Word
Waar is het sapje?
Meaning
Where is the small juice?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Waar is het sapje?
Why use sapje instead of just sap here?
Sap means juice. By adding the suffix -je, we make it a diminutive. While it literally translates to small juice, Dutch speakers commonly use diminutives for drinks to simply mean a single glass or serving. So, een sapje is just an ordinary glass of juice.
Why is the article het used with sapje?
A strict rule in Dutch is that all diminutive words (words ending in -je) are het words. Even if a base word is a de word, it instantly becomes a het word once you make it a diminutive.
Does the spelling of sap change when we make it a diminutive?
No, for simple words like sap, you just stick the -je right onto the end without changing any letters. You will learn about other diminutive spelling rules later, but this is the most basic kind!
How do you pronounce the -je ending in sapje?
The j sounds like the English letter y, and the e is a short, relaxed uh sound. Together, the ending sounds like yuh.