krijgen

Krijgen is a common Dutch verb meaning to obtain, to receive, or to come into possession of something. It covers receiving things that are offered, acquiring goods or opportunities, and also experiencing states or conditions, such as illnesses or moods. The verb is transitive, typically taking a direct object, and it can be used with prepositional phrases to indicate the source or recipient, for example van iemand or van het bedrijf.

Conjugation and forms: In the present tense the forms are ik krijg, jij krijgt, hij krijgt, wij krijgen, jullie krijgen, zij krijgen. The past tense is ik kreeg, jij kreeg, hij kreeg; wij kregen, jullie kregen, zij kregen. The past participle is gekregen. Krijgen is used with have in perfect tenses (Ik heb een bericht gekregen) and it can appear in passive constructions (Er wordt een cadeau gekregen).

Usage notes: Krijgen is versatile and often more common and informal than synonyms like ontvangen or verkregen, which can sound more formal. It conveys both that someone gives something and that another person ends up with it, sometimes through effort, luck, or circumstance. It is frequently used with illness or events (griep krijgen, een prijs krijgen) and in idiomatic phrases such as dat krijg je ervan (that’s what you get for it). When specifying the source,者 can say iets van iemand krijgen or iets door iemand krijgen.

Etymology and relatives: Krijgen is of Germanic origin and is cognate with the German verb kriegen. It has inherited a similar meaning across Dutch and other related languages and forms the basis of related expressions in everyday speech.