Learn Hardcore Dutch: Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig, maar Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig. - They find that cartoon funny, but Anna calls it a bit childish.

Why is it vinden here? In English it’s They find that cartoon funny, but we’d normally say They think that cartoon is funny. How does vinden work in Dutch?

In Dutch, vinden is very often used to talk about opinions:

Ik vind die film leuk. → I think that film is nice / I like that film.
Wij vinden het moeilijk. → We think it’s difficult.

Structure:
[subject] + vinden + [object] + [adjective]

So in your sentence:

Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig
= They think that cartoon is funny / They find that cartoon funny.

You could also say:

Zij vinden die tekenfilm leuk. → They like that cartoon.

Vinden in this sense does not mean physically finding something; it’s about an opinion or impression.

Why Zij and not Ze? What’s the difference between zij and ze?

Both zij and ze mean she or they, depending on context.

In your sentence Zij = they (3rd person plural).

Zij (stressed form) is used:
- When you want to emphasize the subject
  - Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig, niet ik.
- At the beginning of a sentence more often in careful/neutral speech.
Ze (unstressed form) is more casual and very common in spoken Dutch:
- Ze vinden die tekenfilm grappig.

So here you could absolutely say:

Ze vinden die tekenfilm grappig, maar Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig.

Meaning stays the same; Zij just sounds a bit more explicit/emphatic or neutral/formal.

Why is it die tekenfilm and not dat tekenfilm or deze tekenfilm? How do die, dat, and deze work?

Tekenfilm is a de-word: de tekenfilm.

The basic rules for demonstratives in Dutch:

For de-words (and all plurals):
- deze = this
- die = that
For het-words:
- dit = this
- dat = that

So:

die tekenfilm = that cartoon
deze tekenfilm = this cartoon

You cannot say dat tekenfilm, because dat goes with het-words, and tekenfilm is a de-word.

A mini-table:

Type	Near (“this”)	Far (“that”)
de-word	deze	die
het-word	dit	dat
plural	deze	die

Why is hem used for a film? I thought hem was only for males.

In Dutch, object pronouns like hem follow grammatical gender, not natural (biological) gender in many cases.

Tekenfilm is a de-word, so if you replace die tekenfilm with a pronoun, you normally use:
- hij (subject)
- hem (direct object)

So:

Die tekenfilm is grappig. Ik vind hem leuk.
→ That cartoon is funny. I like it.

This doesn’t mean the cartoon is male. It simply follows the de-word pronoun pattern:
de-woord → hij / hem

For het-words, you would use:

het for both subject and object:
- Dat huis is groot. Ik vind het mooi.
  (That house is big. I find it beautiful / I like it.)

In your sentence, hem clearly refers to die tekenfilm.

Why is there no is in Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig? In English we’d say calls him a bit childish or says he is a bit childish.

The verb noemen means to call, to label, or sometimes to name.

The structure here is:

[subject] + noemen + [direct object] + [complement]

Anna = subject
hem = direct object (the thing she is calling something)
een beetje kinderachtig = object complement (what she calls him)

So:

Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig.
= Anna calls it a bit childish.

You do not add an extra is:

❌ Anna noemt hem is kinderachtig.
❌ Anna noemt dat hij kinderachtig is. (this changes the construction)

If you want a “that”-clause, you change the verb:

Anna vindt dat hij een beetje kinderachtig is.
= Anna thinks (that) it is a bit childish.

So:

With noemen: noemen + object + adjective
With vinden: vinden dat + [subordinate clause with “is”]

Can you explain the word order around maar and the comma: …, maar Anna noemt hem…? Shouldn’t the verb come right after maar?

Maar is a coordinating conjunction (like en, of, want).

Rule: after a coordinating conjunction, the next clause has normal main-clause word order (verb in second position).

Your sentence has two main clauses:

Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig
Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig

They are joined by maar:

Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig, maar Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig.

In the second clause, Anna is in the first position and noemt is in the second position:

Anna (1st) noemt (2nd) hem een beetje kinderachtig (rest)

You would not invert after maar:

❌ …, maar noemt Anna hem een beetje kinderachtig. (wrong here)

That kind of inversion happens after subordinating conjunctions (like omdat, dat, terwijl, als), not after maar.

The comma before maar is:

Very common and recommended in writing
Often omitted in short sentences in informal contexts, but it’s fine (and clearer) to use it.

What’s the difference between grappig and leuk? Could I say Zij vinden die tekenfilm leuk instead?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

grappig = funny, makes you laugh
- Focus on humor: jokes, silliness, comedy.
- Die tekenfilm is grappig. → That cartoon is funny.
leuk = nice, enjoyable, fun, pleasant
- More general enjoyment or positive feeling.
- Die tekenfilm is leuk. → That cartoon is nice/fun.

In your sentence:

Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig
= They think it’s funny (it makes them laugh).

You can say:

Zij vinden die tekenfilm leuk.
→ Totally correct; means they find it enjoyable in general, not necessarily focusing on jokes.

What exactly does een beetje do in een beetje kinderachtig? Is it necessary?

Een beetje literally means a little / a bit, and it softens the adjective, making it less strong:

kinderachtig = childish (often clearly negative)
een beetje kinderachtig = a bit childish, kind of childish (softer, milder criticism)

Function:

It acts as a degree modifier of the adjective:
- een beetje kinderachtig
- een beetje moe (a bit tired)
- een beetje duur (a bit expensive)

Without een beetje:

Anna noemt hem kinderachtig.
= Anna calls it childish. (stronger, more direct)

With een beetje, Anna’s judgment sounds more polite or less harsh.

Why is kinderachtig just an adjective here without a noun? Why not something like een beetje een kinderachtige film?

There are two different patterns:

Attributive adjective (before a noun, with an article):
- een kinderachtige film = a childish film
- een grappige tekenfilm = a funny cartoon
Predicative / complement adjective (after a verb, describing a noun or pronoun):
- Die film is kinderachtig.
- Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig.
- Anna noemt hem (een beetje) kinderachtig.

In your sentence, kinderachtig is an object complement after noemen, telling us what Anna calls the film. There is no need to repeat film here, because hem already refers to it.

Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig.
= Anna calls it a bit childish.

If you say:

Anna noemt het een kinderachtige film.

then you are using an attributive adjective again (kinderachtige film) as a noun phrase. Both are possible, but they are slightly different constructions.

How are vinden and noemen different in terms of meaning? They both seem to express an opinion.

They are related but not the same:

vinden = to think, to be of the opinion (subjective feeling)
- Zij vinden die tekenfilm grappig.
  → They think that cartoon is funny / They like that cartoon.
- Structure: vinden + object + adjective
- Focus: their personal opinion.
noemen = to call, to label, to refer to something as X
- Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig.
  → Anna calls it a bit childish.
- Structure: noemen + object + complement
- Focus: the label or name Anna is giving it.

Subtle difference:

With vinden, you talk about how you experience something.
With noemen, you talk about the wording/label you use for it.

You couldn’t simply replace one with the other:

❌ Anna vindt hem een beetje kinderachtig is actually okay and means:
→ Anna thinks it’s a bit childish. (her opinion)
Anna noemt hem een beetje kinderachtig
→ Anna calls it a bit childish. (how she describes it, what she calls it)

So both can be used in this context, but they highlight a different angle.