Terwijl
Example: Ik luister naar muziek terwijl ik mijn huiswerk maak.
Definition
"Terwijl" is a Dutch conjunction used to indicate that two actions or events happen at the same time. For example, in the sentence 'Ik luister naar muziek terwijl ik mijn huiswerk maak,' it shows that listening to music and doing homework occur simultaneously.
Etymology
The Dutch word "terwijl" originates from the combination of 'ter' (a contraction of 'te der', meaning 'at the') and 'wijl', meaning 'while' or 'time'. It has been used historically to connect simultaneous actions, much like the English word 'while'. Did you know? The structure reflects a very literal sense of 'at the time that'.
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"Terwijl" appears in the Vocaplus list "Dutch - General - (Mixed) - set 1", containing 20 commonly used words.
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