleerd? click to hear 2 3 What did you learn form it, what did it teach you? Wat hebben we ervan geleerd? click to hear 2 What have we learned from it? What did it teach us? Hoewel de proef mislukte hebben we toch veel geleerd click to hear Although the experiment failed, we still learned a lot Weer wat geleerd! click to hear 2 3 [Learned something again] - I learned something new!

Om 't af te leren click to hear 2 3 'to unlearn it,' 'to break the habit' - said when you take one too many drinks or snacks

Sayings with 'Leren'
Al doende leert men click to hear 2 3 ['while doing, you learn'] - 'practice makes perfect' Jong geleerd, oud gedaan click to hear 2 3 4 ['learned young, still doing it at old age'] - what's learned young will still be easy in old age

En hij leerde hun vele dingen in gelijkenissen en Hij zeide tot hen in zijn onderwijs: click to hear And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his teaching: (Mark 4:2 ‑>>)

Verbs Combined

I've written at some length on another page about verbs being combined and the use of Dutch 'te.'
In the perfect tenses and the passive voice, Dutch has a past participle next to the auxiliary verbs 'hebben click to hear 'to have' ‑>> or zijn click to hear (in the perfect tenses transated as 'to have' ‑>>) and 'worden' click to hear 2 (in the passive voice translated as 'to be')

ik heb gehad click to hear I have had ik ben geweest click to hear I have been Het huis wordt geverfd click to hear The house is being painted

Not all verbs can combine with other verbs.
When verbs other than hebben, zijn  and worden  as active verbs combine with other verbs, those other verbs will be infinitives.
Look at the next lines:

't Hoeft niet grappig te zijn click to hear 2 3 4 It doesn't have to be funny 't Moet wel interessant zijn click to hear 2 But it has to be interesting

Er kan niet genoeg geld zijn click to hear There cannot be enough money (it's impossible that there is enough money) Er blijkt genoeg geld te zijn click to hear 2 3 [There turns out to be ...] - It turns out that there is enough money

Note that 'te'  appears in two of the lines, but not in all four: there is a 'special group' of Dutch verbs, somewhat like English 'modal verbs' that don't use 'te'  in combinations - more
Leren  is in the 'special group' of verbs that don't put 'te'  before verbs they're combining with:

Leer ons alzo onze dagen tellen click to hear 2 3 So teach us to number our days (Ps 90:12) Hij leerde fietsen in Nederland click to hear 2 3 He learned to ride a bike in Holland Leentje leerde Lotje lopen langs de lange Lindelaan click to hear Leentje taught Lotje walking [along] on the long Linden lane

Willen click to hear 2 'to want to, desire' and moeten click to hear 2 'must, have to' are in the 'special group' that doesn't add 'te,'  but proberen click to hear 'to try' does add 'te.'

Ik wil Nederlands leren click to hear 2 3 I want to learn Dutch Ik probeer Nederlands te leren click to hear I'm trying to learn Dutch Jullie moeten nog veel leren click to hear 2 3 You guys still have a lot to learn We moeten nog veel leren click to hear 2 3 4 We still have a lot to learn

Je moet ermee leren leven click to hear 2 3 You'll have to learn to live with it (something bad or unpleasant isn't going away)

When in the perfect tenses combining with other verbs, the verbs in the 'special group' appear as infinitives, except 'leren,'  which can appear both as an infinitive (ik heb leren ... click to hear 2 3) and as a past participle (Ik heb geleerd ... click to hear 2)
There is not much difference, often you can use either one, but the past participle 'looks more serious,' refers to matters 'of the mind,' things like attitude adjustment and/or things learned from unpleasant experiences, and the infinitive is more about acquiring skills.
Note that 'heb leren'  does not put 'te' before accompanying infinitives, but 'heb geleerd'  does.

