Goedkoper dan or goedkoper als? Comparing things in Dutch
Around Black Friday almost every web shop says it is cheaper. Cheaper than who? That is exactly where it often goes wrong. You will hear goedkoper als from Dutch people too, but in careful Dutch, such as a letter, an email or the exam, it is goedkoper dan.
The rule
Are you comparing two things that are different? Add -er to the word and use dan.goedkoop becomes goedkoper
Deze laptop is goedkoper dan die tablet.not goedkoper als: this laptop is cheaper than that tablet
Een tv is duurder dan een radio.after an r: -der. A TV is more expensive than a radio
Are two things the same? Use zo ... als or even ... als.here als is correct
De jas is net zo duur als vorig jaar.the same, so als: just as expensive as last year
Are you comparing with all the others? Add -st to the word.goedkoop becomes goedkoopst
Deze tv is het goedkoopst.also correct: het goedkoopste. This TV is the cheapest
Dit is de goedkoopste tv van de winkel.in front of a noun: -ste
The English in your head wants to use meer with a long word, as in more expensive. In Dutch a long word simply gets -er too: interessanter, moderner. Do watch the spelling. Goedkoop becomes goedkoper with one o and groot becomes groter, because the vowel stays long. Dun becomes dunner and dik becomes dikker, because the vowel stays short. Those are the same rules as for the plural: bomen, bussen.
Try it
Choose the right word. You'll see right away whether it's correct.
Deze week is alles 20 procent goedkoper ___ normaal.
De nieuwe telefoon is net zo duur ___ de oude.
Welke webshop is het ___?
A few very common words do not follow -er and -st. They are in every advert, so it pays to learn them by heart.
| Word | Comparing | The most |
|---|---|---|
| goed (good) | beter | het best |
| veel (much, many) | meer | het meest |
| weinig (little, few) | minder | het minst |
| graag (gladly) | liever | het liefst |
In front of a noun: de beste prijs (the best price), de meeste korting (the biggest discount), minder winkels (fewer shops).
Type the right form
Fill in the right form of the word in brackets, or type dan or als.
Deze schoenen zijn online dan in de winkel. (goedkoop)
Een tweedehands fiets is vaak dan een goedkope nieuwe. (goed)
Hij koopt altijd dan hij nodig heeft. (veel)
Vandaag zijn de prijzen het . (laag)
De tablet is net zo duur de laptop.
Deze tv is even groot die van vorig jaar.
Put the sentence in the right order
Click the words in the order of the sentence. Click a word in the sentence to put it back.
Listen and type
Listen as often as you like and type the sentence you hear.
When you see a Black Friday advert, read it out loud once. After a word ending in -er you will almost always find dan, and if it says als, check whether zo or even comes before it. The words on the signs themselves, such as op = op and 2e halve prijs, are explained in Black Friday in the Netherlands: sale signs and what the law says.
0 of 12 correct0 of 12 done
In a lesson you do twelve of these per hour, together with your teacher, and you see where it goes wrong.
This is what a Braials lesson looks like. These are the same blocks as in a real lesson. Want to know your level?
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