'Zijn' (to be) - Dutch Verb

Welcome - Site Maps: Mobile - Desktop
~ Desktop/Tablet Version of This Page

Dutch Verb 'Zijn' (to be) - Smartphones Page

'Zijn'

('to be') is a very common Dutch verb, and like most often-used verbs it is rather irregular.

Conjugation		Sample Lines		Slang

	Archaic Forms

Zijn ('to be') is a strong verb:

zijn
to be

was
was

geweest
been

overview
zijn		to be
ik ben		I am
wij zijn		we are
ik was		I was
wij waren		we were
ik ben geweest		I have been
2

simple present tense
zijn	to be
ik ben	I am
jij bent	you are	(singular, informal you)
hij is	he is
wij zijn	we are
jullie zijn	you are	(plural, informal you)
zij zijn	they are
U bent	you are	(polite you)

simple past tense
(zijn)		to be
ik was		I was
jij was		you were
hij was		he was
wij waren		we were
jullie waren		y'all were
zij waren		they were
U was		you were

the perfect tenses
Ik ben geweest	I have been
Ik was geweest 2	I had been

ik ben blij	I am glad
jij bent blij	you are glad	(singular, informal
hij is blij	he is glad
wij zijn blij	we are glad
jullie zijn blij	y'all are glad
zij zijn blij	they are glad

ben ik blij?		am I glad?
ben jij blij?		are you glad?
is hij blij?		is he glad?
zijn wij blij?		are we glad?
zijn jullie blij?		are y'all glad?
zijn zij blij?		are they glad?

U bent blij	you are glad	(polite you)
bent U blij?	are you glad?

Do note that for 'zijn' 'polite you' 'U' has the same verb form as 'you singular informal 'je' - but 'U' does not drop the T when the verb comes before the subject in question mode.

The opposite is boos 'angry.'

je bent boos 2	you're angry
ben je boos? 2	are you angry?

'To Be' and Dutch 'Zijn' can mean many things like 'to occur,' 'to exist' or having a quality, a nature etc. But next to that, 'to be' and 'zijn' are auxiliary verbs with meanings that are not the same in Dutch and English.

English 'to be' is also the auxiliary verb for the Passive Voice. Dutch uses another verb: worden 2 while Dutch 'zijn' is the auxilary verb for the Perfect Tense of some verbs. It may be confusing - more.

	ik ben ziek 2 3	I am sick
	ik ben ziek geweest 2 3	I have been sick
	ik word geschopt door Jan	I am kicked by Jan

List of Verbs that Take 'Zijn' in the Perfect Tenses

Sample Lines

ik ben ziek 2	I'm sick
ik ben niet ziek 2 3	I'm not sick
ik ben in Schiedam 2 3	I'm in Schiedam
ik was in Friesland 2 3	I was in Friesland (Frisia?)
hij is in België 2	he's in Belgium
ik ben duizelig 2 3	I'm dizzy
ik ben een Engelsman	'I'm an Englishman >>
ik ben een Amerikaan	I'm [an] American
ik ben thuis	I am at home
ik ben verkouden	I have a cold
jij bent aan de beurt also: jij bent	It's your turn
je bent bezweet 2	you're sweaty

The second person singular ('jij') of almost all verbs has a T-ending, but when the verb comes before the subject (like in questions) the T for the second person singular is dropped.

ben je ziek? 2	are you sick?
waar ben je? 2	where are you?
waar ben je geweest? 2 3	where have you been?
hij is ziek 2	he is sick
hij is oud	he is old
zij is een zangeres	she is a lady singer
het is laat	it is late
't is te laat	it is too late
het is niet ver 2	it's not far
't is tien uur	it's 10 o'clock
't is koud	it's cold
't is warm	it's warm
de deur is open 2	the door is open
dit is mijn huis	this is my house
dat is een goed idee	that's a gpod idea
dat is interessant 2	that's interesting
het is goed genoeg	it is good enough
er is genoeg brood 2	there is enough bread
wat is de prijs?	what's the price?
hoe duur is 't? 2 3	how expensive is it?
hoe duur is dit?	how expensive is this?
het is te duur	it's too expensive
wat is uw naam? 2	what's your name?
mijn naam is Daniël 2	my name is Daniel
mijn naam is ...	my name is ... ->>
zij zijn rijk 2	they are rich
zij waren rijk	they were rich
zij waren te laat	They were too late

Londen is ouder dan Berlijn London is older than Berlin de appels zijn groen the apples are green In 't begin was 't woord 'In the beginning was the word' (John 1:1) In 't begin was er 't woord 2 3 'In the beginning there was the word' Ben je wel eens in Denemarken geweest? Have you ever been to Denmark? Ben je ooit in Memphis geweest? Have you ever been to Memphis? Terug van weggeweest 2 3 4 Back [from having been away] de dichtstbijzijnde winkel 2 the nearest shop, the shop closest-by

'Wassen' 2 is 'to wash' and also 'to do laundry.' So ik was can next to 'I was' also mean 'I wash' or 'I'm doing laundry' - and (de) was means 'laundry,' and actually also 'wax,' the material for candles and polishing.
ik waste 2 'I washed'
Ik was de ramen 2 I'm washing the windows de was opvouwen 2 3 folding the (washed) laundry

wasmand met was

laundry basket with laundry ->>

[me as a child 'doing laundry' with a washboard]

wasbord

washboard ->>

It is a bit of a stretch, but
'Ik was de hond' 2
could mean both 'I'm washing the dog' and 'I was the dog' (in a dream, game or a play)

