meemaken

Meemaken is a Dutch verb meaning to experience or to go through something, often something significant or challenging. The word combines mee- (together, with) and maken (to make or do), reflecting the sense of sharing an experience. In contemporary use it denotes personally experiencing an event, rather than merely hearing about it.

Meemaken is a regular verb with a separable prefix. In present tense: ik maak mee, jij maakt mee, hij/zij maakt mee, wij maken mee, jullie maken mee, zij maken mee. The simple past is typically formed as maakte mee (we maakten mee). The perfect tense uses meegemaakt as the past participle with hebben: ik heb meegemaakt, jij hebt meegemaakt, hij heeft meegemaakt; wij hebben meegemaakt. The past perfect uses had meegemaakt, etc.

Common constructions include: iets meemaken (to experience something), and a causative or experiential variant zoals iemand iets laten meemaken (to let someone experience something). An idiomatic expression is het moeten meemaken, meaning to have to endure or experience something, often something undesired. For example: We hebben veel meegemaakt during the trip; Dat zullen we wel meemaken, meaning we’ll experience that too.

Nuances: meemaken emphasizes firsthand experience and personal involvement, rather than secondhand knowledge. It is widely used in everyday speech and writing to describe events ranging from travel experiences to life-changing moments and, in negative contexts, hardships that one must endure.