English overloads one little word, time, with two completely different jobs: "I've seen it three times" (a count of occurrences) and "I don't have time" (duration). Dutch keeps these strictly apart, and that split is the key to this whole page. To count how often something happens, Dutch uses keer (or its more formal twin maal). To talk about duration — minutes, hours, the abstract stuff you run out of — it uses tijd. Confuse them and you produce sentences that are instantly, unmistakably foreign. This page covers counting occurrences (drie keer), expressing a rate (één keer per week), pointing to a particular occurrence in a sequence (de derde keer), and saying "again" (nog een keer, nogmaals).
For the wider vocabulary of when and how often (vaak, soms, altijd, elke dag), see Time and Frequency Expressions. For the numbers themselves, see Cardinal Numbers.
keer: the everyday counter of occurrences
Keer is a de-word noun meaning "time" in the sense of "occasion, occurrence." You put a number in front of it and you have counted events. Critically, keer stays singular after a number — there is no plural -en the way English forces "three times." Dutch says drie keer, literally "three time."
Ik heb die film al drie keer gezien.
I've already seen that film three times. 'keer' stays singular after the number — never 'drie keren' in this counting sense.
Hoeveel keer moet ik het nog zeggen?
How many times do I have to say it? 'Hoeveel keer' — singular keer.
De eerste keer was het spannend, de tweede keer al minder.
The first time it was exciting, the second time already less so.
A bare een keer means "once" / "one time," and twee keer "twice." Dutch has no dedicated single words like English "once/twice"; it just counts with keer.
Ik ben er maar één keer geweest.
I've only been there once. 'één keer' = one time = once.
maal: the formal and arithmetic twin
Maal means exactly the same as keer — "times" — but it belongs to a higher, more formal or written register, and it survives in a few set contexts where keer would sound odd. Like keer, it stays singular after a number: drie maal.
De wet werd drie maal voorgelezen in het parlement.
The bill was read aloud three times in parliament. (formal) 'maal' fits the formal register; 'keer' would sound too casual here.
Maal is also the word used for multiplication. When you read a sum aloud, maal is "times" in the arithmetic sense:
Drie maal vier is twaalf.
Three times four is twelve. In arithmetic, 'maal' (×) is standard; you would not say 'drie keer vier' on a maths exam, though you'll hear it informally.
And it lives inside common adverbs of frequency built from a number plus -maal: eenmaal (once), tweemaal (twice), driemaal (three times) — slightly more formal than the keer versions, and nogmaals (once again, see below).
Eenmaal, andermaal, verkocht!
Going once, going twice, sold! The auctioneer's fixed phrase — 'andermaal' = a second time.
| Meaning | Everyday (keer) | Formal / written (maal) |
|---|---|---|
| once | één keer | eenmaal |
| twice | twee keer | tweemaal |
| three times | drie keer | driemaal / drie maal |
| 3 × 4 | (informal) drie keer vier | drie maal vier |
per: expressing a rate
To say how often something happens within a period — a frequency rate — Dutch slots per between the count and the period: count + keer + per + period. This is the construction behind "twice a day," "three times a week," "once a month."
Ik sport twee keer per dag.
I exercise twice a day. Pattern: twee keer (count) + per dag (period).
De bus rijdt maar één keer per uur op zondag.
The bus only runs once an hour on Sundays. 'één keer per uur' = once per hour.
We zien elkaar ongeveer drie keer per maand.
We see each other about three times a month.
Note that per takes the period in the singular (per dag, per week, per jaar) — exactly like the English "per," and unlike the casual English "a day / a week," which Dutch does not imitate with an article. There is no een here: never twee keer per een dag.
Het tijdschrift verschijnt vier keer per jaar.
The magazine comes out four times a year. 'per jaar', singular, no article.
The sequence sense: de eerste keer, de tweede keer
Beyond counting how many times, you often want to point at a particular occurrence — "the first time," "the third time." Here keer pairs with an ordinal number (eerste, tweede, derde...) and takes the definite article de, because keer is a de-word.
De derde keer ging het eindelijk goed.
The third time it finally went well. Ordinal + keer + de: 'de derde keer'.
Is dit de eerste keer dat je in Nederland bent?
Is this the first time you've been in the Netherlands? 'de eerste keer dat...' — a very common A2 frame.
Elke keer dat hij belt, is er iets aan de hand.
Every time he calls, something's wrong. 'elke keer dat...' = every time that...
