overwordExplorer
DUTCH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

aan.

on (positioned at the outer surface of; attached to)

3 characters1 syllables approx.Nederlands language

Meaning & usage

prep/aːn/
  1. on (positioned at the outer surface of; attached to)

    Het schilderij hangt aan de muur.
  2. at, on (near; adjacent to; alongside; just off)

    aan tafel
    aan de kust
  3. to, indicates the target or recipient of an action

    Ik heb de rest van het geld aan mijn moeder gegeven.
  4. from, of, because of, as a result of

    Hij is gisteren overleden aan een hartaanval.
  5. about (concerning)

    Ik snap niet wat daar zo grappig aan is.
  6. up to, indicates responsibility

    Het is nu aan jou.
  7. at (having reached)

    Ik zit aan mijn limiet.
  8. using, abusing, currently occupied with

    Ik ben aan het werk.
    Hij zit aan de drugs.
  9. at, for, denotes a price

    Limburg · dated · proscribed
  10. in, into, followed by an inflected numeral to indicate that something has been split into so many pieces

    obsolete
    aan tweeën
Where this word comes from

From Middle Dutch āne, from Old Dutch ana, from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

adv/aːn/
  1. on, (of a device) being operative

    Jij zet de motor aan.
  2. on, (of clothing) being worn

  3. in compounds with verbs: Denoting growth or restoration.

  4. in compounds with verbs: Denoting connecting, affixing or spatial continuity.

  5. in compounds with verbs: Denoting the beginning of an action or process.

Where this word comes from

From Middle Dutch āne, from Old Dutch ana, from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

adj/aːn/
  1. on (functional, operational)

    not-comparable · predicative
    De kachel is aan.
  2. amazing, lit

    not-comparable · predicative · slang
    Zijn huisfeest gisteren was echt aan, al tijden niet zo naar mijn zin gehad.
Where this word comes from

From Middle Dutch āne, from Old Dutch ana, from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.