Ik heb geleerd te zwijgen click to hear 2 3 I've learned to keep silent, keep my mouth shut You can as well say:
Ik heb leren zwijgen click to hear 2 3

Ik heb leren luisteren click to hear 2
Ik heb geleerd te luisteren click to hear 2 I've learned to listen

Ik heb leren zwemmen click to hear 2 3 I've learned to swim But It's not good Dutch to say:
'Ik heb geleerd te zwemmen'
but you can say both:
Ik heb geleerd tegen de stroom in te zwemmen click to hear 2 3
and:  Ik heb tegen de stroom in leren zwemmen click to hear 2 3 4 I've learned [to swim against the current] - to go my own way, rebel, not follow current trends, fashion or popular thinking, go against the majority

Ik heb leren improviseren click to hear 2 3 I've learned to improvise Ik heb moeten leren improviseren click to hear 2 I've had to learn to improvise, learn improvisation

Ik heb moeten leren ... click to hear 2 I've had to learn ... Ik heb moeten leren lezen click to hear I've had to learn to read

Ik had gitaar kunnen leren spelen click to hear 2 I could have learned to play the guitar (instead of ...) Ik had kunnen leren programmeren click to hear 2 I could have learned programming (instead of ...)

(Ik heb een paar jaar pianoles gehad click to hear I've had piano lessons for a [couple of] few years) Maar ik had beter gitaar kunnen leren spelen click to hear But learning to play the guitar would have [been better] made more sense

Leren kennen click to hear 2 3 coming to know Ik leerde 'm kennen in 't leger click to hear 2 3 I [learned] came to know him in the army Ik heb 'm leren kennen in 't leger click to hear 2 3 I've come to know him in the army You can't say:
'Ik heb geleerd hem te kennen'

A Few Far-Fetched Examples:
Ik heb op een oud schip geleerd haring te kaken click to hear 2 3 I have learned to gut herring on an old ship
herring - 'haring kaken'
Ik wil op een oud schip haring leren kaken click to hear 2 3 I want to learn to gut herring on an old ship

Not really 'wrong,' but not the preferred way:
Ik wil op een oud schip leren haring te kaken click to hear I want to learn to gut herring on an old ship Placing the object before the past participle in lines like this is really wrong:
'Ik heb op een oud schip haring geleerd te kaken'
is not good Dutch

Ik heb in Deventer koek leren bakken click to hear 2 3 I've learned to bake 'cake' in Deventer Ik wil in Deventer koek leren bakken click to hear 2 I want to learn to bake 'cake' in Deventer Ik heb in Deventer geleerd koek te bakken click to hear 2 3 I have learned to bake 'cake' in Deventer
(de) koek click to hear 2 - 'cake'

English 'Learning'

In English, gathering facts in research or investigations or coming to know factoids can be called 'learning,' but Dutch 'leren'  is usually educational, in an education context, acquiring skills or memorizing items.
Dus je wilt Nederlands leren? click to hear So you want to learn Dutch? woordjes leren click to hear learning words Hij leerde fietsen in Nederland click to hear 2 3 He learned to ride a bike in Holland

Dutch words you could use for discovering facts and items:

ontdekken click to hear to discover - not only new worlds, also 'to find'

ontdekken to discover
ik ontdekte I discovered
ik heb ontdekt I have discovered
click to hear
more ontdekken
See also: vinden click to hear 2 to find

te weten komen click to hear 2 3 ['to come to know'] - to find out Hoe ben je dat te weten gekomen? click to hear 2 3 4 How did you come to know that? How did you find (that) out? See also: weten click to hear to know (things)

ergens achter komen click to hear 2 [to come, get behind something] - to find out something ‑>> Hoe ben je erachter gekomen? click to hear 2 How did you find [it] out? Ik kwam er te laat achter click to hear 2
Ik ben er te laat achter gekomen click to hear 2 I found out [about it] too late

What you can say for picking up trivia, factoids:
Ik heb ergens gelezen dat ... click to hear 2 I have read somewhere that ... Ik heb wel eens gelezen dat ... click to hear 2 I have read sometime (somewhere) that ... Ik heb wel eens gehoord dat ... click to hear 2 I have heard sometime (somewhere) that ...

achterhalen click to hear 2 1. to retrieve, discover, find out
2. to overtake, supplant
Hij heeft 't achterhaald click to hear 2 3 4 He was able to retrieve it (hidden, hard-to-find information) Al is de leugen nog zo snel, de waarheid achterhaalt haar wel click to hear 2 3 4 ['However quick a lie may be, the truth will overtake it'] - Lies won't last, truth will come out eventually Mark Twain said something else: 'A lie will fly around the whole world while the truth is getting its boots on.'
'To overtake' like passing traffic or getting ahead of competitors is inhalen click to hear 2 3 - it can also mean 'to make up for' unfinished work and it has other meanings

Het onderzoek heeft uitgewezen dat ... click to hear 2 3 4 The investigation has shown that ... De politie heeft ontdekt dat ... click to hear 2 3 Police has discovered that ... We hebben vastgesteld dat ... click to hear 2 3 We have found/determined that ...

