Dialogue - Dutch

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Vocabulary

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ja yes
wat what
dank je wel thank you (very much)
een a
verrassing surprise
hoe gaat het how are you, how's it going
dank je thank you
hallo hello (infomal, answering the phone)
goed fine, good
met with
met jou with you
heel very
ook also
en and
kinderen children

Lesson Notes

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Lesson Focus

The Focus of this Lesson is Pronunciation.
Goed dank je, hoe gaat het met jou?
"Good thanks, how is it going with you?"


Dutch is quite easy in that the language is pronounced exactly as it is written. There are a few sounds you should pay attention to though.

One is certainly the throaty CH sound, which can be spelled either ch or g, as in goed, gaat or the city name Utrecht. This sound will take some practice, but once you master it, it's very fun to say!

The Dutch R is also quite different from the American R. It also comes from the throat. Practice saying names like Bert and Marijke, or even the word verassing.

Finally, pay attention to the vowels. The pronunciation of the vowels is a typical give-away for American tourists. The base vowels in Dutch are A (gaat), E (heel), I (biet), O (ook), U (duur) and OE (hoe). Additionally, each of these vowels can be long or short, and there are also several diphthongs, or vowel combinations.

If you keep this in mind as you imitate the native speakers, you will easily acquire a good accent in Dutch.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Hallo is a standard Dutch greeting. You can use this with anyone. When greeting friends, you could also say hoi, which is more informal.

After you greet someone in Dutch, you would usually ask how he/she is. The standard question is Hoe gaat het?, literally "How goes it?" To ask about other people, just add met plus a name (met Michael, met Sandra) to the end of this question.

The standard answer is Goed dank je ("good," "thank you"). You could also say heel goed ("very good").

Cultural Insights

Dutch Greetings


 

Dutch people use different greetings according to the time of day.

  • In the morning, before noon, people say goedemorgen ("good morning").
  • In the afternoon, even it's just one minute past noon, people say goedemiddag ("good afternoon").
  • Starting from 5 P.M., it's time to start saying goedenavond ("good evening").
  • There is also goedenacht ("good night"), but this is not a greeting. Goedenacht is only used to wish someone to "sleep tight," when they're going to sleep. If you want to say goodbye when leaving late at night, just say dag ("bye").

Lesson Transcript

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INTRODUCTION
Judith:Hello and welcome to DutchPod101.com, where we study modern Dutch in a fun, educational format!
Peter:This is the first lesson for absolute beginners, the perfect place to get started.
Judith:So brush up on the Dutch that you started learning long ago, or start learning today.
Peter:Thanks for being here with us for this lesson. Judith, what is today's topic?
Judith: In this lesson you will learn how to make small talk in Dutch.
Peter: This conversation takes place on a street in Amsterdam.
Judith: The conversation is between Anna and Marijke, two friends who haven't seen each in a long time.
Peter: The speakers are friends, therefore they will be speaking informal Dutch.
Judith: Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

