Duizendtallen

Duizendtallen is a Dutch noun that denotes large, indeterminate numbers in the thousands. It is used when the exact count is unknown or not needed, to indicate figures that lie in the thousands or more. The term is formed from duizend (thousand) and tal (a group or amount), and its plural form is duizendtallen.

Usage and nuance: Duizendtallen is common in journalism, statistics, and everyday speech to convey scale without precise figures. Examples include: “Duizendtallen mensen waren aanwezig” or “Duizendtallen woningen moeten worden gerenoveerd.” The word emphasizes a large multiple of thousands rather than a specific total, and it can be preferred over simply duizenden when a sense of massiveness is desired. In contexts requiring exact figures, specific numbers or other expressions would be used.

Relation to other forms: The singular duizendtal refers to a single group of about a thousand; duizendtallen refers to multiple such groups or a broad range of thousands. For straightforward counts, one might also say duizenden, but duizendtallen carries a nuance of larger, often non-specific magnitude. Related terms include tientallen (tens) and honderden (hundreds), with miljoenen (millions) marking even larger scales.