wonderlijke

Wonderlijke is a Dutch adjective used to describe something that causes wonder, astonishment, or admiration, as well as something that is odd or peculiar. The exact nuance depends on context and tone: it can convey positive marvel or negative strangeness.

In usage, wonderlijke modifies a noun and follows the standard Dutch inflection rules. In indefinite singular form, the adjective takes the ending -lijk, yielding een wonderlijk verhaal. In definite singular form, it takes -lijke: het wonderlijke verhaal. In plural, the form is wonderlijke verhalen, with de wonderlijke verhalen as the definite plural. The choice between these forms often reflects whether the noun is introduced with a definite article or not.

Wonderlijke is common in everyday language, journalism, and literature. It can describe tangible phenomena, events, or experiences, as well as people or ideas that evoke wonder or peculiarity. Its sense can range from celebratory to perplexed, for example: een wonderlijk schilderij (a marvelous painting), het wonderlijke verhaal dat hij vertelde (the marvelous story he told), de wonderlijke verhalen uit de schetsen van de schrijver (the marvelous/peculiar stories from the writer’s sketches).

Etymologically, wonderlijke comes from wonder plus the Dutch suffix -lijk, akin to German wunderlich. It is related to the noun wonder and to other adjectives with similar formations. A closely related term is wonderbaarlijk, which emphasizes astonishment or miraculous quality and is used in somewhat more literary or formal contexts.