Lezen (to read) — Full Conjugation | Dutch Grammar

Lezen ("to read") is a strong verb of the e–a–e type — the same class as geven — and it carries the same headline feature: the singular/plural vowel split in the past. The singular is ik las with a short a, the plural is wij lazen with a long aa. On top of that, lezen has a second spelling wrinkle English speakers miss: the s/z alternation. The stem ends in s (lees, leest, las), but between vowels it becomes z (lezen, lazen, gelezen). Both quirks are fully regular once you see the logic, and this page walks through every form.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Past (sg.)	Past (pl.)	Past participle	Perfect auxiliary
lezen	las	lazen	gelezen	hebben

Classification: strong (class 5, e–a–e). The vowel runs ee → a/aa → ee: present lees, past las/lazen, participle gelezen. A weak verb would give leesde / geleesd; those forms do not exist.

Present tense

The stem is lees-. Two spelling adjustments happen at once: the vowel doubles to ee (closed syllable needs two letters to stay long), and the z of lezen becomes s at the end of the stem, because Dutch words don't end in z.

Person	Form	English
ik	lees	I read
jij / je	leest	you read
u	leest	you read (formal)
hij / zij / het	leest	he / she / it reads
wij / we	lezen	we read
jullie	lezen	you (pl.) read
zij / ze	lezen	they read

When je / jij follows the verb, the -t drops: lees je?, never leest je. The s/z rule is mechanical: s when the sound is final or before the -t ending (lees, leest, las), z when it sits between two vowels (lezen, lazen, gelezen). It's the same pattern as geven/geef with f/v — Dutch just won't end a word in v or z.

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One verb, two spellings of the same consonant: lees / leest / las (s, at the end) but lezen / lazen / gelezen (z, between vowels). Don't write "ik lez" or "wij lasen" — let the s/z rule decide which letter belongs.

Simple past: las / lazen — the vowel split

The strong past splits by number, and the split is vowel length plus the s/z swap:

Person	Past form	Vowel	Consonant
ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het	las	short a	s (final)
wij / jullie / zij (pl.)	lazen	long aa	z (between vowels)

In las the a is short, because the syllable is closed by the s. In lazen the syllable opens — la·zen — so the single a is pronounced long, the aa of "father," and the consonant flips to z. This is the exact gaf/gaven split, with the added s/z change. To a native ear wij las is as jarring as "we was."

Ik las het nieuws pas toen ik 's avonds thuiskwam.

I only read the news when I got home in the evening. Singular past 'las' — short a, s.

Vroeger lazen we elke avond een verhaaltje voor het slapengaan.

We used to read a little story every evening before bed. Plural past 'lazen' — long aa, z.

The perfect: hebben + gelezen

Lezen takes hebben. The participle is gelezen (strong -en ending, vowel back to long ee, z between vowels).

Person	Perfect	English
ik	heb gelezen	I have read
jij / u	hebt gelezen	you have read
hij / zij / het	heeft gelezen	he/she/it has read
wij / jullie / zij	hebben gelezen	we/you/they have read

Imperative

The imperative is the bare stem lees — with the s spelling, since it's final.

Form	Use	English
Lees!	singular / general	Read!
Lees dit eens.	everyday phrase	Have a read of this.
Leest u de voorwaarden goed door.	formal (with 'u')	Please read the terms carefully. (formal)

Three model sentences

Lees je weleens een boek in het Nederlands?

Do you ever read a book in Dutch? Present, inverted 'lees je' (no -t).

Heb je het artikel dat ik je stuurde al gelezen?

Have you read the article I sent you yet? Perfect with hebben + participle 'gelezen'.

De juryleden lazen alle inzendingen zorgvuldig door.

The judges read through all the entries carefully. Plural past 'lazen' — long aa, z.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ik leesde de hele krant.

Incorrect — lezen is strong, so the past is 'las', not a regularised 'leesde'.

✅ Ik las de hele krant.

I read the whole newspaper.

❌ Wij las het boek samen.

Incorrect — the plural needs the long-vowel form 'lazen', not singular 'las'.

✅ Wij lazen het boek samen.

We read the book together.

❌ Heb je de mail al geleesd?

Incorrect — the participle is the strong 'gelezen', never 'geleesd'.

✅ Heb je de mail al gelezen?

Have you read the email yet?

❌ Wij lasen het rapport gisteren.

Incorrect — between vowels the s becomes z: the plural past is 'lazen', not 'lasen'.

✅ Wij lazen het rapport gisteren.

We read the report yesterday.

❌ Leest je veel?

Incorrect — when 'je' follows the verb, the -t drops: 'Lees je veel?'

✅ Lees je veel?

Do you read a lot?

Key Takeaways

Strong verb: lees → las / lazen → gelezen; never leesde or geleesd.
The vowel split: singular las (short a), plural lazen (long aa) — the same trap as geven.
The s/z rule: s at the end (lees, leest, las), z between vowels (lezen, lazen, gelezen).
Inversion: lees je? drops the -t.
Perfect with hebben: ik heb gelezen — no motion, so no zijn.

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