Dutch Language
The native language of The Netherlands is Dutch. Dutch language is not only spoken in The Netherlands, but also in the northern part of Belgium (South of the Netherlands) and overseas in Indonesia, Suriname, the Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and St. Maarten). The foundation of the Dutch language in these countries arose with the international shipping trade during the 17th and 18th century. The Dutch language is a West Germanic language and closely related to German and English. The Dutch language is very difficult to get right. Because there are a lot of sounds, that don’t exist in English.
Many Dutch people speak English and most of them very well. Therefore it is no problem at all for English-speaking travelers to communicate with locals in Amsterdam. Dutch people love to practice their English on English speakers.
For those who are eager to learn, a short ‘good to go’ list:
The Basics in Dutch Language
Hello (informal)
Good morning
Good afternoon
Good evening
Goodbeye
See you later
Do you speak English?
Yes / No
I don’t understand
Please (formal)
Please (informal)
Thank you
Hoi
Goedemorgen
Goedemiddag
Goedenavond
Tot ziens
Tot straks
Spreekt u Engels?
Ja / Nee
Ik begrijp het niet
Alstublieft
Alsjeblieft
Bedankt
Travel & Shopping in Dutch Language
Money Exchange
ATM
Cash desk
Stamps
How do I get to…?
How far is it to …?
Near / far
Right / left
Straight ahead
Bike
Bicycle pump
Railway Station
Train
Closed / open
Geldwisselkantoor
Geldautomaat
Kassa
Postzegels
Hoe kom ik naar…?
Hoe ver is het naar …?
Dichtbij / ver
Rechts / links
Rechtuit
Fiets
Fietspomp
Treinstation
Trein
Gesloten / open
Days in Dutch Language
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Today
Tomorrow
Yesterday
Maandag
Dinsdag
Woensdag
Donderdag
Vrijdag
Zaterdag
Vandaag
Morgen
Gisteren
For more information about Dutch Language go to the wikitravel Dutch Phrasebook website or you can order one of these books:
enjoyed reading all the commentaries about Dutch,English,German languages and various others.Please keep me abreast of these enlightening language concepts.thanks.RLW
I would love to learn other languages as well as Dutch. I find all languages beautiful. My autistic son is learning Russian by watching videos and he loves it. Is there an app or website to help learn the right pronunciation for Ducth
Try babbel.com
Just found out that my grandma and grandfather were Dutch and I’m completely stoked! The Dutch language is so much fun! It may not sound all pretty like French but it’s definitely got that airy-fun feeling and isn’t that more of what us humans need?
I’m with Jan !
Frankly,It sounds like….a very ugly language ! As if you have a bad cold,runny nose and a throat full of puke…..phlegm !
Frankly you sound like a disgusting xenophobe. Here’s hoping you never visit!
As the Dalai Lama once said, “Be kind when possible. It is always possible.”
Visit Amsterdam — or Curaçao or Aruba — get to know the people. Listen to them. Learn a few phrases.
Communicating with them in Dutch will open your heart and you will learn to love again.
Why would you call someone else’s spoken language ugly?
I hear it as a beautiful sound……Love it…!!!
I LOVE the sound of it. You are WAAY wrong.
English is my second language. All I can say is thank God I didn’t have to learn Dutch.
Out of due respect, Thank God we dint have to teach you or you spoke our language.
I am in my early sixties and used to travel frequently to the Netherlands on business 20+ years ago. Recently a business associate from the late 1990s asked me if I would be willing to go on some sales calls in the Rotterdam area (the company sells logistics and software for large ports).
I would love to go but don’t want to rely on the social style of 20 years ago and am wondering what has changed over those years. I know a local person here in Ohio who immigrated to the US in the 1960s. He says that the most common greetings today in the Netherland come from Arabic language roots -As Salaam Melechem (not sure about the spelling). And that in many parts of the Netherlands it is not acceptable to shake a woman’s hand. Is there anything else I should be aware of? Any help in this regard would be much appreciated.
That is an ignorant idiotic Dutch person telling you that you say Salaam. They are being bigoted and referring to the minority population of Morrocans and Turkish people in Rotterdam. They are still a minority there. Most of them are proudly Dutch but yes a few hold on to traditional values. Pretty much if you see a woman in a burka (Netherlands actually has a ban on face coverings) or something then yeah don’t go try to shake her hand unless she gives it to you first but for the most part, no one cares about this stuff. The Netherlands is a very tolerant and open-minded country and a very international country, more so now than ever before in its history. Not sure about the ex-Dutchman you know in Ohio but he sounds a lot like your President Trump, trash that we are happily to have leave our country.
Your opinion of Trump is just that I’d appreciate it if you stow that shit if your going to post internationally you pompous ass!
