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Dutch Verb Spreken ('to Speak') - Smartphones Page

Conjugation
Sample Sentences
Related Words

Spreken - Conjugation

'Spreken' click to hear 'to speak' is a strong verb:
spreken
to speak
- sprak
spoke
- gesproken
spoken
click to hear

See also Praten click to hear 'to talk, to chat'

Like almost all verbs with A in the simple past tense, that A is 'short' in the singular, but 'long' in the plural

overview
spreken to speak
ik spreek I speak
wij spreken we speak
ik sprak I spoke
wij spraken we spoke
ik heb gesproken I have spoken
click to hear

simple present tense
spreken to speak
ik spreek I speak
jij spreekt you speak (singular, informal you)
hij spreekt he speaks
wij spreken we speak
jullie spreken you speak (plural, informal you)
zij spreken they speak
U spreekt you speak (polite you)
click to hear 2

simple past tense
(spreken) to speak
ik sprak I spoke
jij sprak you spoke
hij sprak he spoke
wij spraken we spoke
jullie spraken y'all spoke
zij spraken they spoke
U sprak you spoke
click to hear 2 3

present perfect tense
ik heb gesproken click to hear I have spoken
auxiliary verb hebben
[I'm speaking]
ik spreek click to hear 2
'The Speaking Dutchman'
(de) spreektaal click to hear 2 3 the spoken language, the language as spoken, the colloquial language Het is spreektaal click to hear 2 3 4 It is colloquial [language]

'Spreken' - Sample Sentences


Ik spreek Nederlands click to hear 2 [I speak Dutch] - I'm speaking Dutch, I do speak Dutch
Ik spreek geen Engels click to hear 2 I don't speak English

Je spreekt goed Nederlands click to hear 2 [You speak good Dutch] - You speak Dutch well
Hij spreekt vloeiend Nederlands click to hear 2 [He speaks fluent Dutch] - He speaks Dutch fluently
Hij spreekt ook Duits click to hear He also speaks German

Veel mensen spreken Engels click to hear Many people speak English Niet veel mensen spreken Latijn click to hear [Not many] Few people speak Latin

Zou je alsjeblieft Nederlands willen spreken? click to hear Could you please speak Dutch? (informal 'you') Zou U alstublieft Nederlands willen spreken? click to hear Could you please speak Dutch? (polite 'you')

Zou U wat langzamer willen spreken? click to hear 2 Could you please speak [somewhat] a little slower?

Ik spreek geen Nederlands click to hear 2 I don't speak Dutch Ik spreek helaas geen Nederlands click to hear 2 Unfortunately, I don't speak Dutch

Ik spreek niet goed Nederlands click to hear 2 I don't speak Dutch well Ik spreek geen goed Nederlands (?) click to hear I don't speak Dutch well

Met wie spreek ik? click to hear 2 [With whom] Who am I speaking to? Who's calling? (on the telephone) ‑>> Wilt U liever met een tolk spreken? click to hear 2 Would you rather speak with an interpreter? - more below

Ze wil je dringend spreken click to hear 2 She wants to talk to you urgently Ze moet je dringend spreken click to hear 2 She urgently needs to talk to you

Hij sprak veel click to hear He spoke much, he was talking a lot Er werd veel gesproken over vrijheid click to hear 2 There was much [spoken] talk about freedom

Wie spreekt er voor de slachtoffers? click to hear 2 3 Who speaks for the victims? (who voices their viewpoint)

Goropius click to hear 2 (Jan van Gorp click to hear 2) 17th Century Dutch linguist "Adam en Eva spraken Nederlands in het Paradijs" click to hear "Adam and Eve spoke Dutch in Paradise" "In het Paradijs spraken Adam en Eva Nederlands" click to hear 2 "In Paradise, Adam and Eve spoke Dutch" Volgens Goropius spraken Adam en Eva Nederlands click to hear 2 According to Goropius, Adam and Eve spoke Dutch Goropius zegt dat Adam en Eva Nederlands spraken click to hear 2 Goropius says that Adam and Eve spoke Dutch
See also: Word Order

Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud click to hear To speak is silver, (but) silence is golden - more 'zwijgen'

Met twee woorden spreken click to hear 2 "Speak with two words (instead of one)" - suggesting to children to be polite

Bij wijze van spreken click to hear 2 3 In a manner of speaking, As a figure of speech

't Spreekt tot de verbeelding click to hear 2 It speaks, appeals to the imagination - it makes you think of it, imagine it

