Delen

Delen is a Dutch verb that means to share or to divide. The sense depends on context, ranging from distributing items among people to splitting a whole into parts. The word is commonly used in everyday language, education, business, and informal exchanges.

In practical Dutch, delen appears as a regular verb with present tense forms such as ik deel, jij deelt, hij deelt, wij delen, jullie delen, zij delen. The past tense is formed as ik deelde, jij deelde, hij deelde, wij deelden, etc., and the past participle is gedeeld, used in perfect constructions like ik heb dit met jullie gedeeld. Common phrases include delen met iemand (to share with someone), een deel (a portion or part), and indelen of verdelen (to distribute or partition in some contexts).

In mathematics and related fields, delen is the verb used for division, as in delen door iets (to divide by something). The noun for the operation is deling, meaning division, and the adjective deelbaar can denote divisibility. In practical math instruction, studenten leren delen als een basisbewerkingen om getallen op te splitsen of te berekenen hoeveel delen er uit een geheel voortkomen.

Afrikaans, closely related to Dutch, uses delen with a similar meaning: to share or to participate. As in Dutch, it appears in phrases about distributing resources or taking part in activities, and its past participle gedeel is used in perfect tenses. The affinity between Dutch and Afrikaans makes delen recognizable across both languages, with many cognate forms and related expressions.

Overall, delen functions as a fundamental verb for distribution and participation, with cross-linguistic relevance in Dutch and Afrikaans, and specialized use in mathematical contexts.