Learn Hardcore Dutch: Het licht flikkert in de keuken tijdens het onweer. - The light flickers in the kitchen during the thunderstorm.

In Dutch, nouns are either common (de) or neuter (het). licht (meaning illumination) is a neuter noun, so it takes the article het instead of de. You say het licht (the light).

What exactly does flikkert mean?

flikkert is the third-person singular present tense of flikkeren, which means “to flicker” or “to flash.” It describes a light that repeatedly turns on and off or changes brightness irregularly.

How does flikkeren differ from knipperen?

knipperen usually refers to a steady on/off blinking (like a turn signal).
flikkeren implies an unsteady or irregular flicker (often due to an unstable power supply or a dying bulb).

Why is flikkert in the second position in the sentence?

Dutch main clauses follow the “V2” rule: the finite verb appears in second position. Here the subject het licht occupies the first spot, so flikkert comes right after it.

Why is licht singular, and how would you refer to multiple lamps?

Here licht is uncountable (illumination), so it stays singular. If you want “lights” as objects (lamps), you’d say de lampen (the lamps) or de lichten (the lights).

Why use tijdens het onweer instead of other prepositions like in or bij?

tijdens means “during” and introduces a period or event—in this case, a storm. in would be incorrect for “during,” and bij would translate more as “at” or “with,” losing the sense of “throughout the storm.”

Can I use terwijl instead of tijdens?

Yes. You could say:
Het licht flikkert in de keuken terwijl het onweert.
terwijl requires a full clause (het onweert), whereas tijdens takes a noun phrase (het onweer).

What’s the usual order of adverbial phrases, and can I swap in de keuken and tijdens het onweer?

Dutch adverbial order is flexible. A common pattern is Time > Manner > Place, but you can swap place and time without changing the core meaning. Both are correct:

Het licht flikkert in de keuken tijdens het onweer.
Het licht flikkert tijdens het onweer in de keuken.

What does onweer mean and why is it het onweer?

onweer means “thunderstorm.” It’s a neuter noun, so you use het for “the storm” (het onweer) or een for “a storm” (een onweer).

Any pronunciation tips for flikkert, onweer, or het?

flikkert: “fl” as in “flip,” i like “bit,” hard kk, stress on the first syllable: FLIK-kert.
onweer: oe like “oo” in “food,” so “ohn-VEER,” stress on WEER.
het: the h is softer than English; the e is like “e” in “bed.” It approximates “hut,” but very short.