't Spreekt me niet aan click to hear It doesn't appeal to me
- a little stronger but also more polite than:

't Zegt me niks click to hear 2
- Zeggen

'Aanspreken' can also mean 'to address, start talking to someone' (sometimes challenging)
Ik sprak hem aan click to hear 2 3 I addressed him, I started speaking to him, I challenged him

tegenspreken click to hear 2 3 4 to [speak against] contradict Hij sprak hun tegen click to hear 2 He contradicted them, he said their version was untrue or not correct

zich verspreken click to hear to misspeak, say something else than you intended Ik versprak me click to hear 2
Ik heb me versproken click to hear 2 I misspoke, it's not what I wanted to say

Wilt U via een tolk spreken? click to hear 2 Would you like to speak using an interpreter? Wilt U liever met een tolk spreken? click to hear 2 Would you rather speak with an interpreter? (de) tolk click to hear 2 interpreter (instant translation)

(de) vertaler click to hear 2 translator
(de) vertaling click to hear 2 3 translation
Er is inderdaad geen goede vertaling click to hear 2 [There is indeed ...] You're right, there is no good translation Ze hielp hen met de vertaling click to hear She helped (assisted) them with the translation

Dat zeg je niet zo click to hear 2 3 [You don't say it that way] It's not the right way to say that (pointing out a mistake) Is er geen Nederlands woord voor? click to hear 2 3 Is there no Dutch word for it? Er is geen Nederlands woord voor click to hear 2 There is no Dutch word for it Ik ken dat woord niet click to hear I don't know that word Wat betekent 't? click to hear 2 What does it mean? Wat betekent dat woord? click to hear 2 3 slow What does that word mean? What is the meaning of that word?
't Betekent ... click to
  hear It means ... 't Betekent heel iets anders click to hear 2 It means something [very] completely different Kun je 't omschrijven? click to hear 2 Could you describe what it means? (When you don't know the translation) Is er een ander woord voor? click to hear 2 Is there another word for it? Hoe zeg je dat in het Nederlands? click to hear 2 How do you say that in Dutch? Hoe zeg je dat precies? click to hear 2 3 How do you say that exactly? Begrijp je echt wat er staat? click to hear 2 Do you really understand what it says? (looking at a written text) - See also: Speaking Dutch, Speaking about Dutch

't Is niet fout ... click to hear 2 It's not wrong ... ... maar je kunt 't eenvoudiger zeggen click to hear 2 3 ... but [you can say it more simply] there's a simpler way to say it /or/ ... maar 't is niet mooi click to hear 2 3 ... but it's not pretty

[microphone]
microfoon click to hear
[loudspeaker]
luidspreker click to hear
[loudspeaker]
luidspreker click to hear

'Spreken' - Related Words

(de) woordvoerder click to hear 2 3 spokesperson
(de) spreekbuis click to hear 2 mouthpiece, not-objective speaker (het) spreekwoord click to hear 2 saying, standard phrase - Dutch Sayings (het) spreekuur click to hear 2 3 doctor's office hours (walk-in) (het) gesproken boek click to hear [spoken] audio book
(het) sprekend voorbeeld click to hear [speaking] very good, very illustrative 'telling' example (het) gesprek click to hear 2 conversation, talk
Ik heb een lang gesprek met m'n baas gehad click to hear I had a long talk with my boss
een gesprek beginnen click to hear 2 to start a conversation (het) sollicitatiegesprek click to hear 2 job interview See also: Jobs (het) vraaggesprek click to hear interview (old-fashioned - most people use the English word) bespreken click to hear 2 to discuss // to reserve (de) bespreking click to hear 2 meeting for discussion
(de) afspraak click to hear appointment - also: agreement Ik heb een afspraak om acht uur click to hear 2 3 I have an 8 o'clock appointment Kan ik de afspraak verzetten? click to hear 2 Can I (move) reschedule the appointment? Ik herinnerde hem aan de afspraak click to hear I reminded him that there was an agreement (het) afspraakje click to hear 2 (romantic) date

(de) toespraak click to hear speech, address

(de) uitspraak click to hear 1. pronunciation 2. statement, verdict Ik zoek een uitspraak van de koning click to hear I'm looking for a statement by the king Ik zoek naar een uitspraak van de koning click to hear 2 3 I'm searching for a statement by the king uitspraken doen click to hear 2 3 making statements uitspreken click to hear 2 to pronounce
Weet je hoe je 't moet uitspreken? click to hear 2 Do you know how to pronounce it? (if not, I can tell you) Weet jij hoe je 't moet uitspreken? click to hear 2 3 Do you know how to pronounce it? (can you tell me?) zich uitspreken click to hear 2 3 to speak out, stating an opinion
reflexive verbs

