Prinsesje Petronella wil leren beeldhouwen
A2 Dutch listening practice · Dutch from the Netherlands · Curated for beginners
What does the “-je” ending mean in Dutch?
A spoiled royal demands sculpting lessons in this puppet sketch, introduced as «Prinsesje Petronella» (“little Princess Petronella”). That -je ending on prinsesje is the Dutch diminutive, and the Dutch bolt it onto almost everything.
It can mean “small” (een huisje, a little house), “cute” or affectionate (prinsesje), or just cosy and casual (een biertje, “a beer”; een uurtje, “an hour or so”). The ending shifts with the word: -je, -tje, -pje, -etje. Sprinkle them on and your Dutch instantly sounds friendlier, and very, very Dutch. Even a bratty princess gets one.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this A2 Dutch listening practice listening practice?
General Dutch frequency
Spoken Dutch frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s A2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸Everywhere in spoken Dutch: een biertje, een momentje, lekker weertje.
- ▸For affection or smallness: prinsesje, hondje, mannetje.
- ▸In cosy Dutch invitations to grab a drink or a bite.
- ▸In Dutch lessons on -je, -tje, -pje, -etje.