Breakdown of Ze wachten bij de kapper.
wachten
to wait
bij
at / near / by
de kapper
the hairdresser
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about Ze wachten bij de kapper.
Why do we use bij here to mean "at"? Why not in?
In Dutch, you use bij when you are at a person's house or professional place of work, like a doctor, dentist, or hairdresser. While you could technically talk about being inside the building, bij de kapper is the standard and natural way to say you are "at the hairdresser's".
How do we know ze means "they" and not "she" here?
You can tell by looking at the verb! The verb wachten ends in -en, which is the plural form. If ze meant "she", the verb would take the singular form with a -t at the end, making it Ze wacht.
The English translation says "are waiting," but where is the word for "are" in the Dutch sentence?
Dutch does not usually need a direct translation for "are doing" something. The simple present tense verb wachten covers both "wait" and "are waiting". You just use the context to decide which sounds better in English!
Does de kapper mean the hairdresser person or the actual shop?
It means both! de kapper literally means the hairdresser or barber (the person), but in Dutch, saying you are bij de kapper is the standard way of saying you are at the hair salon or barbershop.
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