Door de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis.

Yes, door often means through, but it can also mean because of or due to.

In Door de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis, door introduces the cause:

• door de verkoudheid = because of the cold

This use is very common in Dutch:

• Door het slechte weer bleven we binnen. = Because of the bad weather, we stayed inside.
• Door de file kwam hij te laat. = Because of the traffic jam, he arrived late.

So here, door does not mean physical movement through something. It gives the reason.

Dutch nouns normally need an article when they are used as countable or specific nouns.

So:

• de verkoudheid = the cold
• een verkoudheid = a cold

In this sentence, de verkoudheid refers to the cold that is causing the problem, usually understood as a specific cold.

That said, in everyday Dutch, people often also say:

• Door een verkoudheid blijf ik thuis.
• Ik blijf thuis door mijn verkoudheid.

All of these are possible, but de verkoudheid is grammatically fine.

This is because Dutch is a verb-second (V2) language.

The sentence begins with Door de verkoudheid, which takes the first position. In a main clause, the finite verb must then come second, so:

• Door de verkoudheid = first position
• blijf = second position
• ik = comes after the verb

So:

• Door de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis.

If you start with the subject instead, then you get:

• Ik blijf door de verkoudheid thuis.

Both are correct. The version with Door de verkoudheid at the front emphasizes the reason a bit more.

Blijf is the present tense, first person singular of blijven.

Conjugation:

• ik blijf = I stay
• jij blijft = you stay
• hij/zij blijft = he/she stays
• wij blijven = we stay
• jullie blijven = you stay
• zij blijven = they stay

So in this sentence:

• blijf ik = I stay

The order changes because of the sentence structure, but the verb form still belongs to ik.

Not exactly.

• thuis = at home / home
• naar huis = to home / homeward

In this sentence:

• ik blijf thuis = I stay home / I stay at home

Compare:

• Ik ben thuis. = I am at home.
• Ik ga naar huis. = I am going home.

So thuis describes being at home, while naar huis describes movement toward home.

Yes, absolutely.

These are both correct:

• Door de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis.
• Ik blijf thuis door de verkoudheid.

The difference is mainly emphasis:

• Door de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis. → emphasizes the cause first
• Ik blijf thuis door de verkoudheid. → starts more neutrally with I stay home

Dutch is flexible, but the verb still has to follow the V2 rule in a main clause.

They are different parts of speech:

• verkoudheid = a noun = a cold
• verkouden = an adjective = having a cold

So:

• Ik heb een verkoudheid. = I have a cold.
• Ik ben verkouden. = I have a cold / I am congested.

In your sentence, Dutch uses the noun:

• Door de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis.

But a very natural alternative would be:

• Omdat ik verkouden ben, blijf ik thuis. = Because I have a cold, I’m staying home.

You can use several options.

Common ones are:

• door = because of / due to
• vanwege = because of / owing to
• omdat = because

Examples:

• Door de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis.
• Vanwege de verkoudheid blijf ik thuis.
• Omdat ik verkouden ben, blijf ik thuis.

A small nuance:

• door and vanwege are followed by a noun phrase
• omdat introduces a full clause

So:

• door de verkoudheid ✅
• omdat de verkoudheid ❌ unless a full clause follows
• omdat ik verkouden ben ✅

Because Dutch uses thuis by itself.

English often says:

• at home

Dutch usually just says:

• thuis

Examples:

• Ik ben thuis. = I am at home.
• Ik blijf thuis. = I stay home / stay at home.
• Werk je thuis? = Do you work from home?

So thuis already includes the idea of being at home.

In the present tense, it usually means I stay home or I’m staying home, depending on context.

Dutch present tense often covers both:

• a general present
• a current or near-current action

So Ik blijf thuis can mean:

• I stay home
• I’m staying home

The context tells you which is meant. In this sentence, it will usually be understood as:

• I’m staying home because of the cold.

Usually verkoudheid means the illness a cold.

It does not usually mean coldness or low temperature. For temperature-related cold, Dutch uses other words, such as:

• kou = cold
• de kou = the cold

So:

• Ik heb een verkoudheid. = I have a cold.
• Ik heb het koud. = I am cold.
• Door de kou blijf ik binnen. = Because of the cold weather, I stay inside.

That distinction is important, because English uses cold for both ideas, but Dutch does not.