Wij sturen een bericht naar mijn familie.

We send a message to my family.

Breakdown of Wij sturen een bericht naar mijn familie.

• wij: we
• naar: to
• mijn: my
• de familie: the family
• een: a, an
• sturen: to send
• het bericht: the message

Questions & Answers about Wij sturen een bericht naar mijn familie.

Why do we use Wij here instead of We?

In Dutch, wij is the stressed form of the pronoun meaning we, while we is the more neutral or unstressed form. When you want to emphasize that it is specifically we (and not someone else) doing the action, you use wij. In day-to-day speech, many Dutch speakers often just say we unless they want to put emphasis on the subject.

Why do we say naar mijn familie instead of aan mijn familie?

The preposition naar in this context translates to to in English and is the most common way to indicate sending something of a physical or digital nature to someone or somewhere.
• Naar often refers to a direction or destination.
• Aan sometimes implies handing something directly to someone or can be more abstract (e.g., writing aan een vriend).
In the phrase Wij sturen een bericht naar mijn familie, naar makes it clear that the message is being sent to one’s family.

What is the difference between sturen and zenden?

Both verbs can mean to send, but sturen is much more common in everyday language for sending messages, parcels, or emails. Zenden sounds a bit more formal or old-fashioned and is often used in more official contexts or figurative expressions (for example, in religious contexts or in some fixed expressions).

Why do we use een bericht instead of het bericht or een berichtje?

• Een bericht (with the indefinite article een) indicates that it is a message, not a specifically identified one, so you’re not referring to one particular message.
• Het bericht would refer to a specific message you already mentioned earlier or that is otherwise defined in context.
• Een berichtje is a diminutive form that often suggests something more casual or short, like a quick text message. Choosing een bericht here is a bit more neutral and doesn’t specify whether it’s short or long.

Can we also say Familie without mijn in this sentence?

Yes, in some contexts you might hear something like Wij sturen een bericht naar familie, implying our families in general. However, including mijn makes it clear that it is my family specifically. In Dutch, using possessives is common to remove ambiguity about whose family is being referenced.