Breakdown of Ik ben benieuwd naar de psychologie.
de psychologie
the psychology
benieuwd zijn naar
to be curious about
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Dutch grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ik ben benieuwd naar de psychologie.
Why do we use naar here instead of a Dutch word for "about" like over?
The adjective benieuwd (curious) is part of a fixed combination and always pairs with the preposition naar. You cannot translate the English "about" directly. Just like English has set phrases like "interested in", you have to learn this Dutch pair together as benieuwd naar.
Why does the sentence use de psychologie instead of just psychologie?
In Dutch, abstract concepts and academic subjects like psychologie, liefde (love), or kunst (art) often take a definite article (de or het). English drops "the" when talking about psychology in general, but Dutch prefers to keep it in the sentence.
Could I use the word nieuwsgierig instead of benieuwd?
Yes, you could say Ik ben nieuwsgierig naar de psychologie. Both mean "curious" and both take the fixed preposition naar. However, nieuwsgierig can sometimes mean "nosy" (in a negative way), whereas benieuwd is always a polite, positive kind of interest.
If I wanted to say "I am curious about it", how would I use the fixed preposition naar?