[denim jacket and jeans, a 'denim suit']
inspraakpak click to hear
(spijkerpak click to hear )
(de) inspraak click to hear 2 3 'co-decision,' involvement - from the staff councils set up in the late sixties, some co-decision power by lower-level company or department participants

(het) spraakgebrek click to hear 2 speech impediment
spraakmakend click to hear 2 [speech-making] - creating much talk, famous, notorious spraakzaam click to hear 2 (3) talkative
(het) spraakwater click to hear 2 alcoholic drinks that loosen the tongue,
or: the saliva flying from the mouths of some speakers
vanzelfsprekend click to hear [speaking for itself] - obvious, self-evident // (according to common expectation)

wauwelen click to hear 2 3 talking in an irritating manner
(het) gewauwel click to hear 2 3 annoying, boring talk

(de) wettelijke aansprakelijkheid click to hear 2 legal liability aanspraak maken op click to hear 2 laying (a) claim to (het) onbesproken gedrag click to hear [behaviour above reproach] - unblemished conduct

Ik had schrijver willen worden, maar ik ben spreker geworden click to hear I wanted to be a writer, but I've become a speaker

The soundalike slang word spieken click to hear means cheating on an exam or test by using a cheat sheet or looking at other students' answers. (Maybe it's related to English 'to peek.')

(de) stem click to hear voice // vote ‑>>
plural: stemmen click to hear 2 voices
een zachte stem click to hear 2 3 a quiet voice (not loud) Ik herkende hem aan z'n stem click to hear 2 I recognized him by his voice 't Stemmetje van Tante Jo click to hear 2 The [little, small] funny voice of Aunt Jo mijn barse stem click to hear 2 3 my harsh voice mijn gebroken stem click to hear my [cracked] croaking voice

Wat is er met m'n stem? click to hear 2 3 What's [going on] wrong with my voice? Wat kraakt m'n stem! click to hear How croaky my voice is! Jeetje wat kraakt m'n stem click to hear Gee, [how my voice is croaking] how croaky my voice is (het) kraakfestijn click to hear 2 3 4 5 6 'croaking voice festival' Ligt 't aan m'n stem? click to hear 2 Is my voice the problem? (Why does it sound so bad?) Waarom klink m'n stem zo dof? click to hear Why does my voice sound so dull, muffled? Ik heb geen keelpijn of zo maar m'n stem die kraakt zo click to hear I don't have a sore throat or something like that but my voice [it] is croaking badly Zou m'n stem moinder kraken? click to hear Would my vote be less croaking? M'n stem is naar de maan click to hear 2 3 My voice [went to the moon] is ruined

Stemmen click to hear 2 is the plural of (de) stem click to hear 'voice' and 'vote' but it's also a verb meaning 'to vote' or 'to tune' (a musical instrument)

overview
stemmen to vote // to tune
ik stemde I voted
ik heb gestemd I have voted
click to hear

simple present tense
stemmen to vote // to tune
ik stem I vote
jij stemt you vote (singular, informal you)
hij stemt he votes
wij stemmen we vote
jullie stemmen you vote (plural, informal you)
zij stemmen they vote
U stemt you vote (polite you)
click to hear

Simple Past Tense:
NOT 't kofschip-type: D-endings
stemmen to vote / to tune
ik stemde I voted
jij stemde you voted
hij stemde he voted
wij stemden we voted
jullie stemden y'all voted
zij stemden they voted
U stemde you voted
click to hear

(het) stemrecht click to hear 2 the right to vote
Ik heb gestemd click to hear 2 I have voted "Heb je al gestemd?" click to hear 2 'Did you vote already?' "Ik heb nog niet gestemd." click to hear 'I have not voted yet.' Stem op een vrouw! click to hear 2 Vote for a woman!

- elections in Holland

(de) stemming click to hear 2 3 'mood' // 'vote, voting'
(de) overeenstemming click to hear 2 3 agreement, consensus
(de) toestemming click to hear permission
(de) bestemming click to hear 2 destination

(de) stemvork click to hear 2 tuning fork

Zeggen
to say
- Spreken
to speak
- Praten
to talk, chat
Vertellen
'to tell'
- Schrijven
to write
- Lezen
to read
from 'Using Words': Words - The News

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Gij zult niet stelen click to hear 'Thou shalt not steal'