moeten

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See also: möten

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch moeten, from Old Dutch muotan, from Proto-West Germanic *mōtan, from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną. Cognate with English mote (“may, might”). Unrelated to -moeten in ontmoeten.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmutə(n)/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -utən

Verb

moeten

  1. (intransitive) to be necessary, to be required
  2. (auxiliary) to have to, must
    Synonyms: verplicht zijn te, hebben te
    Antonym: niet hoeven
    Hij moet gaan. ― He has to / must go.
    Moest je nog werken vanavond? ― Did you have to work tonight?
  3. (auxiliary) should, be meant to, be supposed to
    Synonyms: zou moeten, horen
    Het moet hier zijn, maar het is gestolen. ― It is meant to be here, but it was stolen. / It should be here, but it was stolen.
    Dat moet je echt niet doen. ― You really should not do that.
    De nieuwe wet moet op 1 januari in werking treden. ― The new law is supposed to come into force on 1 January.
  4. (intransitive) to have to go, to need to go, must go
    Antonym: niet hoeven
    Ik moet nog naar de supermarkt vandaag.
    I still need to go to the supermarket today.
  5. (intransitive, informal) to need to go to the toilet
    Ik moet heel nodig! ― I really need to go!

Usage notes

  • The past tense moest can be used in the present. In Dutch, one can ask "Moest je nog werken vanavond?" which can mean both "did you have to work tonight?" and "do you have to work tonight?". This is similar to gaan.

Inflection

Inflection of moeten (preterite-present)
infinitive moeten
past singular moest
past participle gemoeten
infinitive moeten
gerund moeten n
present tense past tense
1st person singular moet moest
2nd person sing. (jij) moet moest
2nd person sing. (u) moet moest
2nd person sing. (gij) moet moest
3rd person singular moet moest
plural moeten moesten
subjunctive sing.1 moete moeste
subjunctive plur.1 moeten moesten
imperative sing. moet
imperative plur.1 moet
participles moetend gemoeten
1) Archaic.

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: moet
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: mu, muti
  • Negerhollands: moet, moe, mo, mut
  • → Sranan Tongo: moe

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch muotan.

Verb

moeten

  1. (auxiliary) to have to, must, to be obliged to
  2. (auxiliary) to be allowed to, to have permission to
  3. (auxiliary) will, shall
Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *muoten, from Proto-West Germanic *mōtijan.

Verb

moeten

  1. to meet, to come upon
  2. to meet with hostility
Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia