Een rol spelen
Example: Vrienden spelen een rol in mijn geluk elke dag.
Definition
"Een rol spelen" means to have an influence or be a contributing factor in a situation or outcome. For example, when friends "een rol spelen" in someone's happiness, it means they play an important part in making that person happy daily.
Etymology
The phrase "een rol spelen" literally translates to "to play a role." It originates from theatrical terminology where actors "play roles" in a performance. Over time, it evolved to describe any situation where something or someone has an active influence, just as an actor influences a story by playing a role.
Learn to use this expression actively
"Een rol spelen" appears in the Vocaplus list "Dutch - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (A2) - set 1", containing 106 commonly used expressions.
Would you like to not only understand these expressions, but also remember them and use them actively? Create a free account and select Dutch as the language you want to learn.
Create a free account
to play a role