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Ik wil mijn sleutel niet kwijtraken.

Ik wil mijn sleutel niet kwijtraken.
I don’t want to lose my key.
FromLesson 41inHardcore Dutch
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Breakdown of Ik wil mijn sleutel niet kwijtraken.

ik
I
niet
not
willen
to want
mijn
my
de sleutel
the key
kwijtraken
to lose

Questions & Answers about Ik wil mijn sleutel niet kwijtraken.

What type of verb is kwijtraken, and why does it appear as one word at the end of this sentence?

kwijtraken is a separable verb composed of kwijt + raken, meaning “to lose” or “to misplace.” In the infinitive position at the end of a clause it’s often written as one word, but in a conjugated sentence you split it. For example:
• Ik raak mijn sleutel kwijt.

Why is niet placed right before kwijtraken instead of after mijn sleutel or at the very end?
In Dutch, niet normally sits immediately before the element you’re negating. Here you want to negate the action kwijtraken, so niet comes directly before that infinitive. Also, with a modal verb like wil, the non-finite verbs move to the end and niet precedes that verbal cluster.
Why does wil appear in second position, and why is the infinitive kwijtraken at the very end?
Dutch main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must occupy the second slot. Everything else—subject, objects, adverbs—fills other positions, and non-finite verbs (infinitives, participles) go to the end. That’s why Ik is first, wil second, and kwijtraken comes last.
Why is mijn used instead of mij or me for “my”?
mijn is the possessive pronoun (“my”), just like English my. mij/me are object pronouns (“me”). To show ownership of the key you need mijn. Informally you might contract it to m’n, but in formal writing keep mijn.
What if I have more than one key? How do I say “my keys”?

Just make sleutel plural by adding -s: sleutels. So “I don’t want to lose my keys” becomes:
Ik wil mijn sleutels niet kwijtraken.

Can I use verliezen instead of kwijtraken? Do they mean the same?

Both translate as “to lose,” but there’s a nuance:
• verliezen: more general/formal (you can lose games, elections, abstract things).
• kwijtraken/kwijt raken: colloquial, used for misplacing everyday items.
You can say Ik wil mijn sleutel niet verliezen, but kwijtraken emphasizes “misplacing” rather than permanently losing.

How would I express “I have lost my key” in Dutch? Would I use hebben or zijn?

With kwijtraken you use zijn as the auxiliary because it denotes a change of state. So you say:
Ik ben mijn sleutel kwijtgeraakt
(or kwijt geraakt), not Ik heb mijn sleutel kwijtgeraakt.

Is it okay to write m’n instead of mijn in casual Dutch?
Yes. In spoken Dutch and informal writing people often use the contraction m’n. In formal contexts (emails, essays, official documents) you should stick to mijn.

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