Breakdown of Die luie hond is even eigenwijs als het paard.
zijn
to be
de hond
the dog
het paard
horse
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
Questions & Answers about Die luie hond is even eigenwijs als het paard.
How does the comparison even ... als work in this sentence?
It translates to 'as ... as' in English. You put the adjective right in the middle. In this sentence, even eigenwijs als means 'as stubborn as'.
Could I use net zo ... als instead of even ... als here?
Yes! even eigenwijs als and net zo eigenwijs als mean the exact same thing. You can use whichever structure you prefer to say that two things are equal.
Why is the adjective spelled as luie instead of just lui?
When an adjective comes right before a noun, it usually gets an -e added to the end. Because hond (dog) is a de-word and we are pointing to a specific one with die (that), lui (lazy) becomes luie.
Does the word eigenwijs literally translate to 'own wise'?
Exactly! eigen means 'own' and wijs means 'wise'. When a dog (or a person) thinks they are their own best source of wisdom, they are stubborn or obstinate.