Dutch Adjectives
Learning the Dutch Adjectives is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you master it the more you get closer to mastering the Dutch language. But first we need to know what the role of Adjectives is in the structure of the grammar in Dutch.
Dutch Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.
Grammar Tips:
As we said, in general the adjective’s ending
is not changed. However
- when the single adjective ends in a
consonant, the plural should get an –e.
- when the single adjective ends in an –e,
the plural keeps the –e.
These examples will make it clear:
Een mooi meisje (a beautiful girl) becomes :
Mooie meisjes (beautiful girls)
Een stoute jongen (a naughty boy)
becomes : Stoute jongens (naughty boys)
As you can see from the example above, the
adjective comes before the noun, just like in English
Here are some examples:
| English Adjectives | Dutch Adjectives |
| adjectives | bijvoeglijke naamwoorden |
| a green tree | een groene boom |
| a tall building | een hoog gebouw |
| a very old man | een heel oude man |
| the old red house | het oude rode huis |
| a very nice friend | een heel aardige vriend |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Adjectives in Dutch has a logical pattern. Locate the Adjectives above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Nederlands.
List of Adjectives in Dutch
Below is a list of the Adjectives, Colors, Shapes, Sizes in Dutch placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Dutch vocabulary.
| English Adjectives | Dutch Adjectives |
| colors | kleuren |
| black | zwart |
| blue | blauw |
| brown | bruin |
| gray | grijs |
| green | groen |
| orange | oranje |
| purple | paars |
| red | rood |
| white | wit |
| yellow | geel |
| |
| sizes | maten |
| big | groot |
| deep | diep |
| long | lang |
| narrow | smal |
| short | kort |
| small | klein |
| tall | hoog/lang |
| thick | dik |
| thin | dun |
| wide | breed |
| |
| shapes | vormen |
| circular | rond/cirkelvormig |
| straight | recht |
| square | vierkant |
| triangular | driehoekig |
| |
| tastes | smaken |
| bitter | bitter |
| fresh | fris |
| salty | zout |
| sour | zuur |
| spicy | gekruid |
| sweet | zoet |
| |
| qualities | eigenschappen |
| bad | slecht |
| clean | schoon |
| dark | donker |
| difficult | moeilijk |
| dirty | vuil |
| dry | droog |
| easy | gemakkelijk |
| empty | leeg |
| expensive | duur |
| fast | snel |
| foreign | buitenlands |
| full | volledig |
| good | goed |
| hard | hard/moeilijk |
| heavy | zwaar |
| inexpensive | goedkoop |
| light | licht |
| local | lokaal/plaatselijk |
| new | nieuw |
| noisy | lawaaierig |
| old | oud |
| powerful | krachtig |
| quiet | rustig/stil |
| correct | correct |
| slow | traag/langzaam |
| soft | zacht |
| very | zeer/erg |
| weak | zwak |
| wet | nat |
| wrong | verkeerd |
| young | jong |
| |
| quantities | hoeveelheden |
| few | weinig |
| little | weinig |
| many | veel |
| much | veel |
| part | deel |
| some | sommige |
| a few | een paar |
| whole | geheel |
Adjectives, Colors, Shapes, Sizes have a very important role in Dutch, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with the Nederlands Adjectives, you might want to check the rest of our Dutch lessons here: Learn Dutch. Don't forget to bookmark this page.