Op zijn 2 3 4
Combined with zijn op can mean something like 'finished, gone, nothing left'
De benzine is op The gasoline is finished, we're out of gas 't Geld is op 2 3 The money is gone, there's no money left

'over zijn' 2 can mean 'to remain, be left' or '(something) left over, not finished, not gone' - or it can mean 'to be about, have as its subject'

Er zijn weinig walvissen over There are few whales left De worst is over 2 The sausage was left over, there is leftover sausage Is er wat brood over? 2 Is there some bread left? Er was niks over Nothing was left Er was helemaal niks over Absolutely nothing was left Er bleef niks van over 2 Nothing was left of it, nothing remained (also said when critics 'destroy' something)

Actually, in rare cases 'zijn over' and 'over zijn' can be ambiguous, mean both 'be left' and 'be about'
Er zijn weinig boeken over 1. There are [few] not many books about it
2. There are [few] not many books left

bang afraid
bang zijn 2 to be afraid
bang maken 2 ['to make afraid, create anxiety'] - to scare, frighten

"Ik ben bang dat ..." isn't scary but used to apologize or say things you're not happy about
Ik ben bang dat de avocado's nog niet rijp zijn 2 I'm afraid the avocados are not ripe yet Ik ben bang dat het nog niet klaar is I'm afraid it's not ready yet

Je hoeft niet bang te zijn 2 3 [You don't need to be afraid] - Don't be afraid, don't worry, there's no reason to be afraid Hij is bang in het donker 2 He's afraid in (of?) the dark Ze is bang voor spinnen 2 She's afraid of spiders Daar was ik al bang voor 2 'I was already afraid of that' - a not uexpected disappointment Hij is nergens bang voor 2 3 [He's afraid of nothing] - He's not afraid of anything ‑>> Er is niks waar hij bang voor is 2 3 [There is nothing that he's afraid of] - He's not afraid of anything Ze willen ons bang maken 2 3 They want to make us afraid, they're trying to scare us

'af zijn' 2 to be ready, finished, done Is 't af? 2 3 4 Is it finished? Is it ready? Are you done with it? Mijn werk is nooit af 2 3 4 My work is never done, never finished

af zijn van 2 to be rid of, done with ergens vanaf zijn 2 3 be done with something, be rid of something, no longer bothered by something ‑>> Om van 't gezeur af te zijn 2 To put an end to, to be done with the nagging, to get rid of the hassle, the pointless, annoying comments Dan zijn we van de problemen af 2 3 4 5 slow Then we'll be done with the problems (that will solve the problems, then the problems will be solved) Als ik ergens vanaf zou willen zijn zijn het die migraines 2 3 4 If there is [something] one thing I'd like to be rid of it's those migraines
- it's a bit formal.
More colloquial is: Als ik ergens vanaf zou willen zijn het die migraines 2 3 If there is [something] one thing I'd like to be rid of it's those migraines See also: afwillen van 2 wanting to be rid of ‑>>

Slang

A fairly common slang (or 'old') form of the imperative ('command mode') of 'to be' is 'wees'

2 - for instance:
Wees aardig voor dieren

2 'Be kind to animals' Wees aardig voor de dieren

'Be kind to the animals' Wees blij dat ...

2 3 4 Be glad that ... The first line of the Dutch 'Hail Mary:'
Wees gegroet, Maria

2 'Be greeted, Maria' ->> Wees verdacht op ...

2 3 Expect, watch out for, be prepared for ... Wees verdacht op windstoten

Expect, watch out for, be prepared for sudden gusts of wind Wees voorzichtig!

2 'Be careful!' The proper phrase is:
Ben voorzichtig!

2 'Be careful!'

A not unusual slang variation of 'zijn' is wezen 2
't Zal je kind maar wezen 'Imagine it would be your child,' 'To have a child like that ...' 't Zal me worst wezen 2 (saying) '['It will be sausage to me'] - meaning 'I don't care at all'

The adjective aanwezig present, "here!" is probably from the same root

(De) wees 2 and wezen 2 are the singular and plural for 'orphan' and (het) wezen 2 may also mean 'the essence.' 'Wees/wezen' is also the past tense of the strong verb 'wijzen' 2 (to point) wijzen/wees/gewezen

A less common slang variation is 'benne' 2 for 'zijn'
"We benne op de wereld om mekaar te hellepe niewaar?" 2 We are in this world to help each other out, isn't it? - or in the Piet Hein song:
Zijn daden benne groot 'His actions are great'

Archaic Forms

When I learned the standard prayers in the late fifties they still had some archaic forms of 'zijn:'

- from The Lord's Prayer:
Onze Vader die in de hemel zijt ... 2 Our Father which art in heaven ...

- from the Hail Mary:
... Gij zijt de gezegende onder de vrouwen ... 2 ... Thou art the blessed one among the women ...

Matthew 5:37 (also in James 5:12) - condemning the swearing of oaths:
Maar Uw woord ja zij ja, neen, neen 2 3 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No,' 'No'
(Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No') wat daar bijkomt is uit den boze 2
anything more than this comes from evil

... en er zij licht! 2 ... and let there be light! (Genesis 1:3)

Godzijdank 2 3 [God deserves thanks, the Lord be thanked] - 'fortunately'

And there is the phrase
Als het ware 2 'As it were' - 'as if it was'

the perfect tense - Hebben - 'to have' >>

Smartphone Verbs Home

More Good Dutch Smartphone Pages