Language Phrase Books
Dutch Germanic Language
Dutch
1. Some Basic Phrases
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Goedemorgen khoo-duh-mawr-ghuh Good Morning |
Goedemiddag khoo-duh-mih-dahkh Good Day |
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Goedenavond khoo-duh-nah-fohnt Good Evening |
Goedenacht khoo-duh-nahkht Good Night |
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Tot ziens toht zeens Goodbye |
Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuh-bleeft Please |
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Dank u wel / Dank je wel dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk-yuh-vehl Thank you |
Graag gedaan khrahkh khuh-dahn You're welcome |
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Hartelijk bedankt. hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt Thank you very much. |
Ja / Nee yah / nay Yes / No |
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Hoe gaat het met u? hoo khaht ut meht ew How are you? (formal) |
Hoe gaat het met je? hoo khaht ut meht yuh How are you? (informal) |
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Ik ben moe ik ben moo I'm tired. |
Ik ben ziek ik ben zeek I'm sick. |
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Ik heb honger ik heb hohn-khur I'm hungry. |
Ik heb dorst ik heb dohrst I'm thirsty. |
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Goed / Heel goed khoot / hayl khoot Fine / Very well |
Het gaat / Slecht uht khaht / slehkht So so / Bad |
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Hoe heet u? hoo hayt ew What's your name? (formal) |
Hoe heet je? hoo hayt yuh What's your name? (informal) |
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Ik ben... ik ben I am... |
meneer / mevrouw muh-nayr / muh- frow Mister/Misses |
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Aangenaam kennis te maken. ahn-guh-nahm keh-nis tuh mah-kuh It's nice to meet you. |
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Waar komt u vandaan? Where are you from? (formal) |
Waar kom je vandaan? Where are you from? (informal) |
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Waar woont u? Where do you live? (formal) |
Waar woon je? Where do you live? (informal) |
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Ik kom uit de Verenigde Staten. I am from the United States. |
Ik woon in België. I live in Belgium. |
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Hoe oud bent u? How old are you? (formal) |
Hoe oud ben je? How old are you? (informal) |
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Ik ben ... jaar (oud). I am ____ years old. |
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Spreekt u Nederlands? spraykt ew nay-der-lahnds Do you speak Dutch? (formal) |
Spreek je Engels? sprayk yuh ehng-uhls Do you speak English? (informal) |
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Frans, Italiaans, Spaans, Russisch, Duits, Japans, Chinees French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, German, Japanese, Chinese |
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Ik spreek niet zo goed... ik sprayk neet zoh khood I don't speak ... very well. |
Ik spreek [geen]... ik sprayk [khayn] I [don't] speak... |
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Ik begrijp het [niet.] ik buh-khraip ut neet I [don't] understand. |
Ik weet het [niet.] ik vayt ut [neet] I [don't] know. |
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Sorry saw-ree I'm sorry / Excuse me |
Pardon pahr-dohn Pardon me |
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Tot straks / Tot gauw toht straks / toht khow See you later / See you soon |
Hallo / Dag hah-loh / dahk Hi / Bye |
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Veel plezier! fayl pleh-zeer Have fun! |
Veel succes! fayl suk-sehs Good luck! |
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Wees voorzichtig! vays fohr-zikh-tikh Be careful! |
Dat is geweldig! / Dat is vreselijk! dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh / dat is fray-zuh-likh That is great! / That is terrible! |
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Ik hou van je. I love you. (informal) |
Ik hou van jullie. I love you (all). |
Note: In the pronunciations, kh denotes a guttural sound.
2. Pronunciation
|
Dutch Letters |
English Sound |
ch
sch
g
w
v
r
j
sj
tj
aa
ee
ie
oo
oe
eu
uu
a
e
i
o
u
ei/ij
aai
oei
ooi
ou/au
eeuw
ieuw
uw
ui |
guttural sound, made at back of mouth
s followed by guttural ch sound
same as ch, guttural sound from back of mouth
like v before r, otherwise like w but with bottom lip against top teeth
like v, but sometimes closer to f
either rolled or guttural
y as in yes
sh as in ship
ch as in chip
ah as in father, but longer
ay as in hail, but shorter
ee as in neat, but shorter
oh as in boat, but shorter
oo as in pool, but shorter
ur as in hurt, but with lips rounded
oo as in loot, while pursing lips and pressing tongue against bottom teeth
ah as in father, but shorter
eh as in bet, but shorter
ih as in bit, but shorter
aw as in paw, with lips rounded
ir as in dirt, but very short
between the sounds in "light" and "late"
combination of aa and ie
combination of oe and ie
combination of oo and ie
somewhat like aw and ow put together as a diphthong
combination of ee and oe
combination of ie and oe
combination of uuand oe
ow as in house, with lips tightly rounded and tongue pressed against bottom teeth |
The consonants s, f, h, b, d, z, l, m, n, and ng are pronounced the same way in Dutch as in English. P, t, and k are pronounced without the puff of air (called aspiration.) Sometimes the g is pronounced like zh in words borrowed from French. One last vowel sound is found in various Dutch spellings. It is pronounced like uh, as in along or sofa. For example, this sound is found in de (the), een (a), aardig (nice), and vriendelijk (kind).
