Breakdown of Sorry, we zijn niet thuis.
zijn
to be
niet
not
thuis
at home
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
sorry
sorry
Questions & Answers about Sorry, we zijn niet thuis.
What is the difference between thuis and huis?
Huis means house, referring to the physical building itself. Thuis is an adverb that means at home. Because you are talking about your location rather than a building, you must use thuis.
Why does niet come right before thuis?
In Dutch, the negative word niet (not) comes after the conjugated verb. When a sentence has a specific location word like thuis (at home), niet is placed right before that location.
Can I use wij instead of we here?
Yes, you can. Wij and we both mean we. We is the unstressed, everyday version, which is perfect for a simple message like this. You would use wij if you specifically wanted to place emphasis on the fact that we are not home, perhaps in contrast to someone else.
Do Dutch people really say sorry?
Yes! It is originally an English word, but the Dutch language has completely adopted it. You will hear Dutch speakers use sorry all the time in everyday situations to apologize, exactly as you would in English.
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