Met hoeveel lopen we naar de winkel?

What does “met z’n hoevelen” mean in Dutch?

A riddle stacks up backpacks, cats, and kittens until it asks: met z’n hoevelen liepen we naar de winkel?, “how many of us walked to the shop?” Dutch counts a group with met z’n + [number] + -en: “met z’n tweeën” (the two of us), “met z’n drieën” (the three of us). “Hoevelen” swaps in the question word for the number, asking for the total instead of stating it.

These are numbers used like nouns: “z’n” stays unstressed and doesn’t change with the people counted, so “met z’n tweeën” works for two men, two women or a mixed pair. The question form is everyday Dutch too: met z’n hoevelen zijn jullie? (“how many of you are there?”) is exactly what a restaurant asks when you want a table.