Praktijk

Praktijk is a Dutch noun with several related senses centered on the application of knowledge to action and on the places where professionals work. It commonly refers to the place of professional service, such as een huisartspraktijk (general practitioner’s office) or een advocatenpraktijk (law practice), as well as to the professional activity conducted there and, more broadly, to the field of professional practice itself.

It also denotes the act of practicing or training to improve a skill, as in sports or medicine, and is used in phrases contrasting theory and action, for example in de praktijk meaning “in practice.” The term thus covers both the practical execution of work and the ongoing development of competence through practice, exercises, and real-world tasks.

In professional contexts, praktijk encompasses the standards, routines, and ethics of a profession, as well as the organization of its work, such as practice management (praktijkvoering) and the relationship with clients or patients. In education and research, praktijkgericht or praktijkonderwijs describe hands-on components of curricula that connect theoretical instruction to real-life situations and outcomes.

Etymology: the word is of Dutch origin and shares roots with related Germanic terms for action and doing, reflecting its core sense of practical application.