Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

Read the word list out loud once more.

Breakdown of Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

• lezen: to read
• hardop: out loud
• de woordenlijst: the word list
• nog eens: once more

Questions & Answers about Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

In Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop, what exactly is lees grammatically?

Lees is the imperative form of the verb lezen (to read).

• Infinitive: lezen
• Stem (used for imperative): lees

In Dutch, the imperative (a command or instruction) usually uses the stem of the verb:

• Lees! – Read!
• Kom! – Come!
• Schrijf! – Write!

So Lees de woordenlijst… literally means Read the word list… as an instruction.

Why is it lees and not lezen or leest here?

Because in an instruction/command you use the imperative, not the normal present tense.

For lezen:

• ik lees – I read
• jij/je leest – you read
• hij/zij/het leest – he/she/it reads
• wij/jullie/zij lezen – we/you(pl)/they read

But the imperative (command) is:

• lees – Read!

You do not say:

• ✗ Lezen de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.
• ✗ Leest de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

Those would be wrong in this context; the imperative must be lees.

Where is the word you in this sentence? Why isn’t jij or je written?

In Dutch imperatives, the subject you is usually left out. It is understood from the verb form lees that the speaker is talking to you.

So:

• Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.
  ≈ (Jij) lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

You can add the pronoun for emphasis:

• Lees jij de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

But in normal instructions (in books, exercises, recipes, etc.) Dutch almost always omits jij/je and simply uses the bare imperative: Lees…

What does nog eens mean exactly? Is it just “again”?

Nog eens basically means again / once more, but with some nuance.

• nog – again / still / yet (here: again)
• eens – literally once, but very often used as a softening word in requests

So nog eens can be understood as:

• once again, one more time

In commands like Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop, nog eens makes the instruction sound a bit softer and more friendly than just nog or nothing at all.

Does eens here literally mean “once”, or is it just some kind of filler word?

Both ideas are present, depending on context.

Literally, eens means once / one time (similar to einmal in German). But in everyday speech, especially in imperatives, it often works as a softening particle:

• Lees de woordenlijst. – Read the word list. (neutral, can sound a bit direct)
• Lees de woordenlijst eens. – Do read the word list (will you), more friendly / less abrupt.

In nog eens, you can still feel the original “once” meaning (once more), but it also makes the command sound less harsh.

What is the difference between nog, nog eens, and nog een keer?

All three can be translated as again, but there are nuances:

• nog on its own:

  • Can mean again, still, or yet, depending on context.
  • As again in a command:
    • Lees de woordenlijst nog hardop. – Read the word list aloud again.
      (Perfectly correct, possibly a bit more neutral/direct.)

• nog eens:

  • Means once again / once more, but with a soft, often friendly tone.
  • Common in instructions: Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

• nog een keer:

  • More literally one more time / one more go.
  • Slightly more explicit about the number of repetitions:
    • Lees de woordenlijst nog een keer hardop. – Read the word list aloud one more time.

In practice, nog eens and nog een keer are often interchangeable, with nog eens sounding a bit more natural and soft in many spoken contexts.

What exactly does hardop mean, and how is it different from just “loud”?

Hardop means out loud / aloud, not simply loud.

• hardop lezen – to read aloud
• in stilte lezen / voor jezelf lezen – to read silently, to yourself

It does not necessarily mean you must be very loud; it just means that the words are audible, not only in your head.

Related words:

• hard – loud (volume), hard (not soft), tough, etc.
• luid – loud (formal/literary)
• luidop – a regional/Belgian variant of hardop, also “out loud”.

So Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop specifically means Read the word list again so that you can be heard, not silently.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Lees nog eens de woordenlijst hardop instead?

The original order is the most natural:

• Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.

Other orders are possible but change the feel or sound a bit:

• Lees nog eens de woordenlijst hardop. – Understandable and not wrong, but sounds less standard; the placement of nog eens can feel slightly unusual here.
• Lees de woordenlijst hardop nog eens. – Also possible, but the focus shifts; it can sound as if you are adding nog eens as an afterthought.

For clear, neutral Dutch (especially in textbooks, instructions, etc.), Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop is the preferred pattern:

[verb] + [object] + [adverbs like nog eens, hardop]

Why is it de woordenlijst and not het woordenlijst? What kind of noun is this?

Woordenlijst is a de-word noun:

• de woordenlijst – the word list
• de woordenlijsten – the word lists

It is a compound noun, made from:

• woord – word
• lijst – list

So woordenlijst literally means list of words.

The gender of a compound noun in Dutch is usually the gender of the last part (the “head”):

• de lijst → therefore de woordenlijst

That is why you say de woordenlijst, never het woordenlijst.

Could I also say Lees de woordenlijst nog een keer hardop? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can, and it is correct.

• Lees de woordenlijst nog een keer hardop. – Read the word list aloud one more time.

Differences in nuance:

• nog eens:
  
  • Very common in spoken Dutch.
  • Slightly softer and more idiomatic in many contexts.
• nog een keer:
  
  • Sounds a bit more literal: one more time.
  • Slightly more explicit that it is about one extra repetition.

In most everyday situations, both are perfectly acceptable; nog eens often feels a bit more natural in quick spoken instructions.

How would I say this more politely or formally in Dutch?

You can make it more polite by using u and a more formal verb form or structure:

1. Leest u de woordenlijst nog eens hardop.
   – Please read the word list aloud again.
   (Polite imperative with u.)

2. Even more polite/indirect:

   • Wilt u de woordenlijst nog eens hardop lezen?
     – Would you please read the word list aloud again?

Adding alsjeblieft (informal) or alstublieft (formal) can also soften it:

• Leest u de woordenlijst nog eens hardop, alstublieft.

Is Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop addressed to one person or to several people?

The form lees can be addressed to:

• one person (singular you)
• or a group, especially in classroom / instruction contexts

In modern Dutch, the imperative stem (lees) is normally used for both singular and plural commands when no pronoun follows.

If you really want to make it clear you are speaking to several people, you can add jullie:

• Lees de woordenlijst nog eens hardop, jullie.
  (Less common; adding jullie here is mainly for emphasis.)

Usually, the context (a teacher talking to the whole class, for example) makes it clear whether it is singular or plural.