Bepaal

Bepaal is a Dutch verb meaning to determine, to decide, or to specify. It is a transitive verb that takes a direct object, such as een prijs (a price), een datum (the date), or de voorwaarden (the conditions). The action expressed by bepaal is to fix something in a definite way or to set a specific value or rule.

The verb is widely used across everyday language, business, law, and policy contexts. Common constructions include bepalen wat de prijs zal zijn (to determine the price), bepalen wanneer iets gebeurt (to determine when something happens), and bepalen de voorwaarden (to determine the conditions). In legal or formal writing, bepalen often appears in phrases that describe how rules, dates, or standards are set or fixed.

Grammatical notes: In the present tense the forms are ik bepaal, jij bepaalt, hij bepaalt, wij bepalen, jullie bepalen, zij bepalen. The imperative form for a singular command is bepaal (for example, Bepaal dit onmiddellijk). Related verbs with similar meaning include vaststellen and vastleggen, which are often used in slightly different nuances (vaststellen emphasizes establishing or determining, while vastleggen emphasizes recording or formalizing).

Etymology and related terms: bepaal is a native Dutch verb with a meaning closely aligned to the German verb bestimmen in its sense of fixing or establishing. It is part of the broader family of Dutch verbs formed with the prefix be-, which often adds a sense of making or affecting the action of the root verb.

For further reading, see also bepaal, bepalen, vaststellen, and vastleggen.