Learn Hardcore Dutch: De verliezer krijgt toch applaus, omdat zij degene is die dapper heeft gespeeld. - The loser still gets applause, because she is the one who has played bravely.

De verliezer krijgt applaus. → The loser gets applause. (neutral)
De verliezer krijgt toch applaus. → The loser still / nevertheless / after all gets applause. (contrasts with what you might expect)

You can often feel toch as “in spite of what we might think” or “after all” in contexts like this.

Why is there no article before applaus? Why not een applaus or het applaus?

In Dutch, applaus is usually treated as an uncountable noun, like applause in English:

De verliezer krijgt applaus.
The loser gets applause.

Here, applaus means “applause in general,” so no article is needed.

You can use an article, but it changes the nuance:

een applausje – a little round of applause (very common, friendly, informal)
- De verliezer krijgt een applausje.
het applaus – the specific applause in this situation
- Het applaus is voor de verliezer.

In the original sentence, we’re just saying that applause is given, not focusing on it as a specific, countable event, so no article is used.

Why does the sentence use zij instead of ze?

Both zij and ze mean she, but:

zij is the stressed form (emphasis)
ze is the unstressed form (neutral, weaker)

In this sentence:

… omdat zij degene is die dapper heeft gespeeld.

Using zij can subtly emphasize she:

because *she is the one who played bravely (not someone else).*

You could say omdat ze degene is… in everyday speech; that’s also grammatically correct, just slightly less emphatic.

Why is the pronoun zij (she) used for de verliezer? Isn’t verliezer masculine?

In Dutch, de verliezer (the loser) is grammatically a common-gender noun (it takes de), but it doesn’t force a masculine or feminine pronoun. The pronoun follows the person’s actual gender, not the noun’s grammatical gender.

So:

If the loser is a man: De verliezer krijgt applaus, omdat hij degene is…
If the loser is a woman: … omdat zij degene is… (as in your sentence)
If you don’t know or don’t want to say: people often re-use the noun:
- De verliezer krijgt applaus, omdat de verliezer dapper heeft gespeeld.

So zij here tells you the loser is a woman (or at least presented as female in this context).

What exactly does degene mean, and how is it used?

Degene literally means “the one” (person) and is used to single someone out:

degene die… → the one who…

In your sentence:

zij degene is die dapper heeft gespeeld
she is the one who played bravely

Structure:

degene = “the one”
die = relative pronoun “who/that” referring back to degene
die dapper heeft gespeeld = relative clause describing degene

Common patterns:

Ik ben degene die belt. – I am the one who is calling.
Jij bent degene die gelijk heeft. – You are the one who is right.

Why is it degene die and not degene dat?

Dutch uses die or dat as relative pronouns, and which one you choose depends on the gender and number of the word they refer to:

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

Here the word is degene:

degene behaves like a de-word → so you use die.

So:

degene die… – correct
degene dat… – incorrect

Why is the word order omdat zij degene is die dapper heeft gespeeld and not like in English because she is the one who has played bravely?

This is actually very similar to English in this part, but there are two important Dutch word-order rules:

After a subordinating conjunction like omdat (because), the finite verb goes to the end of its clause.
- Main clause: Zij is degene. – Subject (zij) + verb (is)
- Subordinate: omdat zij degene is – omdat pushes is to the end.
In a clause with an auxiliary (heeft) + participle (gespeeld), both verbs go to the end of that clause:
- Main clause: Zij heeft dapper gespeeld.
- Relative clause: die dapper heeft gespeeld – die introduces a clause, so both heeft and gespeeld go to the end.

So the structure is:

omdat – conjunction
zij – subject
degene – complement
is – verb at the end of the omdat-clause
die – starts relative clause
dapper – adverb
heeft gespeeld – verb cluster at the end of the relative clause

Could you say … die dapper gespeeld heeft instead of … die dapper heeft gespeeld?

Yes, die dapper gespeeld heeft is also grammatically correct, and many native speakers say it that way, especially in speech.

Two common patterns:

die dapper heeft gespeeld – auxiliary before participle
die dapper gespeeld heeft – participle before auxiliary

Both are accepted; heeft gespeeld is a bit more standard/neutral in writing. Word order with two verbs at the end is quite flexible in Dutch, especially in spoken language.

What is the difference between omdat and want? Could the sentence use want instead?

Both omdat and want translate roughly as because, but:

omdat = subordinating conjunction
- It sends the finite verb to the end of its clause.
- De verliezer krijgt toch applaus, omdat zij degene is…
want = coordinating conjunction
- The clause after want keeps normal main-clause word order.
- De verliezer krijgt toch applaus, want zij is degene die dapper heeft gespeeld.

Differences:

Word order changes (verb-final after omdat, verb-second after want).
omdat focuses more on the reason (logical cause).
want often feels more explanatory or conversational, like you see..., because…

Your sentence can absolutely use want; it just slightly changes the feel and the word order:

De verliezer krijgt toch applaus, want zij is degene die dapper heeft gespeeld.

Is the comma before omdat required?

In modern Dutch:

A comma before omdat is not strictly required, but it is very common and recommended, especially in longer sentences.

So both are correct:

De verliezer krijgt toch applaus, omdat zij degene is…
De verliezer krijgt toch applaus omdat zij degene is…

The comma simply makes the sentence easier to read by clearly separating the main clause from the reason clause.

Why is it heeft gespeeld (present perfect) and not speelde (simple past)?

Both forms are possible, but there’s a difference in style and preference:

heeft gespeeld – present perfect (voltooid tegenwoordige tijd)
- Very common in spoken Dutch and in many written contexts.
- Often used when the result or relevance now is important.
speelde – simple past (onvoltooid verleden tijd)
- Also correct, slightly more narrative or story-like.
- More frequent in written stories, reports, literature.

You could say:

… die dapper heeft gespeeld. – totally natural in speech (and writing).
… die dapper speelde. – slightly more “storytelling” flavor.

In everyday Dutch, heeft gespeeld is usually more common than speelde for recent, concrete past actions.

Is dapper an adjective or an adverb here, and why doesn’t it get an -e ending?

Dapper is originally an adjective (brave), but in Dutch, the adverb form of many adjectives is identical to the base adjective—no extra ending.

Here:

gespeeld is the verb (past participle)
dapper describes how she played → it functions as an adverb.

No -e because:

You add -e mainly to adjectives before nouns:
- een dappere speler – a brave player
You do not add -e when it modifies a verb (adverbial use):
- Zij heeft dapper gespeeld. – She played bravely.

So dapper gespeeld = played bravely; dappere speler = brave player.

Could you say De verliezer krijgt toch een applausje instead? What changes?

Yes, that’s perfectly natural; it just sounds a bit more informal and friendly:

De verliezer krijgt toch applaus.
- Neutral, factual: “gets applause.”
De verliezer krijgt toch een applausje.
- applausje is a diminutive → makes it sound:
  - warmer
  - a bit more playful or affectionate
- Often used in announcements or casual speech:
  - Geef haar maar een applausje! – Give her a round of applause!

So the meaning is basically the same, but the tone shifts from neutral to slightly more informal and encouraging.