Mijn hersenen zijn moe na het examen.

My brain is tired after the exam.

Breakdown of Mijn hersenen zijn moe na het examen.

• zijn: to be
• mijn: my
• na: after
• moe: tired
• het examen: the exam
• de hersenen: the brain

Questions & Answers about Mijn hersenen zijn moe na het examen.

Why is hersenen plural when in English we say “my brain” (singular)?

In Dutch, de hersenen is grammatically plural and is almost always used in the plural form, even when you mean “the brain” as a single organ.

• de hersenen = the brain (literally “the brains”)
• So you must say mijn hersenen zijn (my brain is), not mijn hersenen is.

Dutch tends to think of “the brain” as a collection of parts (like “brains” in English when talking about an animal’s brains), so the plural is standard.

Can I say mijn brein instead of mijn hersenen? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say mijn brein and it’s correct, but there is a nuance:

• (de) hersenen – the normal, everyday word when talking about your brain feeling tired, stressed, etc.
• (het) brein – a bit more technical or stylistic, often used in contexts like intelligence, neurology, psychology, or as a more “literary” word.

Mijn hersenen zijn moe sounds more natural in daily speech than mijn brein is moe, though both are understandable.

Why is it zijn moe and not is moe?

The verb must agree with the grammatical number of the subject:

• Subject: mijn hersenen
  
  • hersenen is plural → “they”
• Therefore, the verb must be plural: zijn (“are”), not is (“is”).

So:

• Mijn hersenen zijn moe. = My brain is tired. (literally: My brains are tired.)

Could I say Mijn hersenen zijn vermoeid instead of moe? What’s the difference between moe and vermoeid?

You can say vermoeid, but:

• moe – the most common, neutral word for “tired”.
  • Mijn hersenen zijn moe. sounds very natural and colloquial.
• vermoeid – a bit more formal or descriptive, often used in writing, medical contexts, or more carefully phrased speech.
  • Mijn hersenen zijn vermoeid na het examen. is correct, just slightly more formal/technical.

In everyday conversation, moe is the default choice.

Why don’t we say de hersenen here? Why is it just mijn hersenen without an article?

In Dutch, when you use a possessive pronoun (mijn, jouw, zijn, haar, etc.), you normally do not use an article:

• mijn hersenen (my brain)
• jouw auto (your car)
• zijn huis (his house)

You don’t say:

• de mijn hersenen or de zijn huis – that’s incorrect.

So mijn hersenen is the correct form; the possessive replaces de/het.

Is there a singular of hersenen like hersen?

There is a form hersen, but you almost never use it on its own in normal sentences.

• In practice, people say de hersenen or mijn hersenen when they mean “the brain”.
• hersen- appears in compound words:
  • hersenbloeding – brain hemorrhage
  • hersenschudding – concussion
  • hersenonderzoek – brain research

So for a simple sentence like this one, always use (mijn) hersenen in the plural.

Why is it het examen and not de examen?

Every Dutch noun is either de-word or het-word, and you just have to learn which.

• het examen – is a het-word.
• Example:
  • het examen was moeilijk. – The exam was difficult.
  • Ik maak het examen morgen. – I’m taking the exam tomorrow.

There is no rule that lets you guess this perfectly; it’s mostly memorization and exposure.

Why is the phrase na het examen at the end? Could I say Na het examen zijn mijn hersenen moe instead?

Both word orders are correct:

1. Mijn hersenen zijn moe na het examen.
   – Neutral, slightly more focus on mijn hersenen zijn moe.

2. Na het examen zijn mijn hersenen moe.
   – Puts more emphasis on after the exam (contrast with before).

Dutch main clause word order allows you to move time expressions (like na het examen) to the beginning for emphasis, but the verb (zijn) must stay in second position:

• Na het examen zijn mijn hersenen moe. ✔
• Na het examen mijn hersenen zijn moe. ✘ (wrong word order)

Why do we say na het examen and not just na examen?

With na (“after”), Dutch almost always uses a determiner (article, possessive, etc.) before a noun:

• na het examen – after the exam
• na de lunch – after lunch
• na mijn werk – after my work

Using na with a bare noun (na examen) is not normal Dutch. You need het here: na het examen.

How do you pronounce hersenen and examen?

Rough guide (not exact IPA):

• hersenen: HER-suh-nuh

  • her – like English “hair” but shorter
  • se – like “suh”
  • nen – like “nuh”
  • Stress on the first syllable: HER-suh-nuh

• examen: ek-ZAA-mun

  • ek – like “ek”
  • zaa – like “zah” (longer “a”)
  • men – like “mun”
  • Main stress on the middle: ek-ZAA-mun

Is saying Mijn hersenen zijn moe natural, or is there a more common way to express this idea?

It is natural and correct, especially if you want to emphasize mental tiredness.

Other very common ways to say something similar:

• Ik ben moe in mijn hoofd. – I’m tired in my head.
• Mijn hoofd is moe. – My head is tired.
• Ik ben helemaal op na het examen. – I’m completely drained after the exam.

All of these are idiomatic; Mijn hersenen zijn moe na het examen is slightly more vivid/figurative, which can sound expressive in a natural way.