Learn Dutch: De hamer raakt het hout. - The hammer hits the wood.

Raken means to make contact or hit a target. If you swing a hammer, the action is slaan (to strike or beat), but the moment it actually touches the wood, it raakt it.

Since the current lesson is about words like erop (on it), how would you say "The hammer hits it"?

You would just say De hamer raakt het. The verb raken takes a direct object without a preposition, so you do not use a fused word like erop or ertegen here.

Does the verb raken always mean to hit violently?

No, raken also translates to "to touch". It is often used for gentle contact, accidentally brushing against something, or even being emotionally touched by a story.

Why is it de hamer but het hout?

Dutch nouns are divided into de words and het words. Hamer is a de word, but raw materials like wood (het hout), iron (het ijzer), and glass (het glas) are very often neuter het words.