Ik wil niet per se winnen; ik wil vooral leren.

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Breakdown of Ik wil niet per se winnen; ik wil vooral leren.

• niet: not
• leren: to learn
• willen: to want

Questions & Answers about Ik wil niet per se winnen; ik wil vooral leren.

What does per se mean here? Is it the same as in English?

In Dutch, per se is common and has two main uses:

• necessarily/by definition: in the fixed phrase niet per se = “not necessarily.”
• absolutely/at all costs: Ik wil per se winnen = “I absolutely want to win (at all costs).”

In your sentence, niet per se means “not necessarily.”

How do you spell per se in Dutch? Any accents or hyphens?

• Always two words: per se.
• No accents: not per sé.
• No hyphen: not per-se.
• It’s from Latin, but you don’t need italics in normal writing.

What’s the difference between niet per se winnen and per se niet winnen?

• Ik wil niet per se winnen: Winning is not a goal in itself; it’s not necessary. You might still be fine with winning.
• Ik wil per se niet winnen: You absolutely do not want to win. You insist on not winning.

The word order changes the scope: in the second, per se intensifies the niet.

Why is it niet and not geen?