3. Alphabet
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a |
ah |
j |
yay |
s |
ess |
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b |
bay |
k |
kah |
t |
tay |
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c |
say |
l |
ell |
u |
ew |
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d |
day |
m |
emm |
v |
fay |
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e |
ay |
n |
enn |
w |
vay |
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f |
eff |
o |
oh |
x |
eeks |
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g |
khay |
p |
pay |
y |
ee-grek |
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h |
hah |
q |
kew |
z |
zett |
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i |
ee |
r |
air |
4. Nouns and Gender
All nouns have a gender in Dutch, either common or neuter. It is hard to guess which gender a noun is, so it is best to memorize the genders when memorizing vocabulary. However, two-thirds of Dutch words are common gender (because the common gender has combined the former feminine and masculine genders.) So it may be easier to memorize which nouns are neuter, and then assign common gender to the rest. All diminutives and infinitives used as nouns, as well as colors, metals, compass directions, and all words that end in -um, -aat, -sel, -isme are neuter. All nouns beginning with ge- and ending with -te are neuter, as are most nouns beginning with ge-, be-, and ver-, but not those ending in -ing.
5. Articles and Demonstratives
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common |
neuter |
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Singular "the" |
de |
het |
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Plural "the" |
de |
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Indefinite "a" or "an" |
een |
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Singular this that |
deze die |
dit dat |
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Plural these those |
deze die |
6. Subject Pronouns
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Subject Pronouns |
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ik |
ik |
I |
wij (we) |
vay |
we |
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jij (je) / u |
yay / ew |
you (singular informal / sing. and plural formal) |
jullie |
yew-lee |
you (plural informal) |
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hij zij (ze) het |
hay zay ut |
he she it |
zij (ze) |
zay |
they |
Unstressed forms are in the parentheses. There are also unstressed forms of ik ('k), hij (ie) and het ('t) but these are not written.
7. To Be and to Have
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Present tense of zijn - to be (zayn) |
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I am |
ik ben |
ik ben |
we are |
wij zijn |
vay zayn |
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You are |
jij / u bent |
yay / ew bent |
you are |
jullie zijn |
yew-lee zayn |
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He, she, it is |
hij, zij, het is |
hay, zay, ut is |
they are |
zij zijn |
zay zayn |
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Present tense of hebben - to have (heh-buh) |
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I have |
ik heb |
ik heb |
we have |
wij hebben |
vay heh-buh |
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You have |
jij / u hebt |
yay / ew hebt |
you have |
jullie hebben |
yew-lee heh-buh |
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He, she, it is |
hij, zij, het heeft |
hay, zay, ut hayft |
they have |
zij hebben |
zay heh-buh |
Note: You must use the subject pronouns; however, I will leave them out of future conjugations.
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zijn |
hebben |
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was |
vahs |
waren |
vah-ruh |
had |
hahd |
hadden |
hah-duh |
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was |
vahs |
waren |
vah-ruh |
had |
hahd |
hadden |
hah-duh |
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was |
vahs |
waren |
vah-ruh |
had |
hahd |
hadden |
hah-duh |
8. Useful Words
sometimes
always
never
often
usually
now
and
but
or
very
here
there
also
much
another
already
perhaps |
soms
altijd
nooit
vaak, dikwijls
gewoonlijk
nu
en
maar
of
waar
hier
daar
ook
veel
een ander
reeds
misschien |
9. Question Words
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Who |
Wie |
vee |
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What |
Wat |
vaht |
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Why |
Waarom |
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When |
Wanneer |
vah-nayr |
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Where |
Waar |
vahr |
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How |
Hoe |
hoo |
10. Numbers
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2 |
twee |
tvay |
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3 |
drie |
dree |
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4 |
vier |
feer |
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5 |
vijf |
faif |
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6 |
zes |
zehs |
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7 |
zeven |
zay-fuh |
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8 |
acht |
akht |
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9 |
negen |
nay-khuh |
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10 |
tien |
teen |
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11 |
elf |
ehlf |
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12 |
twaalf |
tvahlf |
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13 |
dertien |
dayr-teen |
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14 |
veertien |
fayr-teen |
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15 |
vijftien |
faif-teen |
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16 |
zestien |
zehs-teen |
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17 |
zeventien |
zay-fuh-teen |
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18 |
achttien |
ahkh-teen |
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19 |
negentien |
nay-khuh-teen |
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20 |
twintig |
tvin-tuhkh |
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21 |
eenentwintig |
ayn-ehn-tvin-tukh |
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22 |
tweeëntwintig |
tvay-ehn-tvin-tukh |
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23 |
drieentwintig |
dree-ehn-tvin-tukh |
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30 |
dertig |
dayr-tukh |
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40 |
veertig |
fayr-tukh |
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50 |
vijftig |
faif-tukh |
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60 |
zestig |
zes-tukh |
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70 |
zeventig |
zay-fun-tukh |
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80 |
tachtig |
takh-tukh |
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90 |
negentig |
nay-guhn-tukh |
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100 |
honderd |
hohn-derd |
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1,000 |
duizend |
dow-zuhnd |
Note: In the word for twenty-two, the ë is necessary because there are three of the same vowels in a row, and the accent mark shows that the third one needs to be pronounced separately.
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