Breakdown of Bedoel je dit boek?
het boek
the book
dit
this (neuter)
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
bedoelen
to mean
Questions & Answers about Bedoel je dit boek?
Why does the verb bedoel not have a -t at the end here?
In Dutch, when the subject je or jij (you) comes immediately after the verb, the verb drops its -t ending. A regular statement is je bedoelt (you mean), but in a question the word order flips and the verb loses the -t, becoming bedoel je.
I have also learned the word betekenen for 'to mean'. Why use bedoelen here?
Dutch has two different words for 'to mean'. You use bedoelen when a person means or intends something, like in this sentence. You use betekenen when a thing, like a word or a street sign, has a definition or meaning.
Why is it dit boek and not deze boek for 'this book'?
The word for 'this' depends on the gender of the noun. Because boek is a 'het-word' (het boek), you must use dit. If you were pointing at a 'de-word', like de tafel (the table), you would use deze tafel.