In dat bakje zitten stukjes komkommer zonder schil.

Dutch often uses so-called position verbs where English would simply use to be.

Here, zitten is natural because the cucumber pieces are understood as being contained in something: in dat bakje.

So:

• Er zijn stukjes komkommer in dat bakje = there are pieces of cucumber in that container
• In dat bakje zitten stukjes komkommer = in that container there are / sit pieces of cucumber

In everyday Dutch, zitten is very common for things that are:

• inside a container
• in an enclosed space
• attached or stuck somewhere

Because stukjes is plural, the verb is zitten and not zit.

This is because Dutch main clauses normally follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes in the second position.

The first position can be taken by many kinds of sentence elements, not just the subject.

So:

• Stukjes komkommer zitten in dat bakje.
• In dat bakje zitten stukjes komkommer.

Both are correct.

In the second version, In dat bakje comes first for emphasis or because the speaker wants to begin with the location. Since that first slot is already filled, the verb must come next:

• In dat bakje = first position
• zitten = second position
• stukjes komkommer = subject after the verb

This is very normal Dutch word order.

Bakje is the diminutive of bak.

• bak = container, tray, tub, bin, bowl-like container
• bakje = small container, little tray, little tub, little bowl

The exact English translation depends on context. Here, bakje could be:

• a small container
• a little bowl
• a little tray
• a tub

The ending -je is a very common Dutch diminutive ending.

Both dit and dat can go with bakje, but they mean different things:

• dit bakje = this container
• dat bakje = that container

Also, bakje is a het-word because all diminutives in Dutch are het-words.

For het-words, the demonstratives are:

• dit = this
• dat = that

Compare with de-words, which take:

• deze = this
• die = that

So:

• het bakje
• dit bakje
• dat bakje

Stukjes is the plural of stukje.

• stuk = piece
• stukje = small piece / little piece
• stukjes = small pieces

So stukjes komkommer means pieces of cucumber or small cucumber pieces.

The diminutive ending here is -je, and the plural becomes -jes:

• stukje
• stukjes

Dutch uses diminutives very often, sometimes more often than English does. Here it makes the pieces sound small and natural.

Because komkommer is being used like a material/substance noun here.

In stukjes komkommer, the meaning is:

• pieces of cucumber

This works like English:

• pieces of bread
• pieces of cheese
• pieces of cucumber

You are not talking about a cucumber as a countable whole item; you are talking about the substance or food item that the pieces are made of.

So:

• stukjes komkommer = pieces of cucumber

Not:

• stukjes een komkommer ❌

Zonder schil means without peel, without skin, or peeled, depending on the context.

• zonder = without
• schil = peel, rind, skin

There is no article because Dutch often omits the article in expressions of this kind when speaking generally.

So:

• komkommer zonder schil = cucumber without peel / peeled cucumber

This is similar to English expressions like:

• without sugar
• without skin
• without peel

It sounds general, not like a specific peel.

Because schil refers to the peel as a general covering/material, not to several separate individual peels.

So stukjes komkommer zonder schil means the cucumber pieces come from cucumber that has had the peel removed.

Using the singular here is natural in Dutch. It is similar to English:

• pieces of cucumber without peel
• skinless chicken

You are describing the condition of the food, not counting separate peels.

Yes. In this sentence, stukjes komkommer is the subject.

You can tell because:

• it is the thing that is located somewhere
• the verb agrees with it in the plural: zitten

So the structure is roughly:

• In dat bakje = adverbial phrase of place
• zitten = finite verb
• stukjes komkommer zonder schil = subject noun phrase

Even though the subject comes after the verb, it is still the subject.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is also correct:

• Stukjes komkommer zonder schil zitten in dat bakje.

The difference is mainly emphasis and information structure.

• In dat bakje zitten stukjes komkommer zonder schil.
  Starts with the location: In that container...

• Stukjes komkommer zonder schil zitten in dat bakje.
  Starts with the thing itself: Pieces of cucumber without peel...

Both are natural. The original sentence sounds especially natural if the speaker is pointing out what is in the container.

Yes, a few things:

1. Dutch often uses position verbs

   • English: There are pieces of cucumber in that container
   • Dutch: In dat bakje zitten stukjes komkommer...

2. Word order changes when another element comes first

   • If the sentence starts with In dat bakje, the verb must come next.

3. Diminutives are very common

   • bakje, stukjes

4. No article before material nouns

   • stukjes komkommer, not stukjes de komkommer

5. Food descriptions often use bare nouns

   • zonder schil

So although the sentence may look unusual compared with English, it is very normal Dutch.