Dutch How And When To Use The Word Hoor? Help! I'm Totally Clueless...

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Friendship Sunday 22nd of January 2006 08:25:06 AM
How and when to use the word hoor? - Hello everyone,
In my Dutch studies, I am aware that the Dutch use this word "hoor" fairly frequently. However, I haven't the slightest idea how(at the beginning or end of a sentence or clause,etc.?...) and when(in what situations;circumstances,etc.?...) to use it...Since I very much want to make my Dutch sound more authentic :D, I really want to learn more about this little, confusing word...Are there any set rules about it, or is it a matter of a Dutch student simply "getting a feel" for when and how it is used by observation and/or imitation,by reading and hearing Dutch spoken? bedankt...

Mathieu Sunday 22nd of January 2006 07:34:11 PM
- It's about getting a feel, yes, here's the best guidline I can think of to not leave you completely clueless:

Application #1 - Making a sentence sound more friendly
"Is goed, hoor" - "That's ok"
"Ja hoor" - "Yes, sure"
"Ga maar hoor" - "You can go, it's ok" (in combination with 'maar' here, another polite word that's been discussed in a grammar topic on this forum)

Application #2 - Emphasizing a sentence; to really point out something
"Dat kan ik ook, hoor" - "I can do that too, you know"
"Ik heb een fiets, hoor" - "In fact I have a bicycle" (for example when responding to a question "should I give you a lift?")
"Het is groen, hoor" - "Come on, the traffic light is green, didn't you notice?"

Application #3 - Making it sound less enthusiastic or something

"Ja, hoor" - "Yeah, pretty much"
"Het kan wel hoor" - "Oh, it's possible, don't worry."

As you can see it's rather ambiguous, I guess it could mean totally different things in different situations, but at least here's some sort of indication. I can add that it does [b]never[/b] appear in a question construction and if in indicative mood, I think it's [b]always[/b] accompanied by "maar".

Igor Sunday 22nd of January 2006 07:40:37 PM
- As far as I can think of now, there are only two kinds of "hoor" in dutch. One is the verb 'hoor', which is the first person singular form of the infinitive "horen" (to hear).
Another one is some kind of adverb-thing which comes only at the end of a sentence, as in:
'Ik weet het niet hoor', in which one uses 'hoor' to emphasize the fact that he/she doesn't know.
or:
'Ik heb hem net gebeld hoor', in which, again, hoor is used to emphasize the phrase 'ik heb hem net gebeld'.

But then you also have things like:
'ik ben boos hoor', in which, I think but this could be personal, hoor is used to make the sentence ironical, so you would say this to pretend you are angry, but in fact are not.

So eventually I think it's a sort of "getting the feel" idea with the usage of 'hoor'. Maybe other people can discover more of a rule in it...

I think 'hoor' is especially (and maybe only) used in spoken language and I am sure that a more frequent usage of it will make you sound more like a native!

Friendship Tuesday 24th of January 2006 01:30:47 AM
Thank you gentlemen... - I really appreciate the insight you guys gave me on the use of "hoor". I have learned, for instance, that it seems to only be used at the end of a sentence, and that I should only use it when I speak Dutch, not write it. Since my ultimate goal in life is to speak Dutch like a native, I am now well on my way!

Phrasebase Archive
	Friendship	Sunday 22nd of January 2006 08:25:06 AM
	How and when to use the word hoor? - Hello everyone, In my Dutch studies, I am aware that the Dutch use this word "hoor" fairly frequently. However, I haven't the slightest idea how(at the beginning or end of a sentence or clause,etc.?...) and when(in what situations;circumstances,etc.?...) to use it...Since I very much want to make my Dutch sound more authentic :D, I really want to learn more about this little, confusing word...Are there any set rules about it, or is it a matter of a Dutch student simply "getting a feel" for when and how it is used by observation and/or imitation,by reading and hearing Dutch spoken? bedankt...
	Mathieu	Sunday 22nd of January 2006 07:34:11 PM
	- It's about getting a feel, yes, here's the best guidline I can think of to not leave you completely clueless: Application #1 - Making a sentence sound more friendly "Is goed, hoor" - "That's ok" "Ja hoor" - "Yes, sure" "Ga maar hoor" - "You can go, it's ok" (in combination with 'maar' here, another polite word that's been discussed in a grammar topic on this forum) Application #2 - Emphasizing a sentence; to really point out something "Dat kan ik ook, hoor" - "I can do that too, you know" "Ik heb een fiets, hoor" - "In fact I have a bicycle" (for example when responding to a question "should I give you a lift?") "Het is groen, hoor" - "Come on, the traffic light is green, didn't you notice?" Application #3 - Making it sound less enthusiastic or something "Ja, hoor" - "Yeah, pretty much" "Het kan wel hoor" - "Oh, it's possible, don't worry." As you can see it's rather ambiguous, I guess it could mean totally different things in different situations, but at least here's some sort of indication. I can add that it does [b]never[/b] appear in a question construction and if in indicative mood, I think it's [b]always[/b] accompanied by "maar".
	Igor	Sunday 22nd of January 2006 07:40:37 PM
	- As far as I can think of now, there are only two kinds of "hoor" in dutch. One is the verb 'hoor', which is the first person singular form of the infinitive "horen" (to hear). Another one is some kind of adverb-thing which comes only at the end of a sentence, as in: 'Ik weet het niet hoor', in which one uses 'hoor' to emphasize the fact that he/she doesn't know. or: 'Ik heb hem net gebeld hoor', in which, again, hoor is used to emphasize the phrase 'ik heb hem net gebeld'. But then you also have things like: 'ik ben boos hoor', in which, I think but this could be personal, hoor is used to make the sentence ironical, so you would say this to pretend you are angry, but in fact are not. So eventually I think it's a sort of "getting the feel" idea with the usage of 'hoor'. Maybe other people can discover more of a rule in it... I think 'hoor' is especially (and maybe only) used in spoken language and I am sure that a more frequent usage of it will make you sound more like a native!
	Friendship	Tuesday 24th of January 2006 01:30:47 AM
	Thank you gentlemen... - I really appreciate the insight you guys gave me on the use of "hoor". I have learned, for instance, that it seems to only be used at the end of a sentence, and that I should only use it when I speak Dutch, not write it. Since my ultimate goal in life is to speak Dutch like a native, I am now well on my way!