zijn

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) to be, to exist
2. (copulative,transitive) Used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes it.
3. (auxiliary,transitive) Used to form the perfect tense of the active voice of some verbs, together with a past participle.
4. (auxiliary,transitive) Used to form the perfect tense of the active voice of some verbs, together with a past participle.
   Note: The perfect tense of most other verbs is formed using hebben.
5. (auxiliary,transitive) Used to form the perfect tense of the passive voice, together with a past participle.
6. (auxiliary,transitive) Used to form the perfect tense of the passive voice, together with a past participle.
   Note: The imperfect tense passive is formed using worden.
7. (auxiliary,transitive) Used to form the continuous forms of various tenses, together with aan het or, in archaic style, with a present participle.
8. (intransitive) to go, to go on a trip and return
9. (impersonal,intransitive) Used to indicate weather, temperature or some other general condition.
10. (copulative,transitive) to be, to equal, to total, to amount to; used to indicate that the values on either side of an equation are the same.

Det

third-person singular, masculine and neuter possessive pronoun: his, its

Pronounced as (IPA)

/zɛi̯n/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch sijn, from Old Dutch sīn. The infinitive zijn along with the words is and zij (present indicative and subjunctive) derive ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”), which had no separate infinitive in Germanic. The modern infinitive was probably back-formed in late Old Dutch from the first-person plural subjunctive sīn (“we be”), since this form had become identical to the infinitive in other verbs during the late Old Dutch period. Compare also German sein, Low German sien.
The original infinitive survives in wezen, from Middle Dutch wesen, from Old Dutch wesan, from Proto-West Germanic *wesan, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną, from *h₂wes- (“to reside”). All the forms with initial w- (imperative and past tense) derive from this root.
Finally, the forms ben and bent derive from Proto-Germanic *beuną (“to be, to become”), from *bʰuH- (“to become”), which survives only as relic forms in the West Germanic languages and not at all in the others. Its infinitive and non-singular forms are attested in (Old) English, Frisian and a number of Dutch dialects.

Sentences

Hier zijn de twaalf dingen die ik bedoelde .

Here are the twelve things I meant.

Het doet me plezier te zien dat hij zo enthousiast is over zijn nieuwe functie .

I'm pleased to see that he's so excited about his new position.

U hebt meerdere malen gevraagd wat dan de volgende stappen zijn .

What are the next stages, you asked several times?

Het is in dit opzicht jammer dat we halverwege zijn gestopt .

In this respect, it is a pity that we stopped halfway.

Chemische reacties zijn niet altijd voorspelbaar .

Chemical reactions are not always predictable.

Gymnastiek is zijn specialiteit .

Gymnastics is his specialty.

Madrid en Barcelona zijn de grootste steden van Spanje .

Madrid and Barcelona are the largest cities in Spain.

De dupe van deze besluiten zijn de werknemers .

The victims of these decisions are the employees.