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DUTCH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

als.

if, when

3 characters1 syllables approx.Nederlands language

Meaning & usage

conj/ɑ(l)s/[ɑ(ɫ)s]
  1. if, when

    subordinating
    Als je die knop indrukt, gaat de computer uit.
  2. when, as soon as

    Als het regent worden alle daken nat.
  3. as though, as if

  4. if, whether

    Suriname · proscribed
Where this word comes from

From Middle Dutch alse, an unstressed form of also (modern alzo). The sense “whether” is possibly a semantic loan from Sranan Tongo efu (“if, when; if, whether”).

prep/ɑ(l)s/[ɑ(ɫ)s]
  1. like, as

    Hij huilde als een kind.
  2. even ... als: as ... as

    Hij is even groot als ik.
  3. than

    nonstandard
    Hij is groter als jij.
Where this word comes from

From Middle Dutch alse, an unstressed form of also (modern alzo). The sense “whether” is possibly a semantic loan from Sranan Tongo efu (“if, when; if, whether”).

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als studioals workshello, als

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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.