Clothes and Shopping (Basics) | Dutch Grammar

Buying clothes is one of the first real-world tasks you'll do in Dutch, and it leans on a small, learnable set of phrases. The interesting part for an English speaker is that Dutch carves up two ideas English bundles together: passen does the work of both "to fit" and "to try on," while staan handles "to suit / look good on you" — a verb that, used this way, has no neat English match. Add the colour adjectives (which take an extra -e before a garment) and you have everything you need to walk into a shop, find your size, try something on, and hear whether it looks good.

The garments

Start with the core wardrobe. Note each word's article — de or het — because it controls the adjective ending later.

Dutch	English	Article
de broek	trousers (singular in Dutch!)	de
het shirt / het T-shirt	shirt / T-shirt	het
de jas	coat / jacket	de
de jurk	dress	de
de schoenen	shoes	de (plural)
de trui	jumper / sweater	de
het overhemd	dress shirt	het

One surprise: de broek ("trousers") is singular in Dutch, unlike the English plural-only "trousers." So you say een broek ("a pair of trousers") and deze broek is te lang ("these trousers are too long").

Ik zoek een warme winterjas.

I'm looking for a warm winter coat. ('zoeken' = to look for; note adjective 'warme' with -e before 'jas')

Deze broek is me iets te lang.

These trousers are a bit too long for me. ('broek' is singular in Dutch — 'deze broek IS', not 'are')

Colours before a garment: the -e ending

When a colour describes a garment, it almost always takes an -e ending: de *rode jas ("the red coat"), een **blauwe trui ("a blue jumper"). The bare colour (*rood, blauw) is only used as a standalone predicate — De jas is rood ("the coat is red"). Right before a noun, you add -e. The one exception is a het-word with the indefinite article een, where the adjective stays bare: een *rood shirt (because *het shirt).

Pattern	Example	Why
de-word, any article	de/een rode jas	always -e
het-word + 'het'/'dit'	het/dit rode shirt	-e with a definite-type article
het-word + 'een'	een rood shirt	bare form: het-word + 'een'
predicate (after 'zijn')	De jas is rood.	bare form: standing alone

Heeft u deze jurk ook in het zwart?

Do you have this dress in black too? ('in het zwart' = in black; asking after another colour)

Ik vind die groene trui mooier dan de blauwe.

I like that green jumper more than the blue one. ('groene', 'blauwe' both -e before/standing for a de-word)

Een rood shirt en een rode broek — een gewaagde combinatie.

A red shirt and red trousers — a bold combination. (contrast: 'rood shirt' (het + een) vs 'rode broek' (de))

Sizes: welke maat?

The Dutch word for clothing size is de maat. To ask someone's size, the staff say Welke maat heeft u? ("which size do you have/take?") or Welke maat zoekt u? ("which size are you looking for?"). You answer with maat + the number: maat achtendertig. For shoes it's the same word: Welke maat schoen?

Welke maat heeft u? — Ik denk maat achtendertig.

What size do you take? — I think size thirty-eight. ('maat' = clothing/shoe size)

Heeft u deze schoenen ook in maat tweeënveertig?

Do you have these shoes in size forty-two as well? ('in maat' + number)

💡

Don't reach for the English-looking grootte for clothing size — grootte means physical "size/magnitude" in general. For clothes and shoes the word is always maat.

Passen: to fit AND to try on

This is the verb that does double duty. Passen means both "to fit" (be the right size) and, with a reflexive flavour in context, "to try on." Which meaning is active comes from the structure:

Het past (me). — "It fits (me)." The garment is the subject; passen = to fit.
Mag ik (deze broek) passen? — "May I try (these trousers) on?" You're the one doing the trying.

So one verb covers two English verbs. The fitting room itself is de paskamer or het pashokje ("the fitting room/cubicle").

Mag ik deze jurk even passen?

May I try this dress on? ('passen' = to try on here; 'even' softens the request)

Waar is de paskamer? — Achterin, links.

Where's the fitting room? — At the back, on the left. ('paskamer' = fitting room)

Hij past perfect, ik neem hem.

It fits perfectly, I'll take it. ('passen' = to fit; 'hem' refers back to the de-word garment)

Deze schoenen passen niet, ze zijn te klein.

These shoes don't fit, they're too small. ('passen niet' = don't fit)

For putting clothes on and off, the separable verbs are aantrekken ("to put on") and uittrekken ("to take off") — the particles aan/uit split off and go to the end in a main clause.

Trek je jas maar aan, het is koud buiten.

Put your coat on, it's cold outside. (separable 'aantrekken' → 'trek … aan')

Staan: to suit / look good on you

Now the verb with no clean English equivalent. Staan, used with a person in the dative-like slot, means "to suit / look good on (someone)." Het staat je goed is "it looks good on you / it suits you." Literally it's "it stands you well," which makes no sense word-for-word — you just learn it as a unit. This is the compliment to give and receive in a clothes shop.

Die kleur staat je echt goed!

That colour really suits you! ('staan' = to suit/look good on; with the person: 'je')

Staat deze jas me goed, denk je?

Does this coat look good on me, do you think? (asking for an opinion; 'me' = on me)

Rood staat haar niet zo, maar groen wel.

Red doesn't really suit her, but green does. ('staat haar niet' = doesn't suit her)

Keep passen and staan apart: passen is about size (does it fit?), staan is about appearance (does it look good?). Something can passen (fit fine) but not goed staan (still look wrong on you).

Shopping wrap-up: paying and sales

A few closing phrases. To say you'll take it: Ik neem hem/het ("I'll take it"). To ask the price: Hoeveel kost dit? A sale is de uitverkoop, and something on sale is in de uitverkoop or has a korting ("discount").

Deze trui is in de uitverkoop, vijftig procent korting.

This jumper is in the sale, fifty percent off. ('in de uitverkoop' = on sale; 'korting' = discount)

Ik neem deze, doet u hem maar in een tasje.

I'll take this one, just put it in a bag for me. ('Ik neem deze' = I'll take this one)

Common Mistakes

❌ Welke grootte heeft u?

Wrong word — for clothing/shoe size use 'maat', not 'grootte' (which means physical magnitude).

✅ Welke maat heeft u?

What size do you take?

❌ Deze broek zijn te lang.

Incorrect — 'broek' is singular in Dutch: 'Deze broek IS te lang.'

✅ Deze broek is te lang.

These trousers are too long.

❌ Mag ik deze jas proberen aan?

Awkward — to try clothes on, Dutch uses 'passen', not 'proberen': 'Mag ik deze jas passen?'

✅ Mag ik deze jas passen?

May I try this coat on?

❌ Het past je goed.

Wrong verb for a compliment — 'past' = fits (size). To say it looks good, use 'staan': 'Het staat je goed.'

✅ Het staat je goed.

It looks good on you.

❌ Ik wil de rood jas.

Incorrect — a colour before a de-word garment takes -e: 'de rode jas'.

✅ Ik wil de rode jas.

I want the red coat.

Key Takeaways

passen is both "to fit" (het past) and "to try on" (Mag ik passen?); the fitting room is de paskamer.
staan = "to suit / look good on you": Het staat je goed — the shop-floor compliment, unrelated to fit.
Clothing/shoe size is maat (never grootte): Welke maat heeft u?, maat achtendertig.
Colours take -e before a garment: de rode jas, een blauwe trui — bare only with a het-word + een (een rood shirt) or as a predicate (De jas is rood).
de broek is singular in Dutch; put clothes on/off with separable aantrekken / uittrekken.

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