Breakdown of Hij is een student.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
een
a/an
de student
the student
Questions & Answers about Hij is een student.
How is een pronounced in this sentence?
Even though it has a double e, een is pronounced with a short, relaxed sound like the English word an. If you want to say the number one, it is written with accents as één and rhymes with the English word pane.
Can I leave out the word een?
Yes! In Dutch, it is very common to drop een when stating someone's profession or role. Saying Hij is student is perfectly correct and sounds very natural.
Does student apply to a child in elementary school?
No, in Dutch, a student is specifically someone attending a college or university. For a younger child or high schooler, you would use words like leerling or scholier.
If I want to change this to the formal you (u), does the verb stay the same?
No, it changes. While hij (he) takes the verb is, the formal you (u) takes the verb bent. To say you are a student formally, you would say U bent een student.
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