Speel

Speel is a present tense form of the Dutch verb spelen, meaning to play or to perform. It appears in sentences such as Ik speel voetbal (I play soccer) and Zij speelt piano (She plays piano). In the present tense the standard conjugation is: ik speel, jij speelt, hij/zij/het speelt, wij spelen, jullie spelen, zij spelen. The bare stem 'speel' is also used as the verb stem for other forms and appears on its own in the imperative: Speel! (Play!).

Etymology and cognates: The verb spellen derives from Old Dutch and is cognate with German spielen and English spiel in the sense of play or game. The Dutch noun for a game or play is spel; related words include speelgoed (toys) and speelplaats (playground).

Usage notes and examples: 'Speel' covers a range of playful activities, including sports, music, acting, and informal joking. It can combine with prepositions in phrasal verbs such as meespelen, meaning "to play along." Example: Laten we meespelen (Let’s join in). Expressions like een rol spelen mean “to play a role,” and een spel spelen means “to play a game.” The form also appears with different subjects, as in ik speel, jij speelt, hij speelt, wij spelen, jullie spelen, zij spelen.

See also: Spelen (verb), Spel (game), Speelgoed (toys), Speellocaties and related compounds such as speelplaats (playground).