Spreken (to speak) — Full Conjugation | Dutch Grammar

Spreken ("to speak") is a strong verb, and the English cognate speak → spoke → spoken maps neatly onto the Dutch shape. The vowel runs e → a → o: present spreek, past sprak/spraken, participle gesproken. As with eten and lezen, the past has a short/long vowel split: singular ik sprak has a short a, plural wij spraken has a long aa. The same class includes breken → brak/braken/gebroken and nemen → nam/namen/genomen. One more thing English speakers need: Dutch distinguishes spreken from praten, and they are not freely interchangeable — there's a short note on that below, with a full treatment on the dedicated spreken/praten/zeggen/vertellen page. This page covers every form.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Past (sg.)	Past (pl.)	Past participle	Perfect auxiliary
spreken	sprak	spraken	gesproken	hebben

Classification: strong (class 4, e–a–o). The vowel runs ee → a/aa → o: present spreek, past sprak/spraken, participle gesproken. A weak verb would give spreekte / gespreekt — those do not exist.

Present tense

The stem is spreek- (long ee, written double in the closed syllable).

Person	Form	English
ik	spreek	I speak
jij / je	spreekt	you speak
u	spreekt	you speak (formal)
hij / zij / het	spreekt	he / she / it speaks
wij / we	spreken	we speak
jullie	spreken	you (pl.) speak
zij / ze	spreken	they speak

When je / jij follows the verb, the -t drops: spreek je?, never spreekt je. Note the vowel doubling: spreek (closed syllable, ee) versus spreken (open syllable, single e) — the same long sound either way.

Spreek je Nederlands, of zal ik Engels met je praten?

Do you speak Dutch, or shall I speak English with you? Present, inverted 'spreek je' (no -t).

Simple past: sprak / spraken — the vowel split

The strong past splits by number, with the classic short a / long aa alternation:

Person	Past form	Vowel	Note
ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het	sprak	short a	closed syllable
wij / jullie / zij (pl.)	spraken	long aa	open syllable: spra·ken

In sprak the a is short, because the syllable is closed by the k. In spraken the syllable opens — spra·ken — so the single a is pronounced long, the aa of "father." This is the same split as gaf/gaven, at/aten, and las/lazen. Saying wij sprak sounds, to a native ear, like "we was."

Ik sprak gisteren je moeder nog even op straat.

I spoke to your mother on the street yesterday. Singular past 'sprak' — short a.

Tijdens de vergadering spraken we lang over de begroting.

During the meeting we talked at length about the budget. Plural past 'spraken' — long aa.

The perfect: hebben + gesproken

Spreken takes hebben. The participle is gesproken — the vowel is now o, matching spoken.

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

💡

Three vowels, just like the English cognate: present spreek (ee), past sprak/spraken (a/aa), participle gesproken (o) — mirroring speak / spoke / spoken. Lean on that parallel and don't regularise to spreekte.

Imperative

The imperative is the bare stem spreek.

Form	Use	English
Spreek!	singular / general	Speak!
Spreek wat langzamer, alsjeblieft.	everyday phrase	Speak a bit more slowly, please.
Spreekt u na de piep uw bericht in.	formal (with 'u')	Please leave your message after the beep. (formal)

Spreken vs praten — a quick note

Both translate as "to speak/talk," but they aren't interchangeable. Spreken is the more formal, transitive-leaning verb: you spreek a language (Ik spreek Frans), you spreek iemand in the sense of getting hold of them or having a word (Kan ik je even spreken?), and it dominates fixed phrases and officialese. Praten is the everyday "chat, talk," typically intransitive and about the activity itself (We praatten urenlang). Use spreken for languages and for "have a word with"; reach for praten for casual conversation. The full breakdown — including zeggen and vertellen — is on its own page.

Ik spreek vloeiend Nederlands, maar mijn Duits is roestig.

I speak fluent Dutch, but my German is rusty. 'spreken' + a language.

We zaten de hele avond gezellig te praten over vroeger.

We sat chatting pleasantly about the old days all evening. 'praten' for casual talk, not 'spreken'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ik spreekte gisteren met de directeur.

Incorrect — spreken is strong, so the past is 'sprak', not a regularised 'spreekte'.

✅ Ik sprak gisteren met de directeur.

I spoke with the director yesterday.

❌ Wij sprak over het plan.

Incorrect — the plural needs the long-vowel form 'spraken', not singular 'sprak'.

✅ Wij spraken over het plan.

We talked about the plan.

❌ Heb je hem al gespreekt?

Incorrect — the participle is the strong 'gesproken', never 'gespreekt'.

✅ Heb je hem al gesproken?

Have you spoken to him yet?

❌ We hebben de hele avond gesproken in het café.

Odd — for casual chatting Dutch uses 'praten': 'We hebben de hele avond gepraat.'

✅ We hebben de hele avond gepraat in het café.

We talked all evening in the café.

❌ Spreekt je Spaans?

Incorrect — when 'je' follows the verb, the -t drops: 'Spreek je Spaans?'

✅ Spreek je Spaans?

Do you speak Spanish?

Key Takeaways

Strong verb: spreek → sprak / spraken → gesproken; never spreekte or gespreekt.
The vowel split: singular sprak (short a), plural spraken (long aa) — the same trap as eten and lezen.
Three vowels mirror English: spreek / sprak / gesproken tracks speak / spoke / spoken.
spreken ≠ praten: spreken for languages and "have a word with someone"; praten for casual chat.
Perfect with hebben: ik heb gesproken — no motion, so no zijn.

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