De klimroute begint bij een makkelijke greep.

Dutch, like German, very often forms compound nouns by writing them as a single word. So klimroute = climb + route.

This is very normal in Dutch:

• fietsroute = bike route
• wandelroute = walking route
• klimhal = climbing gym

In English, we often write these as two words, but in Dutch they are usually one word.

Every Dutch noun takes either de or het as its definite article. Route is a de-word, so klimroute is also a de-word.

So:

• de route
• de klimroute

A useful thing to remember: in compounds, the final part usually determines the gender/article. Since route takes de, klimroute also takes de.

Because in Dutch, adjectives usually take -e before a noun.

So:

• een makkelijke greep
• de makkelijke greep

This is one of the most common adjective patterns in Dutch. Since greep is a de-word, the adjective gets -e even after een.

Compare:

• een grote steen
• een moeilijke route
• een makkelijke greep

In this sentence, greep means a hold or grip, especially in a climbing context.

So on a climbing wall, a greep is the piece you hold with your hand or sometimes step on.

Outside climbing, greep can also mean:

• a grip
• grasp
• control, in some expressions

But here it specifically means a climbing hold.

Bij often means at, near, or by. In this sentence, begint bij means starts at or starts with in the sense of the starting point.

So:

• De klimroute begint bij een makkelijke greep. = The climbing route starts at an easy hold.

You can think of bij here as pointing to the location where the route begins.

Because beginnen often needs extra information to show where something starts.

Here:

• begint = starts
• bij een makkelijke greep = at an easy hold

Without bij, the sentence would not clearly show the starting point.

Compare:

• De les begint om acht uur. = The lesson starts at eight.
• De route begint hier. = The route starts here.
• De klimroute begint bij een makkelijke greep. = The climbing route starts at an easy hold.

Dutch main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule. That means the finite verb comes in the second main slot of the sentence.

Here:

• De klimroute = first element
• begint = verb in second position
• bij een makkelijke greep = the rest

This is very typical Dutch word order.

For example:

• De route begint hier.
• Morgen begint de route hier.

Notice that even when something else comes first, the verb still stays in second position:

• Morgen = first element
• begint = second position
• de route = after the verb

Usually yes, but it depends on context. Makkelijk often means:

• easy
• simple
• not difficult

In this climbing sentence, een makkelijke greep suggests a hold that is easy to use, easy to grab, or suitable as a starting hold.

Dutch also has gemakkelijk, which is close in meaning. In many contexts, makkelijk and gemakkelijk overlap, though makkelijk is often a bit more everyday and common in speech.

Greep is pronounced roughly like ghrape, but not exactly like English.

A few points:

• gr starts with the Dutch g, which is much harsher than English g
• ee is a long vowel, like the vowel in English day but without the glide at the end
• p is just p

So the vowel is long: greep.

Also note that greep is the past tense of grijpen in other contexts, but here it is a noun meaning grip/hold. The spelling is the same, but the grammar is different.

Yes, that is understandable, and starten is used in Dutch too. But begint sounds very natural here.

So both are possible:

• De klimroute begint bij een makkelijke greep.
• De klimroute start bij een makkelijke greep.

Beginnen is often the more neutral, everyday verb for to begin/start.

The plural is grepen.

So:

• een greep = a hold / grip
• grepen = holds / grips

Example:

• De route heeft grote grepen. = The route has large holds.

Be careful not to confuse this with the verb form grepen from grijpen in other sentences. Context tells you which one it is.

On its own, bij can sometimes mean near or next to, yes. But in this sentence, because it follows begint, the natural meaning is starts at.

So in context:

• begint bij = starts at

A native speaker would normally understand this as the route beginning from that hold, not merely being next to it.