Word
Zij glimlacht flauwtjes als zij het cadeau ziet.
Meaning
She smiles faintly when she sees the gift.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Zij glimlacht flauwtjes als zij het cadeau ziet.
zij
she
zien
to see
het cadeau
the gift
als
if / when (condition)
Questions & Answers about Zij glimlacht flauwtjes als zij het cadeau ziet.
How does the -tjes ending change the word flauw in this sentence?
Adding -tjes turns the adjective flauw into the adverb flauwtjes (faintly). In Dutch, you can often add -(p)jes or -tjes to adjectives to create adverbs of manner. It gives the action a softer, more subtle, or more delicate feeling—perfect for describing a very slight smile.
I have learned that flauw means "bland" for food or "lame" for a joke. How does it mean "faint" here?
Flauw is a versatile word! While it does mean "bland" or "lame," it also means "weak" or "faint" when talking about things like light, physical strength, or facial expressions. You can also see this root in the verb flauwvallen (to faint).
Why is the verb ziet pushed to the very end of the sentence?
This is a quick refresher on word order: als acts as a subordinating conjunction here, meaning "when." Subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses and always push the conjugated verb (ziet) to the end of that clause.
Is glimlachen (to smile) a separable verb?
No, glimlachen is inseparable, so it stays together as one word: zij glimlacht. An interesting quirk to remember: while the base verb lachen (to laugh) is a strong verb, glimlachen is actually a regular weak verb in the past tense (zij glimlachte, zij heeft geglimlacht).