Latest / Learn Dutch with Fexingo / Dutch Question Words - Hoe and Waarom
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, welcome back to Learn Dutch with Fexingo. We are on episode 175! Luna: Yes! And I'm so excited. Last time we learned 'wie', 'wat', and 'waar'. Lucas: Right. Today we add two more question words that are super useful: 'hoe' and 'waarom'. Luna: Hoe and waarom. Let me guess... 'hoe' is 'how' and 'waarom' is 'why'? Lucas: Exactly. You're a natural. 'Hoe' means how, and 'waarom' means why. Luna: So 'hoe' sounds like 'hoo' in English, right? Lucas: Yes, very close. 'Hoe' is pronounced like 'hoo'. Let's say it together: hoe. Luna: Hoe. Lucas: Perfect. And 'waarom' is pronounced 'wah-rom'. Waarom. Luna: Waarom. That sounds a bit like 'why Rome' but with a 'w'. Lucas: That works. Now let's put them in phrases. The most common one: 'Hoe gaat het?' means 'How are you?' or literally 'How goes it?' Luna: Hoe gaat het? How are you?. Lucas: Yes. Say it with me: Hoe gaat het? Luna: Hoe gaat het? Lucas: Great. And another useful one: 'Hoe laat is het?' — 'What time is it?' literally 'How late is it?' Luna: Hoe laat is het? That's good to know for catching trains. Lucas: Exactly. Now for 'waarom'. A basic question: 'Waarom is dat?' means 'Why is that?' Luna: Waarom is dat? Why is that?. Lucas: Yes. And you can use it in many situations. Luna, why are you learning Dutch? Luna: Ha, good question. In Dutch I'd say: 'Waarom leer ik Nederlands?' Lucas: Nice! You formed a question all by yourself. 'Waarom leer ik Nederlands?' Perfect. Luna: But I want to use it more. Can we practice a little scene? Lucas: Sure. Let's pretend you're at a café and you ask the waiter: 'Hoe laat is het?' Luna: Hoe laat is het? And the waiter says... 'Het is drie uur.' But that's another episode. Lucas: Exactly. Let's review the phrases we have: 'hoe', 'waarom', 'Hoe gaat het?', 'Hoe laat is het?', and 'Waarom is dat?'. Luna: Hoe. Waarom. Hoe gaat het? Hoe laat is het? Waarom is dat? Lucas: Perfect. Now let's do a quick listen and repeat. I'll say the Dutch, you repeat. Lucas: Hoe. Luna: Hoe. Lucas: Waarom. Luna: Waarom. Lucas: Hoe gaat het? Luna: Hoe gaat het? Lucas: Hoe laat is het? Luna: Hoe laat is het? Lucas: Waarom is dat? Luna: Waarom is dat? Lucas: You've got it. Now I have a question for you. Waarom is the sky blue? Luna: Hmm... Because of light scattering, but let's stick to Dutch. I'd say: 'Waarom is de lucht blauw?' That's using 'waarom'. Lucas: Yes! And you used 'de lucht' for sky. That's great. Luna: So with 'hoe' and 'waarom' we can ask about many things. Lucas: Exactly. And if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with Dutch, a small donation at 'buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo' really helps keep these episodes coming. It's a couple of dollars that makes a big difference. Luna: Yeah, totally. We love making these, and it's lovely to know people find them useful. Lucas: So now, I'll ask you: 'Hoe gaat het met jou?' Luna: Het gaat goed, dank je! En met jou? Lucas: Ook goed. See how we used 'hoe' naturally? Keep practicing these questions. Next time, we'll add more question words. Luna: I can't wait. Tot ziens, iedereen! Lucas: Dag Luna, dag allemaal!