Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Hello and welcome to this next Dutch lesson that we will talk about, the Must Know Phrases in Dutch. My name is Stella and I will be teaching you some very useful basic phrases in Dutch today. So let’s get started.
The first word of the day is,
1. Hallo. "Hello."
So, as you can see, the standard Dutch greeting is very similar to the English one. Now, if you feel like mixing it up a little bit, you could also say hoi, which is our version of "hey" and it’s slightly more informal.
Now, if you want to be less casual, for example, if you arrive at work in the morning, you could say this.
2. Goedemorgen. "Good morning."
Now if you want to be a little less casual, for example, if you arrive at work in the morning, you could say this. Goedemorgen. “Good morning.” You can also say this to anyone else you meet in the morning. For example, in a shop or the person you wake up next to.
If it’s in the afternoon, you could say this.
3. Goedemiddag. "Good afternoon."
This one is much more formal than Goedemorgen. In the Netherlands, you can say Goedemorgen to anyone but Goedemiddag is really only used when starting a conversation with someone you don’t know. For example, at supermarket or at beginning of the phone call.
4. Goedenavond. "Good evening."
This one is pretty formal. You do best to only use it for example when entering a restaurant or something like that.
5. Hoe heet u? "What's your name?"
Bear in mind that the Dutch have a formal "you" which is u, and an informal "you" which is je. So if you’re asking a child or a classmate what his or her name is, you should probably go with - Hoe heet je?
Now after learning someone’s name, you will likely be asked to say yours to which you could say,
6. Ik ben (naam). "I'm [name]."
So in my case, it will be Ik ben Stella. I am Stella. It’s just your basic introduction. After you’ve both stated your names, you will likely shake hands and say something like this.
7. Leuk je te ontmoeten. "Nice to meet you."
Now, remember the difference between je and u? If you are meeting a new client at work, you may want to say - Leuk u te ontmoeten, just to class it up a bit.
Another useful sentence right after our introductions is,
8. Hoe gaat het? "How are you?"
It’s a nice way to get to know a little bit about the other person if they feel like sharing. Most of the time though, they will probably just say that they are fine and leave it at that and that would sound like this.
9. Het gaat prima, dank je. En met jou? "I'm fine, thanks. And you?"
So when people ask you this, it’s probably better not to launch into a 15-minute speech about how you are really doing. Keep it short and to the point.
Now, here comes one that’s for over ambiguous.
10. Alstublieft. "Please."
First of all, when saying this to someone you know well, say alsjeblieft. Je/u, remember? but whichever one you use, it can also mean "here you go". So you say it when you are asking someone for something but also when handing it over. It’s pretty confusing, right? Crazy Duchies.
When someone hands you something or someone has done something nice for you, the polite thing to do is say this.
11. Dank je. "Thank you."
And again, if you are in a formal situation, say - Dank u.
Next one is what you say after that.
12. Graag gedaan. "You're welcome."
Now, this is probably a hard one because of the notorious Dutch /g/ sound. Just remember if you pull this off, you will sound very Dutch indeed.
The next one is really short and to the point.
13. Ja. "Yes."
14. nee "No."
Just your basic “Yes” and “No.” Use them wisely.
The next one is easy. You will recognize it immediately.
15. Oke. "Okay."
And of course, it means, Okay. It’s the same word and you can basically spell it anyway you like. So, go to town.
16. Excuseer. "Excuse me."
You can say this if you want to pass by someone and you need them to move, for example.
The second way to apologize in Dutch is,
17. Het spijt me. "I'm sorry."
You can also say sorry if you’ve done a small thing wrong but if you really made a mess of things and you may want to go all the way, just go with het spijt me.
So, let’s move on to a few short questions. First one is,
18. Hoe laat is het? "What time is it?"
My literal translation would be how late is it? But we use this whenever we just want to ask for the time.
19. Waar is het toilet? "Where is the restroom?"
So I am sure you recognized the word toilet in there but if you want to sound very Dutch, use WC for water closet. So then you would say, “Waar is de wc?”
The next one isn’t a question but a request.
20. Wacht even. "Wait a moment."
You can use this if someone is talking to you while you are busy or if you need someone to not move while you grab something from a different aisle, et cetera. It’s a very useful sentence.
So if you are in a shop and you want to ask how much something is, you can ask,
21. Hoeveel kost dit? "How much is this?"
So usually when you are in the Netherlands, there will be clear price tags on everything. The Dutch don’t haggle. If you’ve eaten in a restaurant and you want the check, say,
22. Mag ik de rekening alstublieft? "Could I get the check, please?"
Now, remember, Dutch people will often split the bill. So if you want to ask for the check but you don’t want to necessarily imply that you will be the one paying for it, you could say, Mogen wij de rekening alstublieft? Which means, “could we get the check, please?”
Here is a word you really need to know but you probably already do.
23. Help! "Help!"
It just means Help. Sometimes life will throw you down.
24. Tot later. "See you later."
If you’re taking leave of someone, you can say, Tot later. “See you later.”
You can also just say Later. That’s been catching on quickly lately.
Here is a slightly more formal version of saying goodbye.
25. Tot ziens. "Goodbye."
You are technically saying the same thing you were earlier. It just means that you will see each other again. But this is the one you would use in a grocery store whereas you would say, Tot later or later to a friend.
So that’s all for today. These will be must know phrases in Dutch. If there’s anything missing from this list, make sure to tell me in the comments.
Thanks and goodbye.

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