Learn Hardcore Dutch: De echte winnaar is soms degene die rustig blijft als iets mislukt. - The real winner is sometimes the one who stays calm when something goes wrong.

It is gender-neutral in modern usage: it can refer to a man, a woman, or a non‑gendered “person.”
Grammatically, degene is treated as singular and takes “die” (not dat) in the relative clause, because degene is based on de (the common‑gender article).

So:

degene die rustig blijft = the one who stays calm / the person who stays calm

Why is it “degene die rustig blijft” and not “degene dat rustig blijft”?

In Dutch, the choice between die and dat in relative clauses depends on the gender and number of the noun:

die: for de‑words (common gender) and all plurals
dat: for het‑words (neuter singular)

Since degene is a de‑word (it starts with de), the correct relative pronoun is die:

✅ degene die rustig blijft
❌ degene dat rustig blijft

Why is there “die” after “degene”? Can I leave it out?

You cannot leave it out. In Dutch, “degene die …” is a fixed construction:

degene = the one
die introduces the relative clause that describes that person.

So:

degene die rustig blijft = the one who stays calm
- degene → “the one”
- die rustig blijft → “who stays calm”

Leaving out die would be ungrammatical:
❌ degene rustig blijft

Why is it “De echte winnaar” and not just “De winnaar”?

Echte is an adjective meaning “real / true / genuine.”

de winnaar = the winner (in a neutral or literal sense)
de echte winnaar = the real winner, the one who truly deserves to be called the winner

In this sentence, echte adds nuance: it contrasts the “real” winner with the obvious or official winner. Grammatically, echte is just a regular attributive adjective before a noun:

de echte winnaar
een goede winnaar
de oude man

Why is “soms” after “is”? Can I say “Soms is de echte winnaar degene …”?

Both word orders are possible in Dutch, with slightly different emphasis:

De echte winnaar is soms degene die…
- Neutral statement with a bit more focus on “the real winner” as the topic.
Soms is de echte winnaar degene die…
- Emphasizes “sometimes” more strongly; good if you want to stress that this doesn’t always happen.

Dutch adverbs of time (like soms, vaak, altijd) can appear in several spots, typically:

At the start: Soms is de echte winnaar…
After the finite verb: De echte winnaar is soms…

Both are grammatically correct here.

Why is “blijft” in the middle (“degene die rustig blijft”) but “mislukt” at the end (“als iets mislukt”)?

Because the sentence contains both a main clause and a subordinate clause, and Dutch word order differs between them.

Main clause word order (V2):
- degene die rustig blijft
  Here, blijft is the finite verb of the relative clause, which behaves like a main clause in word order:
- Subject – finite verb – rest:
  - die – blijft – rustig
Subordinate clause word order (verb at the end):
- als iets mislukt (when something fails / goes wrong)
- In an als-clause (a subordinate clause), the finite verb usually goes to the end:
  - als – iets – mislukt

So:

Relative clause with die → main‑clause order: die rustig blijft
Subordinate clause with als → verb at the end: als iets mislukt

What exactly does “rustig blijven” mean? Is it “stay quiet” or “stay calm”?

Rustig blijven can mean:

“to stay calm” (emotionally, mentally)
Sometimes also “to stay quiet / not make a fuss,” depending on context.

In this sentence, it clearly means:

“the one who stays calm when something goes wrong.”

So it’s about keeping your composure, not about literally remaining silent.

Can I say “blijft rustig” instead of “rustig blijft”?

Yes, both are possible in relative or main clauses, but there is a subtle difference in focus and rhythm.

die rustig blijft
- Slightly more neutral and very common: “who stays calm.”
die blijft rustig
- Can put a bit more stress on the act of staying: “who does stay calm,” especially in contrast to others who don’t.

Grammar-wise, Dutch allows the adverb/adjective to be either before or after the verb in many cases:

Hij blijft rustig.
Hij loopt langzaam. / Hij loopt langzaam → (this one normally only after the verb)

Why is it “als iets mislukt” and not “wanneer iets mislukt”?

Both als and wanneer can translate as “when.” Differences:

als is more common in everyday speech for general situations:
- als iets mislukt = whenever / when something goes wrong.
wanneer can sound:
- a bit more formal, or
- more focused on a specific point in time, depending on context.

In this sentence, als is the most natural choice. Wanneer would not be wrong, just slightly less colloquial:

✅ als iets mislukt (most natural)
✅ wanneer iets mislukt (acceptable, slightly more formal or neutral)

What does “mislukt” mean exactly, and is it a separate verb?

Mislukken is a verb meaning “to fail” or “to go wrong.”

Infinitive: mislukken
Present 3rd person singular: mislukt
- Het plan mislukt. – The plan fails.
Past: Het plan mislukte. – The plan failed.
Past participle: Het plan is mislukt. – The plan has failed.

In als iets mislukt, mislukt is the present tense form:
→ when something fails / when something goes wrong.

Why is it “De echte winnaar” and not “Een echte winnaar”?

Both are grammatically possible, but they don’t mean the same:

De echte winnaar = the real winner (a specific one, definite)
Een echte winnaar = a real winner (one of possibly many real winners, more general)

In this sentence, we want to make a general statement about what “the real winner” is like in a given situation, so “De echte winnaar” sounds more proverbial, like a defining truth.

You could say:

Een echte winnaar is degene die…
This shifts the nuance slightly to describing what a true winner is like, more like a definition of character rather than pointing to “the” winner in a specific situation. Both are fine, but the original is stylistically a bit more proverbial.

Why is the Dutch in the simple present (“blijft”, “mislukt”) while the natural English translation uses “stays calm when something goes wrong”?

Dutch uses the simple present very broadly:

blijft = stays / remains
mislukt = fails / goes wrong

In English, you might be tempted to use progressive forms (is staying, is failing), but for general truths or habits, English also prefers the simple present:

“The real winner sometimes is the one who stays calm when something goes wrong.”

So the tenses match well:

Dutch: blijft, mislukt
English: stays, goes wrong

How do I pronounce the tricky parts: “echte”, “winnaar”, “degene”, and “mislukt”?

Approximate pronunciations (using English-like hints):

echte: [ˈɛx.tə]
- e as in bed
- ch like the German “Bach” (a harsh, throaty sound)
- final e is a weak “uh” sound: ECH-tuh
winnaar: [ˈʋɪ.naːr]
- wi like win
- aa is a long “ah” as in father
- final r often lightly rolled or guttural
degene: [dəˈɣeː.nə]
- initial de like English duh
- g is a guttural sound (similar to Scottish loch)
- e in ge is like “ay” but shorter, long ee: duh-GAY-nuh (approx.)
mislukt: [mɪsˈlʏkt]
- mis as in miss
- lu with Dutch u/ü sound, like German müde
- final kt both consonants pronounced clearly: miss-LÜKT (with a short ü)

If you know IPA, those transcriptions will help; otherwise, the English hints give you a rough idea.