Ze houdt haar duim omhoog om te laten zien dat het bloeden is gestopt.

Ze can mean either she or they, depending on context.

In this sentence, it is understood as she because:

• houdt is singular here
• haar duim means her thumb

So the full meaning is clearly about one female person: She holds her thumb up ...

If the sentence meant they, the rest of the sentence would usually make that clear from context.

Houdt is the third-person singular form of the verb houden.

The verb houden means to hold. Its present tense is:

• ik houd
• jij houdt
• hij/zij houdt
• wij houden
• jullie houden
• zij houden

So with ze meaning she, you need houdt.

Haar means her.

So:

• haar duim = her thumb
• zijn duim = his thumb
• de duim = the thumb

Dutch often uses a possessive word like mijn, je, zijn, haar, etc. when talking about body parts, especially when it is important whose body part it is.

So ze houdt haar duim omhoog is the natural way to say she is holding her thumb up.

Omhoog means up or upward.

In this sentence, haar duim omhoog houden means to hold her thumb up.

This is a very common combination:

• omhoog kijken = to look up
• iets omhoog houden = to hold something up
• omhoog gaan = to go up

So duim omhoog is basically thumb up.

Yes, very close.

Een duim omhoog or je duim omhoog houden refers to the gesture of raising your thumb to show something positive, okay, or successful.

In this sentence, though, it is being used more literally to show that the bleeding has stopped. So she is holding her thumb up as visible proof that it is no longer bleeding.

Om te laten zien means to show, but literally it is closer to:

• om = in order to
• te = to
• laten = let
• zien = see

So literally: in order to let see

In natural English, that becomes simply to show.

This is a very common Dutch structure:

• Ik bel om te vragen... = I’m calling to ask...
• Ze komt om te helpen. = She is coming to help.
• Hij opent de doos om te kijken wat erin zit. = He opens the box to see what is inside.

Dutch uses om ... te to express purpose: in order to, so as to.

Here:

• Ze houdt haar duim omhoog = She holds her thumb up
• om te laten zien ... = to show ...

So the second part explains why she is doing it.

A good way to remember it:

• om ... te often answers the question for what purpose?

Because laten zien is the normal Dutch expression for to show.

Compare:

• zien = to see
• laten zien = to show

Literally, laten zien means to let someone see.

Examples:

• Ik zie het. = I see it.
• Ik laat het zien. = I show it.

So in your sentence, om te laten zien dat... means to show that...

Dat here means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• om te laten zien = to show
• dat het bloeden is gestopt = that the bleeding has stopped

It links the idea of showing with the information being shown.

This is very common:

• Ik weet dat hij komt. = I know that he is coming.
• Ze zegt dat het klopt. = She says that it is correct.
• Hij ziet dat het regent. = He sees that it is raining.

Yes, bloeden is normally a verb meaning to bleed.

But Dutch can also turn an infinitive into a noun by using het:

• eten = to eat
• het eten = the food / the eating
• lopen = to walk
• het lopen = the walking
• bloeden = to bleed
• het bloeden = the bleeding

So het bloeden means the bleeding.

This is very natural Dutch.

Yes, but there is a difference in feel.

• het bloeden = the bleeding, the act/process of bleeding
• de bloeding = the hemorrhage / the bleed / the medical bleeding event

In everyday speech, het bloeden is very natural when talking about blood coming out and then stopping.

So:

• Het bloeden is gestopt. = The bleeding has stopped.

That sounds straightforward and idiomatic.

Because stoppen can take zijn when it means to stop in the sense of to come to an end.

Here, het bloeden is gestopt means the bleeding has stopped.

This is similar to verbs of change or movement that often use zijn in the perfect tense:

• Hij is gekomen. = He has come.
• Ze is gevallen. = She has fallen.
• Het is begonnen. = It has begun.
• Het is gestopt. = It has stopped.

If you use hebben, it is usually with a more active meaning, depending on the verb and context. In this sentence, is gestopt is the correct natural choice.

Because after dat, Dutch uses subordinate clause word order.

In a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb typically moves toward the end of the clause. That is why Dutch learners often notice a different word order after words like:

• dat = that
• omdat = because
• als = if/when
• terwijl = while

So:

• main clause: Het bloeden is gestopt.
• subordinate clause: ... dat het bloeden is gestopt.

With two verbs, Dutch places the verb group at the end area of the clause. You may also come across dat het bloeden gestopt is. Both orders are possible in Dutch, though preferences can vary by style and region.

Yes.

Dutch often uses the simple present tense where English uses either:

• the simple present, or
• the present continuous

So:

• Ze houdt haar duim omhoog can mean
  • She holds her thumb up
  • or more naturally in context, She is holding her thumb up

Dutch does have ways to emphasize an ongoing action, but usually the simple present is enough.

Sometimes adverbs can move, but haar duim omhoog houden is a fixed and natural combination.

So this sentence sounds very normal:

• Ze houdt haar duim omhoog.

Other placements may sound less natural or change the emphasis.

For a learner, the safest pattern is:

• [subject] + houden + [object] + omhoog

Example:

• Hij houdt zijn hand omhoog. = He holds his hand up.

The sentence has three parts:

1. Ze houdt haar duim omhoog

   • main clause
   • She holds her thumb up

2. om te laten zien

   • purpose clause
   • to show

3. dat het bloeden is gestopt

   • subordinate clause after dat
   • that the bleeding has stopped

So the structure is:

main action + purpose + content of what is being shown

That makes the whole sentence easy to understand once you break it into chunks.