In reference to your response to Jan Van de Bruik I ask you Michael…Are you a “Christian” as most “Trumpers” claim to be? I consider myself a humble, hopeful disciple of Eeshua (“Jesus” in HIS language of Aramaic). Therefore I state directly from the our Savior that ANYONE who dedicates themselves to, defends, worships and votes for a politician MUST go read all four Gospels RIGHT NOW before speaking another work about any politician. Eeshua made it VERY clear that His disciples must completely turn their backs on the Pharisees and Scribes, the “political” puppets of the Roman Occupation. He referred to these Pharisees as the “Synagogue Of Satan, a brood of vipers, blind guides who do not enter the Kingdom Of Heaven themselves nor do they lead others in”. Trump, Biden and all the upper echelons of the democratic and republican parties are ALL Pharisees, the modern “Synagogue Of Satan”. To defend or praise a “politician” is to betray your Savior because only He can bring you salvation. These charlatans are ALL bought and paid for by the banksters, the owners of all the major media companies, the Hollywood elite, the drug cartels and the international arms dealers. Donald Trump (just like every so called “president” after John F Kennedy was murdered)is nothing but a public voice for the most demonic schemers on this planet. Please LEARN this Michael no matter what your spirituality or social status;
POLITICIANS ARE THE PUBLIC FACE OF PRIVATE EVIL!!!!
And there is NO lesser of two evils. Evil is evil…period! If you vote for either of the so called “lesser of two evils” you are still accepting and supporting evil in your heart. And the Pharisees in Washington D.Cete are laughing non stop at you and every other citizen who votes becuase YOUR VOTE DOES NOT MATTER!!! You are a victim of “taxation without representation” and a patriot of a nation turned so deceitful there is nothing to be patriotic about. You don’t even exist in the minds of politicians except as a debt slave worker and perhaps a future military draftee or volunteer deceived into to becoming “cannon fodder” for the next ‘profitable venture” these demons conduct. We call these ventures wars and invasion of other sovereign nations for the purpose of liberating them to become a “democracy” Hahaha! What a fine job they did with this Vietnam, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Now they are foaming at the mouth to obliterate Iran. Michael I’m a veteran and I do love my country but NOT the despicable behavior of our politicians. Again we are nothing but debt slaves and/or soldiers to the new “Synagogue Of Satan”. So please investigate the fraud and accept that voting for and supporting Trump or any politician is a dishonor to yourself. Voting is useless in a communist nation as the USA has become. Presidents are “chosen” not elected. EVERYTHING in this game is FIXED Michael. It is all predetermined before it happens.
With all this in mind,I find it very brave and honest of Jan Van de Bruik to voice an opposition to the nation with the most powerful military on Earth. In my opinion Jan is not only correct but he has been gracious enough not to tell the full truth of America’s history of corruption, deception and mass murders of people in other nations. Jan is NOT POMPOUS he is HONEST. It is “we the people” of America who are pompous, self righteous, full of hate, violence and war mongering. We’re so incredibly self centered and self obsessed with purchasing garbage and wifi toys that we have literally become “WalMartians”. Watch the movie IDIOCRACY – you’ll see the true “America the “bootyful” in that film without a doubt! Worst of all Americans are completely ignorant of the coup d’etat that occurred in the United States on 11/22/1963 when our last REAL American president was murdered and a group of insidious psychopaths took over our federal, state and city governments across all the whole of our nation. Our so called “nation of democracy, peace and freedom” has been at war 231 years out of our 248 years of existence! PLEASE Michael OPEN YOUR EYES, YOUR EARS, YOUR MIND and YOUR HEART. You and I live in a terribly corrupt, corporate controlled nation who’s “leaders” are so cruel they can not agree to give a second stimulus check of a measly $ 1200 to the millions of unemployed, quarantined citizens who are on the verge of becoming homeless. HOWEVER, the Obama and Trump gangs DID agreed, without even one dissenting vote, to give israel 30 billion dollars in military and general aid from 2016 to 2026. Makes it pretty clear who is REALLY running this country.
I will end by wishing both you Michael and you Jan all the blessing from Eeshua Bar Avwoon – the true Son of our “Beloved” eternal parents. Shlomo Ilykum (Peace Be With You in Aramaic).
Then as an American I’ll say it. I’m ashamed that so many “Ugly Americans” have some nasty attitudes toward foreign languages. As a military brat I started learning German and English simultaneously as an infant. French was my first 3 grammar school years. Started learning Dutch last month at 65 years old. I love discovering the sounds of their vowel combinations, all the German (and French) roots of the language. I don’t find any language – Dutch, Russian, Navajo or German ugly. Claudia Jung is one of my favorite German torchsingers, along with Marlene Dietrich.I’ve heard the same comments about German being gutteral. But hear them sing! So don’t be an ugly American, celebrate each language for it’s rich heritage. And remember, German and Dutch are cousins of our American English.
What? He isn’t wrong. Trump IS trash and so is his family LOL
Actually, the perfect place for Jan Van de Bruik to voice his (accurate) opinion of the scoundrel known as Trump. I’m (mostly) proud of my country, the USA, but not of the crooked and devious Trump.
I know I’m 5 years late on this but you are right, our twice impeached, one term former president Trump IS trash LOL
Hear, hear!!!
President Trump is not trash. He has been greatly and unfairly demonized and vilified by a crooked, biased media, the democratic party and others who dislike him. When lies and half truths are repeated enough times, some people begin to believe them. Put others under the same scrutiny and see what you get.