zwemmen

Meaning

to swim

Concepts

swim

🏊

swimming

🏊

float

bathe

Synonyms

drijven

varen

Hyphenated as

zwem‧men

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈzʋɛ.mə(n)/

Etymology

* From Middle Dutch swemmen, from Old Dutch *swimman, from Proto-West Germanic *swimman, from Proto-Germanic *swimmaną.
* The verb merged with the causative verb, from Proto-Germanic *swammijaną, whence the vowel 'e' instead of the expected 'i' in the present tense. The strong conjugation was maintained however.

Sentences

Toen ik klein was heb ik leren zwemmen in het zwembad .

When I was little, I learned to swim in the pool.

Ik kan niet zwemmen zonder een duikbril .

I can't swim without a pair of diving goggles.