90% of the Netherland’s population speaks English on a fluent level, which makes practicing the language a bit difficult when you want to put your new language skills into practice. Dutch is one of the easiest languages to learn for especially native-English speakers; besides sentence structure, many words are similar to English. Then there are words in Dutch which cannot be directly translated to English, most famously “Gezellig” like “Hygge” in Danish, is that warm cosy/fun/comfortable feeling/atmosphere you may feel when spending time with your friends/family or doing activities. There are so many excellent schools where you can learn Dutch, also there are groups on Facebook in your city/town where you can meet others wanting to practice your new language, Apps and YouTube videos which you can follow and so on. For now, here are some daily sentences and words which you can already put in practice.
Everyday greetings/manners
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Hello |
Hallo |
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Goede… morgen middag avond |
Good… Morning Afternoon Evening |
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Good-bye |
Doei Dag Tot ziens |
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Thank you |
Dank u Dank u wel (frm) Bedankt Dank je wel (inf) |
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Please |
Alstublieft (frm) Alsjeblieft (inf) Use either as a way to reply to “thank you” |
|
Excuse me |
Excuseert u mij |
| Sorry |
Het spijt me Pardon Sorry |
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Have a nice day |
Nog een pretigge dag Een goede dag verder |
Useful Questions
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Do you speak English? |
Spreekt u Engels? |
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Where are the toilets? |
Kunt u mij helpen? |
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Could you please help me? |
Waar is het toilet? |
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Where can I find… |
Waar kan ik de … vinden? |
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Could you talk a bit slower? |
Kunt u wat langzamer praten? |
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Could you repeat that please? |
Kunt u herhalen? |
Food
You can find the big list of delicious Dutch delicacies here. Here are more common foods/drinks translated.
|
Eten & drinken |
Food & drink |
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Groente |
Vegetables |
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Fruit |
Fruit |
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Brood |
Bread |
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Kaas |
Cheese |
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Melk |
Milk |
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Koffie |
Coffee |
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Thee |
Tea |
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Bier |
Beer |
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Wijn |
Wine |
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Vlees |
Meat |
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Snoep |
Sweets |
Weather
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Het weer |
The weather |
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Het weerbericht |
Weather forecast |
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Lekker/Mooi weer |
Nice weather |
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Temperatuur |
Temperature |
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Thermometer |
Themometer |
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Graden |
Degrees |
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Zon Zonneschijn |
Sun Sunshine |
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Slecht weer |
Bad weather |
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Regen |
Rain |
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Sneeuw |
Snow |
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Hagel |
Hail |
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Wind |
Wind |
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Wolk |
Cloud |
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Donder |
Thunder |
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Bliksem |
Lightning |
Days of the week
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Monday |
Maandag |
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Tuesday |
Dinsdag |
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Wednesday |
Woensdag |
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Thursday |
Donderdag |
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Friday |
Vrijdag |
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Saturday |
Zaterdag |
|
Sunday |
Zondag |