Schrijf

Schrijf is a Dutch verb meaning to write. The infinitive is schrijven, while schrijf is used as the imperative singular and as the present tense form for jij (you write) in the second person. The full present tense forms include ik schrijf, jij schrijft, hij schrijft. The imperative form Schrijf! is used to tell someone to write or to jot something down. The past tense is schreef (singular) and schreven (plural), and the past participle is geschreven.

Schrijf is a core, widely used verb in Dutch. It belongs to the class of strong verbs, which show a vowel change in tenses (for example, schrijf → schreef). The verb’s root gives rise to common derivatives such as schrijver (writer), schrijfwijze (orthography or manner of writing), and herschrijven (to rewrite). It also appears in many compound verbs and expressions, such as opschrijven (to write down or record) and inschrijven (to register or enroll).

Etymology and cognates: schrijf is related to other Germanic languages’ words for the act of writing, such as German schreiben and English write. The Dutch form and its derivatives reflect the shared linguistic heritage across Dutch, German, and English, while developing its own standard spellings and conjugation patterns.

In use, schrijf appears across everyday speech, education, journalism, literature, and administration. It functions both as a concrete action—writing a letter, a note, or a document—and as a broader term for the activity of producing written language.