The frame de ... keer dat... ("the ... time that...") is worth memorising whole, because it triggers a subordinate clause after dat — verb goes to the end: de eerste keer *dat je in Nederland bent*. The ordinals themselves follow the regular pattern; for the full list see Cardinal Numbers.
Saying "again": nog een keer, opnieuw, nogmaals
English "again" has several Dutch equivalents, and the register differs:
- nog een keer — "one more time," the everyday default. Literally "still one time."
- nog eens — "once more," interchangeable with nog een keer, a touch more casual/idiomatic.
- opnieuw / weer — "again, anew." Weer is the plain "again" (it happened again); opnieuw leans toward "from the start, afresh."
- nogmaals — "once again," (formal), used in writing and polite speech, e.g. apologising or thanking a second time.
Kun je dat nog een keer zeggen? Ik heb het niet verstaan.
Can you say that one more time? I didn't catch it. 'nog een keer' — the everyday 'again'.
Probeer het nog eens, je bent er bijna.
Try it once more, you're almost there. 'nog eens' = once more.
Het is weer gebeurd.
It happened again. 'weer' = plain 'again', the event recurring.
Nogmaals hartelijk dank voor uw gastvrijheid.
Once again, many thanks for your hospitality. (formal) 'Nogmaals' fits a written or polite register.
The big trap: keer vs tijd
This is the distinction the whole page is built around, so it deserves its own section. English time covers both occurrences and duration; Dutch refuses to. Use keer to count events; use tijd for duration, clock-time, and the abstract resource.
| English "time" | Sense | Dutch |
|---|---|---|
| three times | occurrences | drie keer |
| the first time | a particular occurrence | de eerste keer |
| I don't have time | duration / resource | Ik heb geen tijd |
| a long time | duration | een lange tijd / lang |
| What time is it? | clock time | Hoe laat is het? |
| at the same time | simultaneity | tegelijkertijd / op hetzelfde moment |
Ik heb geen tijd om dat drie keer over te doen.
I don't have time to do that over three times. One sentence, both words: 'tijd' (duration) and 'keer' (occurrences) — never interchangeable.
Het duurde een lange tijd voordat hij voor de tweede keer belde.
It took a long time before he called for the second time. 'lange tijd' = duration; 'de tweede keer' = occurrence.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik heb het drie tijd gezien.
Wrong — 'tijd' is duration, not a count of occurrences. To count events use 'keer'.
✅ Ik heb het drie keer gezien.
I've seen it three times.
❌ Ik sport twee keren per dag.
Wrong — after a number, 'keer' stays singular: never 'keren' in a count.
✅ Ik sport twee keer per dag.
I exercise twice a day.
❌ één keer per een week
Wrong — 'per' takes the bare singular period, no article: 'per week'.
✅ één keer per week
once a week.
❌ Bel me alsjeblieft terug nog een keer morgen — meaning 'call again'.
Confusing — 'terug' means 'back', not 'again'. For repetition use 'nog een keer' alone.
✅ Bel me morgen nog een keer.
Call me again tomorrow. (For 'call me back', it's 'bel me terug'.)
❌ Is dit de eerste tijd dat je hier bent?
Wrong — a particular occurrence takes 'keer', not 'tijd'.
✅ Is dit de eerste keer dat je hier bent?
Is this the first time you're here?
Key Takeaways
- keer counts occurrences and stays singular after a number: drie keer, not drie keren.
- maal is the (formal/written) twin of keer, and the word for multiplication (drie maal vier).
- per expresses a rate with a bare singular period: twee keer per dag, één keer per week — no article.
- Ordinal + keer with de points to a specific occurrence: de eerste keer, de derde keer dat....
- "Again" is nog een keer / nog eens (everyday), weer/opnieuw, or nogmaals (formal) — never terug ("back").
- The master split: keer = occurrences, tijd = duration. English merges them; Dutch never does.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Time and Frequency ExpressionsA2 — How Dutch packages time and frequency into fixed phrases that don't translate word for word: 'af en toe' (now and then), 'om de haverklap' (at every turn), 'op het nippertje' (in the nick of time), 'voor dag en dauw' (at the crack of dawn), 'de klok rond' (around the clock), plus the everyday frequency adverbs altijd/vaak/soms/nooit and how to place them in the sentence.
- Cardinal Numbers 0–100 and BeyondA1 — The full Dutch cardinal number system — 0–20, the units-before-tens reversal for 21–99 written as one solid word, and honderd, duizend, miljoen, miljard for big numbers.