werpen

Werpen is a Dutch verb meaning to throw or to cast through the air. It is used to describe propelling an object, often with emphasis on effort, direction, or aim. In everyday speech, the synonym gooien is more common, but werpen remains frequent in formal, literary, or technical contexts and in fixed expressions such as steenwerpen (to stone).

Etymology and cognates: Werpen is of West Germanic origin. It is a cognate of the German werfen and the English throw; all derive from a common Proto-Germanic ancestor, commonly reconstructed as *werpaną.

Conjugation and forms: Infinitive: werpen. Present tense: ik werp, jij/je werpt, hij/zij/het werpt, wij/we werpen, jullie/je werpen, zij/ze werpen. Simple past: ik wierp, jij wierp, hij wierp, wij/we wierpen, jullie/ze wierpen. Past participle: geworpen. The perfect tense is formed with hebben geworpen (e.g., hij heeft geworpen).

Usage notes: In literal use, werpen covers throwing objects such as balls or stones. Figurative uses include phrases like een blik werpen (to cast a glance) and een schaduw werpen (to cast a shadow). The verb is also found in combinations related to throwing or projecting ideas, risks, or light, often in more formal prose. Dutch speakers may choose gooien for everyday throwing, while werpen appears in formal writing, journalism, and idiomatic expressions.

See also: gooien; steenwerpen; uitwerpen (to throw out or eject), werpingsas a noun form related to the act of throwing (de worp) and the resulting throw.