Word
Hoewel de privacy belangrijk is, is het systeem nog niet veilig.
Meaning
Although privacy is important, the system is not yet safe.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hoewel de privacy belangrijk is, is het systeem nog niet veilig.
zijn
to be
niet
not
belangrijk
important
veilig
safe
Questions & Answers about Hoewel de privacy belangrijk is, is het systeem nog niet veilig.
Why is there a de before privacy? In English, we just say "privacy".
In Dutch, it's very common to use definite articles (de or het) with abstract concepts. While English drops the article for general ideas like "love", "nature", or "privacy", Dutch often keeps it, giving us de liefde, de natuur, and de privacy.
Why is the first is pushed to the very end of the comma phrase (...belangrijk is)?
The word hoewel (although) is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause, which always forces its verbs to the end of that specific clause.
Why does the second part say is het systeem instead of het systeem is?
This happens because of the Dutch verb-second (V2) rule. The entire first clause (Hoewel de privacy belangrijk is) acts as the first block of information. Because the main verb must take the second position, the verb (is) jumps in right after the comma, and the subject (het systeem) is inverted to come right after it.
How exactly does nog niet translate to "not yet"?
The word nog generally means "still", so nog niet literally means "still not". In Dutch, this fixed combination is always used to express "not yet", and the two words usually stick together right before the adjective they describe.