M:Hallo, Anna? Hoe gaat het?
A:Hoi, Marijke!! Goed dank je, hoe gaat het met jou?
M:Goed, dank je wel.
A:Hoe gaat het met Jan?
M:Heel goed en met Bert en de kinderen?
A:Ook goed!
M:Wat een verrassing!
A:Ja!
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
M:Hallo, Anna? Hoe gaat het?
A:Hoi, Marijke!! Goed dank je, hoe gaat het met jou?
M:Goed, dank je wel.
A:Hoe gaat het met Jan?
M:Heel goed en met Bert en de kinderen?
A:Ook goed!
M:Wat een verrassing!
A:Ja!
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
M:Hallo, Anna? Hoe gaat het?
Judith:Hello, Anna? How's it going?
A:Hoi, Marijke!! Goed dank je, hoe gaat het met jou?
Judith:Hi, Marijke!! Good thanks, how is it going with you?
M:Goed, dank je wel.
Judith:Good, thank you.
A:Hoe gaat het met Jan?
Judith:How is it going with Jan?
M:Heel goed en met Bert en de kinderen?
Judith:Very good, and with Bert and the children?
A:Ook goed!
Judith:Also good!
M:Wat een verrassing!
Judith:What a surprise!
A:Ja!
Judith:Yes!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Judith:Ok, we should probably talk about the greetings in first lesson. Dutch people use different greetings according to the time of day.
Peter:For example in the morning, before noon, people say ‘goedemorgen’ .
Judith: good morning, And in the afternoon?
Peter:In the afternoon, even if it's just one minute past noon, people say ‘goedemiddag’.
Judith:good afternoon,Is there an equivalent for "Good evening" as well?
Peter:Yes, we say "goedenavond".
Judith:Around what time do people start saying "goedenavond"?
Peter:Maybe around 5 pm. There is also ‘goedenacht’ meaning "good night", but this is not a greeting. 'Goedenacht' is only used to wish someone to ‘sleep tight’, when they're going to sleep. If you want to say Goodbye when leaving late at night, just say 'dag'.
Judith:bye.
VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Judith:Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Peter:hallo
Judith:hello (informally)
Peter:hallo
Peter:hallo
Next:
Peter:hoe gaat het
Judith:how are you?
Peter:hoe gaat het
Peter:hoe gaat het
Next:
Peter:goed
Judith:fine or good
Peter:goed
Peter:goed
Next:
Peter:dank je
Judith:thank you
Peter:dank je
Peter:dank je
Next:
Peter:met jou
Judith:with you
Peter:met jou
Peter:met jou
Next:
Peter:met
Judith:with
Peter:met
Peter:met
Next:
Peter:dank je wel
Judith:thank you very much
Peter:dank je wel
Peter:dank je wel
Next:
Peter:heel
Judith:very
Peter:heel
Peter:heel
Next:
Peter:en
Judith:and
Peter:en
Peter:en
Next:
Peter:kinderen
Judith:children
Peter:kinderen
Peter:kinderen
Next:
Peter:ook
Judith:also
Peter:ook
Peter:ook
Next:
Peter:wat
Judith:what
Peter:wat
Peter:wat
Next:
Peter:een
Judith:a
Peter:een
Peter:een
Next:
Peter:verrassing
Judith:surprise
Peter:verrassing
Peter:verrassing
Next:
Peter:ja
Judith:yes
Peter:ja
Peter:ja
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Judith:Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Peter:The first word/phrase we’ll look at is....
Peter:"Hallo" is a standard Dutch greeting. You can use this with anyone. When greeting friends, you could also say "hoi", which is more informal.
Judith:After you greet someone in Dutch, you would usually ask how he/she is.
Peter:The standard question is "Hoe gaat het?”, literally "How goes it?". To ask about other people, just add "met" plus a name to the end of this question, for example "Hoe gaat het met Michael", "Hoe gaat het met Sandra".
Judith:And how would I answer this?
Peter:The standard answer is “Goed dank je” (good, thank you). You could also say "heel goed" (very good).

Lesson focus

Peter: The focus of this lesson is pronunciation.
Judith:Dutch is quite easy in that the language is pronounced exactly as it is written. There are a few sounds that you should pay attention to.
Peter:One is certainly the throaty CH sound, which can be spelled either 'ch' or 'g', as in "goed", "gaat" or the city name "Utrecht".
Judith:This sound will take some practice, but once you master it, it’s very fun to say!
Peter:The Dutch R is also quite different from the American R. It also comes from the throat. Practice saying names like "Bert" and "Marijke", or even the word "verassing".
Judith:Finally, pay attention to the vowels. The pronunciation of the vowels is a typical give-away for American tourists.
Peter:The base vowels in Dutch are A as in "gaat", E as in "heel", I as in "biet", O as in "ook", U as in "duur" and OE as in "hoe".
Judith: Additionally, each of the vowels can be long or short, and there are also several diphthongs, or vowel combinations.
Peter:Listen to native speakers carefully and pay particular attention to the vowels, then try to imitate them. This will help you acquire a good accent in Dutch.

Outro

Judith:That just about does it for today.
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Judith:Okay, see you next week!
Peter:Doei.