Questions & Answers about Hij is toch onze vriend.
What does toch mean in this sentence?
In Hij is toch onze vriend, toch is a very common Dutch particle with no single perfect English equivalent.
Here it often means something like:
- after all
- you know
- actually
- come on, remember
So the sentence can feel like:
- He is our friend, after all.
- He is our friend, you know.
- But he is our friend, isn’t he? (depending on tone and context)
The exact nuance depends a lot on intonation and situation. Dutch uses toch very often to appeal to shared knowledge, soften a statement, or remind someone of something they should already know.
Why is the word order Hij is toch onze vriend and not something else?
This is normal Dutch main-clause word order:
- Hij = subject
- is = finite verb
- toch = adverb/particle
- onze vriend = predicate noun phrase
Dutch main clauses usually put the finite verb in second position. That is exactly what happens here:
- Hij
- is
- rest
- is
So the structure is very standard and natural.
Why is it and not ?