Rijden

Rijden is a Dutch verb that denotes moving by means of a vehicle or a conveying animal, such as a horse or a wheeled cart. In practice, it covers both driving a motor vehicle and riding an animal. When referring specifically to bicycles, Dutch usually uses fietsen, while horses are ridden.

Rijden is an irregular verb. In the present tense the forms are: ik rijd, jij rijdt, hij rijdt, wij rijden, jullie rijden, zij rijden. The simple past is: ik reed, jij reed, hij reed, wij reden, jullie reden, zij reden. The past participle is gereden, used with have/has (ik heb gereden). The infinitive is rijden. Imperative forms include rijd (singular) and rijt (plural).

Usage and phrases are varied. Common compounds include autorijden (to drive a car), een rijbewijs (driving license), een rijexamen (driving test), and een rijschool (driving school). Verbs such as hard rijden (to drive fast) and veilig rijden (to drive safely) are frequent in traffic contexts. Rijden can describe travel by car, motorcycle, or horse, and appears in many everyday expressions about mobility and traffic rules.

Etymology and relation to other languages: rijden is cognate with German reiten and English ride, originating from a Proto-Germanic root associated with moving on a mounted or wheeled conveyance. In Dutch, forms and usage have evolved through Middle Dutch to the present, with distinctions between driving a vehicle and riding an animal reflected in related terms like autorijden and paardrijden.