Cosplay interview met Naomi, Melody en Suki

What does “doorzettingsvermogen” mean in Dutch?

Dutch loves packaging abstract ideas inside a single long compound. Doorzettingsvermogen is a perfect example: doorzetten means “to push through” or “to persist,” and vermogen means “capacity” or “ability.” Stack them and you get the capacity to keep going — perseverance. The word is entirely standard, not formal or literary, and Dutch speakers reach for it naturally whenever they talk about grit.

In this interview, one of the cosplayers wraps up her recommendation by saying: “Maar het maakt vrij heel veel tijd aan ook doorzettingsvermogen” — “But it takes quite a lot of time and also perseverance.” The word lands casually mid-sentence, which is exactly how Dutch uses it. The same verb root surfaces in doorzetter (a person who doesn’t give up, a “sticker”) and doorzettend (persevering). Spotting vermogen (“capacity”) across words like arbeidsvermogen (working capacity) and aanpassingsvermogen (adaptability) unlocks a whole family of Dutch abstract nouns.