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Lesson Transcript

Hallo allemaal! Ik heet Marleen. Hi everybody! I’m Marleen.
Welcome to DutchPod101.com’s “Nederlands in 3 minuten”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Dutch.
In the previous lesson, we learned how to introduce ourselves in Dutch. In this lesson we’re going to learn how to use good manners as we thank people.
Ben je er klaar voor? Are you ready? Let’s start!
There are several ways to thank someone, let’s start with the easiest. It is just one word-
Bedankt.
[slowly] Bedankt.
Bedankt means “thank you”.
When saying “thank you very much” you just need to add zeer at the beginning.
[slowly] Zeer bedankt.
Zeer means “a lot”. So Zeer bedankt is like saying “Thank you very much.”
During the last lesson we discussed the informal and the formal way of speaking Dutch. Bedankt is the casual way to thank someone. If you want to be more formal, there is another phrase you should use.
Dankuwel. [slowly] Dank u wel.
Let’s break this phrase down. Dank is “thank”, and u is a formal word for “you”. We will discuss Dutch pronouns in more depth in a later lesson. Finally, wel means “a lot”. The full sentence once again is Dank u wel.
Actually, there is also an informal form of the expression dank u wel. In an informal setting, the correct expression is dankjewel.
[slowly] Dank je wel.
The u from the expression Dank u wel is simply replaced by je. Je is the informal word for “you”.
How do you answer? It’s easy! Here is the most common response.
Graag gedaan.
[slowly] Graag gedaan.
Graag gedaan can be used with just about anybody. Literally, this phrase means "Happily done" or "I did it with pleasure”.
So when someone saying Bedankt to you, we can simply reply with:
Graag gedaan.
Now it’s time for Marleen’s Insights
If you’re not sure about whether to use Bedankt, dankuwel or dankjewel, keeping it simple is always your safest bet. You don’t have to worry about formal or informal situations; bedankt can be used with just about anyone, anywhere, and at anytime!
Do you know what Tot ziens means? In our next lesson you’ll learn this and other greetings in Dutch!
Tot ziens!

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