Breakdown of Het vreemde aan dat gebaar was niet zozeer de arrogantie als wel de angst.
zijn
to be
niet
not
dat
that (het-words)
het
it
wel
indeed, surely (contrastive particle)
vreemd
strange / weird
als
as (like / conjunction)
de angst
the fear
aan
about (with respect to)
het gebaar
the gesture
zozeer
so much
de arrogantie
the arrogance
Questions & Answers about Het vreemde aan dat gebaar was niet zozeer de arrogantie als wel de angst.
How does the pair niet zozeer ... als wel work in this sentence?
This is a fixed correlative contrast meaning "not so much [A] but rather [B]". It is used to correct or refine a statement. In this sentence, it contrasts de arrogantie with de angst, emphasizing that "fear" is a much better description of the gesture than "arrogance".
Could I use maar instead of als wel here?
Yes, you could say niet zozeer de arrogantie, maar de angst ("not so much the arrogance, but the fear"). However, als wel specifically translates to "but rather" and pairs perfectly with niet zozeer to create a slightly more elegant or formal contrast.
Why is it Het vreemde instead of just using the adjective vreemd?
You cannot use the base adjective vreemd on its own as a noun. By adding het and putting an -e on the end of the adjective, you turn it into a neuter noun meaning "the strange thing". This is a very common pattern in Dutch, just like het leuke means "the fun thing".
Why use the preposition aan for "about" in het vreemde aan dat gebaar?
When you want to point out a specific trait, feature, or characteristic of a person, object, or situation (like "the strange thing about that gesture"), Dutch typically uses aan. Translating "about" directly to over here would sound unnatural to a native speaker.
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