vogel
/ˈvoːɣəl/masculine
The English word 'bird' is vogel in Dutch.
vogel refers to the animal known as a bird.
Meaning: animal (noun)
Which one should you use?
While vogel is the standard term, you may encounter diminutive forms like vogeltje or vogeletje to specifically refer to a little bird.
How does it change in a sentence?
vogel is a masculine noun, so it uses the definite article de to mean 'the bird'. The plural form of vogel is vogels.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈvoːɣəl/
Did you know?
- The term vogelvrij literally means 'bird-free' and was historically used to describe an outlaw who had no legal protection.
- In Dutch, the word vogel can be used in the slang expression een vogel zijn, which means to be slightly crazy or eccentric.
- A scarecrow in Dutch is called a vogelverschrikker, which literally translates to a 'bird-frightener'.
Examples in context
- Geef de vogel voer!Feed the bird!This sentence shows how to use vogel in a command to feed an animal.Tatoeba #944412 by simonbr, translation #278184 by shekitten
- Hoe heet die vogel?What is this bird called?This sentence shows how to use vogel when asking for the name of a bird.Tatoeba #1478048 by Citrine, translation #555280 by FeuDRenais
- Ik teken een vogel.I am drawing a bird.This sentence shows how to use vogel when describing an action like drawing.Tatoeba #10636375 by rose_d, translation #1665235 by Amastan
- Ik hoorde een vogel zingen in de boom.I heard a bird singing in the tree.
- De kleurrijke vogels vliegen over het landschap.The colorful birds are flying over the landscape.
- De slager heeft een breed scala aan gevogelte te koop.The butcher has a wide range of poultry for sale.
- Kijk, een schattig vogeltje zit op de tak.Look, a cute little bird is sitting on the branch.
- Ik zag een geel vogeltje in mijn tuin vandaag.I saw a yellow bird in my garden today.
- Wat voor vogeletje zit er in dat nestje?What kind of little bird is in that nest?
- 119 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Noah and Sophie are looking out the window at a garden.
- NoahKijk, daar zit een mooie vogel!Look, there is a beautiful bird sitting there!
- SophieJa, wat een kleurrijke vogel is dat.Yes, what a colorful bird that is.
- NoahDenk je dat hij hier blijft?Do you think he will stay here?
- SophieMisschien, als we hem wat eten geven.Maybe, if we give him some food.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bird” translations and entries vogel, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
