Asking questions in Dutch: word order, question words and more
Learn how to ask questions in Dutch, with yes/no questions, all the question words, waar...vandaan, tag questions like toch and hè, and indirect questions.
You can't have a conversation without questions. Where do you live? What time is it? How much is this? The good news is that Dutch questions follow a few simple patterns, and once you know them you can ask almost anything. The one thing to watch is the verb: it moves, and with jij it sometimes changes shape.
Yes/no questions: verb first
To turn a statement into a yes/no question, put the conjugated verb first and the subject right after it. There is no helper verb like English "do".
- Je woont in Amsterdam. → Woon je in Amsterdam? — Do you live in Amsterdam?
- Hij spreekt Engels. → Spreekt hij Engels? — Does he speak English?
- Jullie hebben tijd. → Hebben jullie tijd? — Do you have time?
- Het regent. → Regent het? — Is it raining?
In speech, your voice usually goes up at the end, as in English.
Jij and je lose the -t
Normally jij takes the stem + -t: jij werkt. But when jij or je comes after the verb, the -t disappears.
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| Jij werkt hier. | Werk jij hier? — Do you work here? |
| Je komt morgen. | Kom je morgen? — Are you coming tomorrow? |
| Jij hebt een fiets. | Heb jij een fiets? — Do you have a bike? |
| Je bent moe. | Ben je moe? — Are you tired? |
| Je kunt zwemmen. | Kun je zwemmen? — Can you swim? |
| Je wilt koffie. | Wil je koffie? — Would you like coffee? |
Watch out for three things:
- Only jij/je. With u, hij, zij and het the -t stays: Werkt u hier? — Do you work here? (formal). Komt hij ook? — Is he coming too?
- Stems ending in -t keep that t, because it belongs to the stem: Eet je vlees? — Do you eat meat? Zit je goed? — Are you comfortable?
- The same rule applies after a question word and after any first element in a statement: Waar werk je?, Morgen werk je thuis. See the present tense for more.
Answering: ja, nee and jawel
Answer with ja or nee. If someone asks a negative question and you want to say "yes, I do", use jawel:
- Kom je niet? — Jawel, ik kom wel! — Aren't you coming? — Yes, I am!
Question words
For open questions, start with a question word, then the verb, then the subject. The verb is still in second place.
| Question word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wie | who | Wie is dat? — Who is that? |
| wat | what | Wat doe je? — What are you doing? |
| waar | where | Waar woon je? — Where do you live? |
| wanneer | when | Wanneer begint de les? — When does the lesson start? |
| waarom | why | Waarom leer je Nederlands? — Why are you learning Dutch? |
| hoe | how | Hoe heet je? — What's your name? |
| hoeveel | how much / how many | Hoeveel kost dit? — How much is this? |
| welk / welke | which | Welke trein moet ik nemen? — Which train should I take? |
| wat voor | what kind of | Wat voor werk doe je? — What kind of work do you do? |
A few notes:
- Welk or welke? Use welk with singular het words, welke with de words and all plurals: Welk boek lees je? — Which book are you reading? Welke kleur wil je? — Which colour do you want? Yet another reason to learn de or het.
- Hoe combines with adjectives and adverbs: Hoe oud ben je? — How old are you? Hoe laat is het? — What time is it? Hoe lang woon je hier al? — How long have you been living here?
- Wat voor asks about the kind or type: Wat voor auto heb je? — What kind of car do you have? You'll also hear wat voor een before a singular noun.
- Hoe heet je? literally means "How are you called?". Wat is je naam? is also correct, but Hoe heet je? is the most common way to ask.
Where from, where to: waar ... vandaan and waar ... naartoe
English can say "Where are you from?" and "Where are you going?". Dutch adds a little word to the end of the sentence:
- Waar kom je vandaan? — Where are you from? / Where do you come from?
- Waar ga je naartoe? — Where are you going?
- Waar woon je? — Where do you live? (no extra word: you're asking about a place, not a direction)
Waar stays at the start, and vandaan or naartoe goes to the end. You'll also hear naar toe written as two words and heen instead of naartoe: Waar ga je heen?
The same split happens with prepositions in general. Dutch doesn't say wat after a preposition for things; it uses waar + preposition, often split up:
- Waar denk je aan? — What are you thinking about?
- Waar wacht je op? — What are you waiting for?
For people, use the preposition + wie: Met wie ga je? — Who are you going with? Our posts on verbs with prepositions and the word er explain this pattern.
Tag questions: toch? and hè?
Sometimes you're fairly sure of the answer and just want confirmation, like English "isn't it?" or "right?". Dutch makes this easy: keep normal statement order and add toch? or hè? at the end.
- Je komt morgen, toch? — You're coming tomorrow, right?
- Jij bent Tom, toch? — You're Tom, aren't you?
- Mooi weer, hè? — Lovely weather, isn't it?
- Het is duur hier, hè? — It's expensive here, isn't it?
Toch checks something you think is true; hè (also written he) invites the other person to agree. Both are very common. You can also add of niet?: Je hebt een fiets, of niet? — You have a bike, don't you?
Toch can also go in the middle of the sentence, adding a note of surprise or worry: Je bent toch niet ziek? — You're not ill, are you?
Indirect questions: the verb goes to the end
Polite questions often start with Weet jij...? (Do you know...?), Weet u...? or Mag ik vragen...? (May I ask...?). The question that follows becomes a subordinate clause, and in a Dutch subordinate clause the conjugated verb goes to the end.
| Direct question | Indirect question |
|---|---|
| Waar is het station? | Weet u waar het station is? — Do you know where the station is? |
| Hoe laat vertrekt de trein? | Weet jij hoe laat de trein vertrekt? — Do you know what time the train leaves? |
| Wanneer komt hij? | Ik weet niet wanneer hij komt. — I don't know when he's coming. |
For an indirect yes/no question, use of (whether, if):
- Is de winkel open? → Weet jij of de winkel open is? — Do you know whether the shop is open?
- Spreekt zij Engels? → Ik vraag me af of zij Engels spreekt. — I wonder whether she speaks English.
Notice that the -t comes back with jij in the subordinate clause, because jij is in front of the verb again: Ik weet niet waar jij woont. — I don't know where you live. For more on this word order, see Dutch word order and conjunctions.
Quick summary
- Yes/no question: verb first, then the subject: Woon je hier?
- After the verb, jij/je lose the -t: Werk jij?, but Werkt u? and Werkt hij?
- Question word + verb + subject: Waar woon je?
- Welk with singular het words, welke with de words and plurals; wat voor means "what kind of".
- Waar kom je vandaan? / Waar ga je naartoe?: the second part goes to the end.
- Add toch? or hè? to a statement to check or invite agreement.
- Indirect questions send the verb to the end: Weet u waar het station is? Use of for yes/no.
Practise it
Ask and answer personal questions in Introductions, ask for directions in Places, and ask what things cost in Shopping. For everyday conversation, see Dutch greetings and small talk.