Breakdown of Onze studentenkamer is vrij gehorig.
zijn
to be
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
de studentenkamer
the student room
vrij
quite / fairly (degree adverb)
gehorig
poorly soundproofed
Questions & Answers about Onze studentenkamer is vrij gehorig.
Doesn't vrij usually mean 'free'? Why is it translated as 'quite' here?
You're right that vrij means 'free' on its own. However, when placed directly before an adjective like gehorig, it acts as an adverb of moderate degree. In this context, it means 'quite' or 'fairly'. It softens the adjective, so the room isn't extremely noisy, just fairly noisy.
Can I use nogal instead of vrij in this sentence?
Yes, you can definitely say Onze studentenkamer is nogal gehorig. However, nogal often carries a slightly stronger, more negative undertone than vrij. While vrij gehorig is a factual observation ('fairly poorly soundproofed'), nogal gehorig leans closer to 'rather poorly soundproofed (and it is annoying)'. Since bad soundproofing is usually a negative thing, both work perfectly here.
What is the literal meaning of gehorig? Is there an easier way to remember it?
The word gehorig comes from the verb horen, which means 'to hear'. If you think of it as meaning 'hear-y', it makes a lot of sense! It is exclusively used to describe rooms or buildings where sounds easily travel through the walls, ceilings, or floors.
Why do we use onze here instead of ons?
This is a quick reminder about possessive pronouns: we use onze because the core noun in this compound word is kamer, which is a de word (de kamer, so de studentenkamer). We use onze with all de words and all plural words. We only use ons for singular het words, like ons huis.
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