Dutch often changes the meaning of a word you already know by putting a prefix (a short piece glued to the front of a word) before it. Four of the most useful ones: _on-_ usually means not, _her-_ means again, _mis-_ means wrongly and _oud-_ means former. So _onmogelijk_ is impossible, _herschrijven_ is to rewrite, a _misverstand_ is a misunderstanding and an _oud-collega_ is a former colleague.
The pattern
Put the prefix in front of a word you know: _on-_ makes it negative, _her-_ repeats it, _mis-_ makes it go wrong and _oud-_ puts a person's role in the past.
- _on-_ goes mostly with adjectives (though not with every adjective), sometimes with nouns: _duidelijk_ becomes _onduidelijk_ (unclear), _bekend_ becomes _onbekend_ (unknown), _zin_ becomes _onzin_ (nonsense).
- _her-_ goes with verbs and the nouns made from them: _herhalen_ (repeat), _heropenen_ (reopen), _de herkansing_ (the resit). The prefix stays attached ([inseparable verbs](#/lesson/inseparable-verbs)) and the past participle (the form after _heb_ or _is_) has no _ge-_: _herschreven_, _heropend_.
- _mis-_ goes with verbs and nouns: _misbruik_ (misuse, abuse), _mislukken_ (to fail), _misleiden_ (to mislead). Most _mis-_ verbs also drop _ge-_: _mislukt_ ([participles without ge-](#/lesson/participles-without-ge)). A few, with the stress on _mis_, are separable: _misgaan_ (go wrong) gives _Het gaat mis_ and _Het is misgegaan_.
- _oud-_ goes before a person or a role: _oud-collega_, _oud-leerling_, _oud-burgemeester_. Write it with a [hyphen](#/lesson/trema-and-hyphen).
Examples
| Het is onmogelijk om dat vandaag nog af te krijgen. | It is impossible to get that done today. |
|---|---|
| De brief van de gemeente was nogal onduidelijk, dus Priya heeft gebeld. | The letter from the municipality was rather unclear, so Priya called. |
| Huizen in Utrecht zijn voor starters bijna onbetaalbaar geworden. | Houses in Utrecht have become almost unaffordable for first-time buyers. |
| Daan moet zijn motivatiebrief herschrijven voordat hij hem verstuurt. | Daan has to rewrite his cover letter before he sends it. |
| Kunt u de vraag even herhalen? De verbinding was slecht. | Could you repeat the question? The connection was bad. |
| Na de verbouwing wordt de bibliotheek in maart heropend. | After the renovation, the library will be reopened in March. |
| Door een misverstand over de tijd stond Mei een uur te vroeg op het perron. | Because of a misunderstanding about the time, Mei was on the platform an hour early. |
| De politie onderzoekt misbruik van persoonsgegevens bij een webwinkel. | The police are investigating misuse of personal data at an online shop. |
| Mijn eerste poging om stroopwafels te bakken is compleet mislukt. | My first attempt to bake stroopwafels failed completely. |
| Op de verjaardag van Sanne kwam Ahmed zijn oud-collega Joris tegen. | At Sanne's birthday, Ahmed ran into his former colleague Joris. |
Why it works this way
Think of a prefix as a button on a remote control. The word underneath stays the same; the button changes what happens to it. Put pairs side by side and you can hear the switch:
- _Het rooster is duidelijk._ / _Het rooster is onduidelijk._ (clear / unclear)
- _Ik schrijf de mail._ / _Ik herschrijf de mail._ (I write / I rewrite)
- _Hij gebruikt de gegevens._ / _Hij misbruikt de gegevens._ (he uses / he misuses)
- _Joris is een oude collega van me._ / _Joris is een oud-collega van me._ (old, or from years ago / former: he and I are no longer colleagues)
English spreads not over un-, in-, im-, il- and dis-. Dutch mostly uses _on-_: _oneerlijk_ (unfair, dishonest), _ongeduldig_ (impatient), _onzeker_ (uncertain, insecure). Loanwords tend to keep their own prefix: _illegaal_, _inactief_. And English un- can also undo an action (unpack, unlock); Dutch _on-_ cannot do that.
Register matters too. _Her-_ words often sound written and official: a letter from the gemeente announces that your street will be _heringericht_, while at home you would more likely say _opnieuw ingericht_. For many verbs, _opnieuw_ or _nog een keer_ sounds more natural in conversation.
This is also why prefixes help you read. Cover the prefix, read the word you know, then add the meaning back: _onbereikbaar_ is _bereikbaar_ (reachable) switched off. A _herkansing_ is a _kans_ (chance) again: a resit. Treat this as a strong first guess, not a guarantee. An _onweer_ is a thunderstorm, and _onkosten_ are expenses. _Ontvangen_ (receive) has a different prefix, _ont-_. And _herfst_ (autumn) and _mist_ (fog) have no prefix at all. You will meet the endings that build words in [suffixes](#/lesson/suffixes).
Remember: _on-_ says no, _her-_ says again, _mis-_ says oops, _oud-_ says used to.
Watch out
- Not: _Lotte moet haar koffer nog onpakken._ Say: _Lotte moet haar koffer nog uitpakken._ (_on-_ does not undo an action the way English un- does)
- Not: _Ik schrijf de offerte morgen her._ Say: _Ik herschrijf de offerte morgen._ (_her-_ stays attached to the verb)
- Not: _Mijn eerste poging is helemaal gemislukt._ Say: _Mijn eerste poging is helemaal mislukt._ (_mislukken_ takes no _ge-_)
- Not: _Ik kwam in de supermarkt mijn oud collega Bas tegen._ Say: _Ik kwam in de supermarkt mijn oud-collega Bas tegen._ (write _oud-_ for former with a hyphen)
- Not: _Mijn oud-huis stond in Zwolle._ Say: _Mijn vorige huis stond in Zwolle._ (_oud-_ meaning former goes with people and their roles, not with things)
Quick check
- Choose the right prefix: _De uitleg in de mail was ...duidelijk, dus Yara heeft de klantenservice gebeld._ (_on_, _her_ or _mis_)
- Fix the sentence: _Bas heeft zijn cv gisteren geherschreven._
- Choose: _Carlos dacht dat de vergadering om tien uur begon, maar die begon om negen uur. Dat was een ..._ (_misbruik_ or _misverstand_)
- Choose the correct spelling: _In de trein kwam Emma haar ... tegen._ (_oud collega_, _oud-collega_ or _oudcollega_)
Answers
- _on_: _onduidelijk_ means unclear; _herduidelijk_ and _misduidelijk_ do not exist.
- _Bas heeft zijn cv gisteren herschreven._ Verbs with _her-_ take no _ge-_.
- _misverstand_: Carlos understood the time wrongly; _misbruik_ means misuse.
- _oud-collega_: _oud-_ meaning former is written with a hyphen.
Use it today
Open the last letter or email from your gemeente, bank or employer and circle every word that starts with _on-_, _her-_ or _mis-_. Cover the prefix, guess the meaning from the word underneath, and only then look it up.