As a Dutchman I have difficulty using 'learning' in translating ... though in examples already seen above I have the common speech phrases:
Hoewel de proef mislukte hebben we toch veel geleerd click to hear Although the experiment failed, we still learned a lot Wat hebben we ervan geleerd? click to hear 2 What have we learned from it? What did it teach us? Weer wat geleerd! click to hear 2 3 [Learned something again] - I learned something new!

Other Words for Teaching

See also: Education in Holland
For 'to teach' you can also say les geven (lesgeven) click to hear
(de) les click to hear / lessen click to hear 2 'lesson/lessons' - geven click to hear 2 'to give' ‑>>
college geven click to hear 2 is 'to teach classes at a university.
Ik geef Nederlands click to hear I'm teaching Dutch

A more formal word for 'to teach' is onderwijzen click to hear 2 3 - a strong verb:

onderwijzen
to teach
- onderwees
taught
- onderwezen
taught
click to hear 2
(het) onderwijs click to hear teaching, education
(de) onderwijzeres click to hear teacher (female, elementary school level)
do note that the E of -ES is a 'short E' and not a 'schwa'
(de) onderwijzer click to hear teacher (male, elementary school level)

(het) voorbeeld click to hear 'example' ‑>>
Geef 't goede voorbeeld click to hear [Give] Set a good, the right example

Voordoen click to hear 2 to show, demonstrate something ‑>> De sergeant deed het schoonmaken voor click to hear 2 3 The sergeant showed the cleaning procedure

(de) geleerde click to hear 2 3 'learned' person, scholar, scientist (old-fashioned) (het) geleerde click to hear 2 3 the material, knowledge and/or skill that was learned Seen also: weten en kennen 'to know'

(de) leerling click to hear 2 student (elementary and secondary school level) (de) tovenaarsleerling click to hear sorcerer's apprentice
(de) leraar click to hear teacher (male, secondary school level) Hij is leraar geworden click to hear 2 3 4 He's become a teacher leraar Spaans click to hear 2 3 (male) teacher of Spanish
'de Spaanse leraar' would mean a teacher (of any subject) from Spain
leraar natuurkunde click to hear physics teacher, teacher of physics (de) wiskundeleraar click to hear 2 3 math teacher (de) lerares click to hear teacher (female, secondary school level)
do note that the E of -ES is a 'short E' and not a 'schwa'
(de) leermeester bewegingsleer click to hear 2 mobility teacher (de) student click to hear college or university student (de) hoogleraar click to hear 2 professor (job title) - top level teacher at a university, addressed as:
"professor" click to hear 'professor'
hoogleraar landbouwscheikunde click to hear professor of chemistry in agriculture

leerzaam click to hear 2 3 educational, instructive leerzaam en/of vermakelijk click to hear 2 3 educational and/or entertaining leerzaam en/of amusant click to hear 2 3 educational and/or entertaining

(de) verzamelingenleer click to hear 2 set theory

(de) les click to hear lesson ‑>>
plural:  lessen click to hear 2
As mentioned above:  les geven click to hear to teach
de lange les click to hear the long lesson
Laat 't een les zijn! click to hear 2 3 [Let it be a lesson] - I hope you learned something from it, I hope it (the bad thing that happened) has taught you something We hadden goed opgelet tijdens de les click to hear 2 We had paid close attention during the lesson Ik heb een paar jaar pianoles gehad click to hear I've had piano lessons for a [couple of] few years Ik ken haar van de Nederlandse les click to hear 2 3 4 I know her from Dutch lessons, from the Dutch course een dure les click to hear 2 3 4 literally 'an expensive lesson' but often said of an unpleasant experience, not always involving money, that taught you something

(de) leer click to hear 2 teachings, doctrine
but:  (het) leer click to hear 2 leather

[black, leather shoes]
de leren schoenen - de schoenen zijn van leer click to hear the leather shoes - the shoes are of leather

English 'to leer' is to look at people in an unpleasant way. The Dutch verbs for that are loeren click to hear and if it's furtive, hidden: gluren click to hear 2

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