De notitie is met de hand geschreven.

The note is written by hand.

Breakdown of De notitie is met de hand geschreven.

• zijn: to be
• de notitie: the note
• geschreven: written
• met de hand: by hand

Questions & Answers about De notitie is met de hand geschreven.

Why is it de notitie and not het notitie?

Because notitie is a common-gender noun in Dutch, so it takes the article de. Many nouns ending in -ie are de-words (e.g., de politie, de traditie), though there are exceptions.

What’s the difference between notitie, nota, briefje, bericht, and aantekening?

• notitie: a note you jot down (neutral, fairly standard).
• briefje: a small note/slip (more informal), also “banknote.”
• bericht: a message/notification.
• aantekening: a (study) note/annotation; often plural (aantekeningen) for class notes.
• nota: in the Netherlands, often “memorandum” or “invoice”; in Belgium, also used for “note.”

Can I say De notitie is handgeschreven instead?

Yes. Handgeschreven (one word) is a very natural adjective. De notitie is handgeschreven and De notitie is met de hand geschreven mean the same. The latter explicitly mentions the method (“by hand”), the former treats it as a property.

Is this a passive construction?

Yes. is … geschreven is the perfect passive: the note has been written (by someone). Dutch often uses this to express a present result state.

How do I say who wrote it?

Use door to introduce the agent:

• De notitie is met de hand geschreven door Jan. More typical word order is:
• De notitie is door Jan met de hand geschreven.

Why is it met de hand and not met een hand?

Met de hand is an idiom meaning “by hand.” In such fixed expressions with body parts, Dutch commonly uses the definite article (de) rather than a possessive or indefinite article.

Is met hand acceptable?

No. The idiomatic phrase is met de hand. Dropping the article sounds wrong.

Could I say met pen or met een pen?

You’d normally say met een pen or met potlood/met een potlood. With instruments, the indefinite article is common unless you mean something generic like met potlood (“in pencil”) which is also idiomatic.

Why does geschreven go at the end?

In main clauses, Dutch is V2: the finite verb (is) sits in second position, and non-finite verb forms (like the participle geschreven) go to the clause-final position. That’s why you get … is … geschreven.

Can I put met de hand after geschreven?

Yes: De notitie is geschreven met de hand is possible. The default/neutral placement is before the participle (… is met de hand geschreven), but placing the adverbial after the participle also occurs, often with a slightly informal or emphatic feel.

What’s the difference between is geschreven, wordt geschreven, and werd geschreven?

• is geschreven: perfect passive/result state (“has been written”/“is written” as a completed fact).
• wordt geschreven: present passive, ongoing process (“is being written”).
• werd geschreven: past passive, event in the past (“was written”).

Is is geschreven geweest correct?

In Standard Netherlandic Dutch, prefer werd geschreven for a past event and is geschreven for a present result. is geschreven geweest (a “double perfect”) occurs in Belgian Dutch but is best avoided in the Netherlands.

Which auxiliary goes with schrijven in the passive and active?

• Active perfect: hebben → Ik heb de notitie geschreven.
• Passive perfect: zijn → De notitie is (met de hand) geschreven.

Does geschreven agree with notitie in gender or number?

No. Dutch past participles don’t agree with the subject. geschreven stays the same with singular or plural:

• De notitie is … geschreven.
• De notities zijn … geschreven.

How do I make an attributive version (before the noun)?

Two natural options:

• een met de hand geschreven notitie
• een handgeschreven notitie Both are common; the compound adjective handgeschreven is very idiomatic.

Is met de hand the same as handmatig?

No. met de hand = handwritten. handmatig = “manual(ly)” in the sense of not automatic (e.g., handmatig invoeren = enter manually), not specifically about writing by hand.

What about schriftelijk?

Schriftelijk means “in writing,” as opposed to spoken, and doesn’t imply handwriting. A schriftelijke verklaring could be typed or handwritten.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

• notitie: no-TEE-tsie (stress on TIE; ie like English “ee”).
• hand: final d is often devoiced, sounding like “hant.”
• geschreven: ge-SHRAY-vuh(n); Dutch g is a guttural sound; final -en often reduces to a schwa or weak “uhn.”

Can I front the adverbial for emphasis?

Yes. Met de hand is de notitie geschreven is possible, putting focus on the method. Dutch allows fronting one constituent; the finite verb stays in second position (is).

Any regional nuance in the noun choice?

Yes. In the Netherlands, notitie or briefje are common for a note; nota tends to mean memorandum/invoice. In Belgium, nota can also mean a note you wrote.