Terwijl
Example: Ik luister naar muziek terwijl ik mijn huiswerk maak.
Definition
"Terwijl" is a conjunction used to indicate that two actions happen at the same time. It connects clauses to show simultaneous events, as in the sentence, "Ik luister naar muziek terwijl ik mijn huiswerk maak," meaning listening to music happens during doing homework.
Etymology
The word "terwijl" comes from Middle Dutch, combining "ter" (a form of 'at' or 'during') and "wijl" (meaning 'while'). Did you know that "terwijl" has been used in Dutch for centuries to express simultaneous actions, reflecting how language naturally connects events in time?
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"Terwijl" appears in the Vocaplus list "Dutch - General - (A2) - set 1", containing 125 commonly used words.
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