LESSON 3

Dutch Subject Pronouns

Persoonlijke voornaamwoorden (onderwerp)

To build a basic Dutch sentence, you need a subject. The subject is the person or thing that does the action in the sentence. Pronouns are very common as subjects, because they help you avoid repeating names all the time (for example, "hij" for he, or "zij" for she).

Dutch subject pronouns are divided into singular forms (one person) and plural forms (more than one person). Dutch also has a formal pronoun, "u", used in polite or respectful situations.

Dutch	English	Type
Ik	I	singular
Jij	You	singular
Hij	He	singular
Zij	She	singular
U	You (formal)	singular
Wij	We	plural
Jullie	You (plural)	plural
Zij	They	plural

Stressed vs Unstressed Forms

Three pronouns — jij, zij, and wij — have shorter everyday forms: je, ze, and we. In normal conversation, the short forms are used most of the time. The full (stressed) forms are used when you want emphasis, for example to make a contrast.

Stressed (emphasis)	Unstressed (everyday)	Example
jij	je	Wat wil jij drinken? Wat wil jij drinken? — What do you want to drink? → Wat wil je drinken? Wat wil je drinken? — What do you want to drink?
zij	ze	Zij is een aardige vrouw Zij is een aardige vrouw. — She is a nice woman. → Ze is een aardige vrouw Ze is een aardige vrouw. — She is a nice woman.
wij	we	Wij zijn niet moe Wij zijn niet moe. — We are not tired. → We zijn niet moe We zijn niet moe. — We are not tired.

💡 Notice that "zij" can mean both "she" (singular) and "they" (plural). The verb form and context will tell you which meaning is intended: "Zij is aardig" (she) vs "Zij zijn aardig" (they).

How to Actually Choose the Right Pronoun

English uses one word for "you" no matter who you are talking to, and keeps "she" and "they" strictly apart. Dutch spreads that same information differently: jij / je versus u encodes how formal you are being, a distinction English gave up centuries ago, while zij / ze quietly covers both "she" and "they" at once. Choosing a Dutch subject pronoun is never just grammar — it is also a small social decision.

In practice, default to jij / je with friends, family, and people your own age, and keep u ready for strangers, officials, and older people. For a person, always reach for hij or zij — never het, which is only for things. And whenever you use zij, let the verb tell you the meaning: "zij is" can only be "she," while "zij zijn" can only be "they."

Real-life note: Dutch speakers will often tell you outright to switch from u to je once they see you as a peer, but almost nobody corrects the opposite mistake out loud — so if you are unsure who you are addressing, starting formal with u is the safer choice.

COMMON MISTAKES

Mistakes English Speakers Make

English has just one word for "you" and keeps "she" and "they" as entirely separate words, so it is easy to carry both habits straight into Dutch. These are the four slips that come up most at A0–A1 — check yourself against each one.

✗ ~~het is mijn vader~~ ✓ hij is mijn vader

Vader is a person, so it takes hij or zij — never het, which is reserved for things, not people.

✗ ~~Hoe heet u?~~ ✓ Hoe heet je?

Use jij/je with friends — save u for strangers, officials, and elders.

✗ treating ~~zij~~ as only "she" ✓ zij = "she" or "they"

The verb tells you which one is meant: "zij is" (she is) versus "zij zijn" (they are).

✗ ~~wij is~~ ✓ wij zijn

Wij/we is plural, so it always takes the plural verb zijn, not is.

PRACTICE

Lesson 3 Practice

Choose the best Dutch subject pronoun to complete each sentence.

Question 0/8 Score 0