Learn Hardcore Dutch: De buurman is aardiger dan gisteren; hij lacht veel. - The neighbor is kinder than yesterday; he laughs a lot.

Because buurman (male neighbor) is a common-gender noun (a de-word), so it takes de. The female counterpart is de buurvrouw. The usual plural for “neighbors” is de buren (irregular), though you can say buurmannen if you specifically mean male neighbors only.

What does aardiger mean, and why not meer aardig?

Aardiger is the comparative of aardig (“nice, kind”), so it means “nicer.” Dutch normally forms the comparative by adding -er to the adjective. Meer aardig is grammatical but sounds unnatural; use aardiger.

How are comparatives and superlatives formed in Dutch?

Regular: adjective + -er (comparative), adjective + -st (superlative).
- aardig → aardiger → (het) aardigst
- duur → duurder → (het) duurst
Use meer/minder if an -er form isn’t natural (often with longer adjectives).
Common irregulars: goed → beter → (het) best, graag → liever → (het) liefst, veel → meer → (het) meest, weinig → minder → (het) minst.

Why is it dan and not als after aardiger?

After a true comparative (…-er, meer, minder), Dutch uses dan: aardiger dan, meer dan. Use als with equality: even aardig als (“as nice as”). So: Hij is aardiger dan ik, but Hij is even aardig als ik.

Is comparing a person to gisteren normal? What is left out?

Yes. Aardiger dan gisteren is an ellipsis of aardiger dan hij gisteren was (“nicer than he was yesterday”). Omitting the repeated subject and verb is very common and natural.

Can I say Hij is aardiger dan gisteren was?

Better avoid that. If you expand, include the subject: Hij is aardiger dan hij gisteren was. Most often, just keep the short form: …dan gisteren.

What does the semicolon do here? Could I use a period or a conjunction?

The semicolon links two closely related main clauses without a conjunction. A period is perfectly fine: De buurman is aardiger dan gisteren. Hij lacht veel. You could also use a conjunction, e.g. … want hij lacht veel (because) or … dus hij lacht veel (therefore).

Why is it Hij lacht veel and not Hij veel lacht?

Main-clause word order puts the finite verb in second position (V2). With hij as the subject first, the verb must follow: hij lacht. The adverb veel goes after the verb: Hij lacht veel.

What’s the difference between veel and vaak here?

Hij lacht veel = He laughs a lot (quantity/intensity or duration).
Hij lacht vaak = He laughs often (frequency). Both are correct, but they say different things.

How do you conjugate and pronounce lachen/lacht?

Conjugation: ik lach, jij/u lacht, hij/zij/het lacht, wij/jullie/zij lachen. Past: lachte(n). Perfect: heeft gelachen.
Pronunciation (roughly, NL): lacht [lɑxt]; the ch/g is a throaty sound. Other words: buurman [ˈbyːr.mɑn], aardiger [ˈaːr.dɪ.ɣər], gisteren [ˈɣɪ.stə.rən]/[ˈχɪ.stə.rən], veel [veːl].

Does aardiger need an extra -e anywhere?

Not here, because it’s predicative (after is): Hij is aardiger. Attributively (before a noun), add -e in the usual cases:

een aardigere buurman (de-word, indefinite → -e)
een aardiger kind (het-word, indefinite → no -e)
het aardigere kind / de aardigere buurman (definite → -e)

Can dan also mean “then”? I’m confused by dan vs toen.

In this sentence dan = “than” (comparison). For time:

toen = “then” in the past (one specific time): Toen lachte hij veel.
dan can mean “then” in conditionals or sequences about present/future: Als hij komt, dan lachen we.

Where can gisteren go, and does position change the meaning?

Hij is aardiger dan gisteren = today he is nicer than he was yesterday (comparison with yesterday).
Gisteren was hij aardiger = yesterday he was nicer (than at some other time, implied). So moving gisteren to the front typically changes the focus/meaning.

Is gister okay, or must it be gisteren?

Both exist. Gisteren is standard everywhere. Gister is common and acceptable in the Netherlands in informal contexts; it’s less used in Belgium.

After dan, do I use subject or object pronouns?

With comparisons, standard Dutch uses subject forms: Hij is groter dan ik (ben), not dan mij. In casual speech you will hear object forms, but in writing stick with dan ik/hij/wij.

Could I say vriendelijker or liever instead of aardiger?

vriendelijker = “more polite/friendly in manner,” slightly more formal.
aardiger = “nicer/kinder,” broad and very common.
liever is the comparative of graag and means “rather/prefer,” so not a synonym here.