Denken ("to think") is one of the most frequent verbs in the language and a textbook member of the -cht mixed class: its past is dacht, mirroring English think → thought almost letter for letter. Beyond the conjugation, denken carries a grammatical detail that English speakers must get right: it pairs with two different prepositions — denken aan ("to think of / have in mind") and denken over ("to think about / consider") — and choosing the wrong one changes the meaning. This page covers the full paradigm and that contrast.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|
| denken | dacht | gedacht | hebben |
Classification: mixed. Like brengen, denken changes its stem vowel (e → a) the way a strong verb would, but takes the dental -cht ending of the weak system. The -nk of the stem collapses into the -cht cluster, giving dacht. The same shift produced English thought.
Present tense
Regular throughout. Stem denk- plus the standard endings.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | denk | I think |
| jij / je | denkt | you think |
| u | denkt | you think (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | denkt | he / she / it thinks |
| wij / we | denken | we think |
| jullie | denken | you (pl.) think |
| zij / ze | denken | they think |
In inversion, jij drops the -t: denk jij? ("do you think?").
Denk jij dat het gaat regenen?
Do you think it's going to rain? Inverted 'jij' — 'denk', not 'denkt'.
Simple past: dacht and dachten
The vowel shifts e → a and the stem ends in -cht: singular dacht, plural dachten. No -de, no doubled consonant — the -cht family's own ending.
| Person | Past form |
|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | dacht |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | dachten |
Ik dacht dat je al weg was.
I thought you'd already left. Singular past 'dacht'.
Why "mixed" — and the family resemblance
Denken is the clearest member of the -cht club because its English cognate is so transparent: think → thought, denken → dacht. Both languages inherited a verb that changes its vowel in the past and adds a dental -t — half strong, half weak, which is exactly what "mixed" names. So denken is neither denkte/gedenkt (the weak guess) nor something like donk/gedonken (a strong guess); it sits in between with dacht / gedacht.
The payoff is a prediction rule worth internalising: English verbs with an -ought/-aught past — thought, brought, bought, sought, taught — tend to have Dutch cognates ending in -cht. Denken, brengen, kopen, and zoeken all share this. Once you hear the family resemblance, you stop memorising four separate irregular verbs and start recognising one pattern.
The perfect: heeft gedacht
The participle is gedacht — the -cht stem in the ge-…-t frame. Auxiliary: hebben.
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb gedacht | I have thought |
| jij / u | hebt gedacht | you have thought |
| hij / zij / het | heeft gedacht | he/she/it has thought |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben gedacht | we/you/they have thought |
Imperative
The bare stem denk is the everyday imperative.
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Denk! | everyday (informal & neutral) | Think! |
| Denk goed na voordat je beslist. | everyday phrase (with separable 'nadenken') | Think it over carefully before you decide. |
| Denk aan je moeder. | everyday phrase | Think of your mother. |
Denken aan vs denken over
This is the part English speakers most often get wrong, because English "think of" and "think about" don't divide the work the same way.
- denken aan = to have something in mind, to recall or be reminded of it. Use it for the person, thing, or memory that occupies your thoughts.
- denken over (or nadenken over) = to consider, to mull over, to deliberate about a decision or topic.
So Ik denk aan jou is "I'm thinking of you" (you're on my mind), while Ik denk erover na is "I'm thinking it over" (weighing a decision). Swapping them sounds wrong to a native ear.
Ik moet de hele dag aan haar denken.
I can't stop thinking about her all day. 'denken aan' — she's on my mind.
We denken erover om te verhuizen.
We're thinking about moving. 'denken over' — weighing a decision.
Waar denk je aan?
What are you thinking about? Note the split: question word 'waar' + stranded preposition 'aan' = 'waaraan' broken apart.
Three model sentences
Wat denk jij ervan?
What do you think of it? 'denken van' for soliciting an opinion.
Ze dacht er even over na en zei toen ja.
She thought it over for a moment and then said yes. Past 'dacht' with separable 'nadenken over'.
Daar heb ik nog nooit over nagedacht.
I've never thought about that before. Perfect of nadenken — participle 'nagedacht'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik denkte dat het klopte.
Incorrect — denken is mixed; the past is 'dacht', never 'denkte'.
✅ Ik dacht dat het klopte.
I thought it was right.
❌ Wij dacht er anders over.
Incorrect — the plural past is 'dachten', not 'dacht'.
✅ Wij dachten er anders over.
We saw it differently (thought differently about it).
❌ Hij heeft er lang over gedenkt.
Incorrect — the participle is 'gedacht' (the -cht stem), not 'gedenkt'.
✅ Hij heeft er lang over nagedacht.
He thought about it for a long time.
❌ Ik denk over jou de hele tijd.
Incorrect — having someone on your mind is 'denken aan', not 'denken over'.
✅ Ik denk de hele tijd aan jou.
I think about you all the time.
Key Takeaways
- Present is regular: ik denk, jij/hij denkt, wij/jullie/zij denken; inversion gives denk jij?
- Past is the -cht pattern: singular dacht, plural dachten — like English thought.
- Participle gedacht, perfect auxiliary hebben: hij heeft gedacht.
- Never regularise to denkte or gedenkt.
- denken aan = have in mind; denken over / nadenken over = consider, deliberate; denken dat = believe that.
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Brengen (to bring) — Full ConjugationB1 — The complete paradigm of brengen (to bring): present (breng/brengt/brengen), the -cht past (bracht/brachten), the perfect (heeft gebracht), imperative, and participle — a mixed verb whose vowel-and-consonant shift mirrors English bring/brought.
- Kopen (to buy) — Full ConjugationA2 — The complete paradigm of kopen (to buy): present (koop/koopt/kopen), the -cht past (kocht/kochten), the perfect (heeft gekocht), imperative, and participle — a mixed verb that shifts like English buy/bought.
- Zoeken (to search) — Full ConjugationB1 — The complete paradigm of zoeken (to search, to look for): present (zoek/zoekt/zoeken), the -cht past (zocht/zochten), the perfect (heeft gezocht), imperative, and participle — a mixed verb that shifts like English seek/sought, plus the zoeken naar construction.
- Vinden, Denken, Geloven, Hopen — Opinion and CognitionB1 — The four verbs you use to say what you think — strong vinden (vond/gevonden) with its obligatory 'het' for opinions, mixed denken (dacht/gedacht) with denken aan/over, weak geloven (geloofde/geloofd) with v→f devoicing, and weak hopen (hoopte/gehoopt) with hopen op and hopen te — plus the dat-clause patterns that carry your thoughts.
- Mixed and Irregular Past TensesB2 — The Dutch verbs that combine a vowel change with a dental ending (bracht, dacht, kocht, zocht) plus the fully irregular zijn, hebben, and the modals — anchored to the English brought/thought/bought set.