Als mijn wang of lip droog aanvoelt, drink ik eerst water en wacht ik even.

Here als means if in a general, repeated situation.

So:

• Als mijn wang of lip droog aanvoelt... = If my cheek or lip feels dry...

In Dutch, als is very common for conditions like this, especially in everyday language.

It can sound a bit like when in English too, because the sentence describes a usual response: whenever that happens, I do this.

Because als introduces a subordinate clause, and in Dutch subordinate clauses the conjugated verb usually goes to the end.

So the normal main-clause idea would be:

• Mijn wang of lip voelt droog aan.

But after als, it becomes:

• Als mijn wang of lip droog aanvoelt...

That final verb position is one of the most important Dutch word-order patterns to learn.

Aanvoelen is a separable verb. In this sentence it means something like:

• to feel
• to feel to the touch
• to feel like / seem

In a main clause, separable verbs split:

• Mijn lip voelt droog aan.

In a subordinate clause, they usually stay together:

• ...dat mijn lip droog aanvoelt
• als mijn lip droog aanvoelt

So aan + voelt becomes aanvoelt.

Droog is the complement of the verb aanvoelen. It describes how the cheek or lip feels.

In Dutch main clauses with separable verbs, you get:

• Mijn wang voelt droog aan.

In subordinate clauses, the separable verb comes together at the end, and the complement stays before it:

• ...mijn wang droog aanvoelt

So droog aanvoelt is the expected order here.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Als mijn wang of lip droog aanvoelt, ...

When a clause like that comes first, the main clause follows with inversion: the verb comes before the subject.

So:

• ..., drink ik eerst water...

not:

• ..., ik drink eerst water...

This is a standard Dutch word-order rule. The first position is already taken by the whole als clause, so the finite verb must come next.

Because Dutch often avoids repeating the possessive when it applies to both nouns.

So:

• mijn wang of lip

means:

• my cheek or lip

The second mijn is understood automatically.

You can repeat it:

• mijn wang of mijn lip

but it is less economical and usually unnecessary here.

The singular is used because the sentence means if my cheek or lip feels dry—that is, either one body part.

It is not talking about cheeks and lips in general as a plural set. It is talking about a possible single affected area.

So singular sounds natural here.

If you wanted to talk about both in general, you might say something like:

• Als mijn wangen of lippen droog aanvoelen...

But that changes the meaning slightly.

Because they already have the possessive mijn.

In Dutch, just like in English, you normally do not use an article together with a possessive:

• mijn wang = my cheek
• not de mijn wang

So that part is completely normal.

Eerst means first.

So:

• drink ik eerst water = I first drink water / more natural English: I drink water first

It comes before water here, which is a normal position for it.

You may also see adverbs move around a little depending on emphasis, but drink ik eerst water is very natural.

Because water is being used as an uncountable substance, not as a specific identifiable thing.

After verbs like drinken, Dutch often uses the bare noun:

• Ik drink water.
• Zij drinkt koffie.

You would use het water only if you mean some specific water already known in the context, such as:

• Ik drink het water dat op tafel staat.

But in this sentence, it simply means I drink some water / I drink water.

Even is a very common Dutch word. Here it means something like:

• for a moment
• briefly
• just

So:

• wacht ik even = I wait a moment / I wait a bit

It often makes a sentence sound softer and more natural in everyday Dutch. Dutch speakers use even a lot in casual speech.

Examples:

• Ik kijk even. = I’ll have a quick look.
• Wacht even. = Wait a moment.

Sometimes, but aanvoelen is especially natural when talking about how something feels to the touch or seems physically.

Compare:

• Mijn lip voelt droog aan. = very natural
• Mijn lip voelt droog. = possible, but less complete-sounding to many speakers

So in this sentence, droog aanvoelt is the more idiomatic choice.

Yes. Dutch uses the present tense here for a general routine or habit.

So the sentence means something like:

• Whenever my cheek or lip feels dry, I first drink water and wait a bit.

This is the same kind of thing English often does with the present simple for habits and general truths.