Spelling Well, Dutch has all the usual letters of the alphabet, plus one. That is: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz and ÿ (ij) Yep, that new letter "ÿ" is very hard to enter on a normal QWERTY keyboard. That's why we normally use "ij" (an "i" and an "j") in typed documents (in handwritten documents usually the "ÿ" is used). So "ij" actually counts as one letter in Dutch (we even have it in Scrabble :-). Of course, we also have the i and j as separate letters, but I can't come up with a word in which j follows i and isn't used as an "ij". So whenever you see "ij" in a word it's the ÿ. For example: "hij" {he}, "IJsselmeer" (name of a lake). The capital "ij" is written as "IJ"; so both letters are capitalized. The "y" is like in English, sometimes vowel, and sometimes a consonant. It is only used in words derived from a foreign language, like Greek, e.g. "hypnose" {hypnosis} or "yoghurt" {yogurt}. As in most languages the first character of a sentence starts with a capital (well almost all of the time). Also names of persons, geographical names start with a capital. Nouns don't normally start with a capital (it does so in the German language for instance). Sentences end with a "." The Dutch language has many diphthongs (two or more vowels forming one sound together). They are: "aa", "aai", "au", "ee", "eeu", "ei", "eu", "ie", "ieu", "oe", "oei", "oi", "oo", "ooi", "ou", "ui", "uu" Dutch also has some sorta consonant diphthongs. They are: "ch", "ng", "sch" Why have two things for the same sound? In the old times (before 1920) the "g" and the "ch" sounded different, this also is valid for other letters and diphthong, like "ij" and "ei" which have the same sound. We call "ij" 'long' and "ei" short. Pronunciation In this text and following lessons we'll use /Word/ to give an example of an English word which contains one more (capitalized) letters which have an approximate pronunciation as the Dutch letters, syllable or word. We'll use (and already have) {word} to denote the English translation of a Dutch word. The consonants are:
B as in " bad bad"" /Bath/ (B at end of words sounds like "P") D as in "dom "dom"" /Doll/ (D at end of words sounds like "T")
F as in "fijn "fijn"" /Fix/ and "laf "laf " /lauGH/ G as in "god "god"" (sounds somewhat like the "ch" in /loCH ness/, very throaty, and "dag "dag"" G as in "garage "garage"" /SHow/ only used in words originating from the French. H as in "help "help"" /Help/ J as in " jas jas"" /Yes/ (not like J in /Jet/, that's more a DJ sound)
J as in " journaal journaal"" /CHopin/
K as in "kat "kat"" /Cat/ and "ik "ik " /liCK/
L as in "los "los"" /Lot/ and "tol" "tol" /toLL/
M as in "mijn "mijn"" /Mine/ and "dom "dom'' /suM/
N as in "niet " niet"" /Not/ and "tin" "tin" /tiN/
P as in " pas pas"" /Pen/ and "sop "sop"" /cuP/
Q as in "quiz "quiz"" /Quiz/
R as in "rot "rot"" /Run/ and "kar "kar " /faR/ (don't roll it)
S as in "sop "sop"" /Sob/ and "los "los"" /boSS/
T as in "tin "tin"" /Tin/ and "rot "rot"" /weT/
V the same as "F", "V" can't be at the end of a word or syllable.
W as in "wat "wat"" /Where/ and "ruw "ruw"" /hoW/
X as in "sex" "sex" /seX/
Z as in "zak" "zak" /Zoo/ and "quiz "quiz"" /quiZ/
The vowels differ more from the English, and they are so many ways to pronounce them!! Pffff. To make it more difficult is that the the sound of a vowel depends (just like in English) on the surrounding consonants and other vowels. Two or three adjacent vowels can also form diphthongs, i.e. they makes one sound together. The vowels are:
A as in "kat "kat", ", sounds something like /cUt/
E as in " ben ben"" /zEn/
E as in "gokken "gokken", ", this is another sound for the single E, it sound like the mute "e" in English, like in {givEn}, it is used mostly when the syllable with the "e" doesn't have the emphasis (stress handled in further lesson)
I as in "ik " ik " /dIck/
O as in "dom "dom"" /sOld/
U as in " put put"" (sounds a bit like /wOrd} or {bIrd}, say the "i" sound and round your lips to a small circle) IJ as in "hij "hij", ", sounds not entirely not like /whY/ The diphthongs are:
AA as in "daar "daar " (a bit like /jA/ or /fAther/, but not really)
AAI as in "saai "saai", ", a bit like the "ij" sound, only longer
AU as in "rauw "rauw"" (same sound as OU)
CH as in "lach "lach"" (same sound as "G")
CH as in "douchen "douchen"" /SHow/ (pronounced like "sj"), from the French, always pronounced like this before the "OU" difhthong EAU as in " bureau bureau"" /gO/ (pronounced like an "oo"), it's a French word, in previous spelling also written with "o" instead of "eau" EE as in " reet reet"" /rAte/, sounds different before an "R", more like a long "i", like as in "meer " meer " /gEAr/ EI as in "zeik "zeik " /dIke/, sounds like the "ij" EEU as in "eeuw "eeuw", ", almost like the long "ee" sound. It's always followed by a "w" EU as in "neus "neus"" (a sound not known in English, just listen), sounds different before an "R", more like a long mute "E", like in "deur " deur ". ". IE as in "lief "lief " /sEE/ IEU as in "nieuw "nieuw"" a bit like /sEAl/, always before a 'w' NG as in "zingen " zingen"" and "lang "lang"" /loNG/
OE as in " boek " /lOOk/
OEI as in "groeien "groeien"" /OOJ/
OI as in "hoi "hoi"" /bOY/, not many words with this sounds though. OO as in "hoop "hoop"" /hOpe/, sounds different before an "R", more like a long "o", like as in "door " door " /dOOr/ OOI as in "mooi "mooi", ", a long OI
OU as in "goud "goud"" /lOUd/ OU as in "douchen "douchen"" /lOOse/ (pronounced like an "oe"), from the French, always prononced like this before "CH", and in some other French words SCH as in "schip "schip", ", the "s" followed by the "CH" sound, but when an "r" follows "sch", as in "schreeuwen schreeuwen". ". At the end of a word its always preceded by a "i" and sounds like the "ies" sound, like in "logisch " logisch"" (sometimes even written with "ies", like "logies", but only in 'rebelian', non-standard Dutch texts).
SJ as in "sjaal "sjaal"" /SHow/
TS as in "tsaar "tsaar " /TSar/
UI as in "huis "huis"" (a sound not present in English, a bit like saying the mute "e" followed by the "UU" sound, but very smooth) UU as in "muur "muur " (a sound not present in English, sounds like the French 'lune', try to say the "ie" /sEE/ sound, and round your lips)
The short vowels "a", "e", "o" and "u" are pronounced as the long vowels "aa", "ee", "oo" rsp. "uu" when they are in a so-called 'open' syllable. An open syllable ends with a single consonant and is followed by another vowel. So examples are: "tAken "tAken", ", "gOdin", "gEven", "Uren". NOT open syllables are: "lAchen", "wErken "wErken", ", "hEbben", "hEb". But the "e" is pronounced as a mute "e" when the emphasis (stress) is not on the syllable (more about this in another lesson). The "a", "o" and "u" are also pronounced long when the are at the end of a word (or used as a single letter, but then the word would consist of this single letter, and would therefore end with the letter, so what am I getting on about?), like in "ja", "zo" and "nu". Finally the letters of the alphabet as promounced: -
0, nul" nul"
Vocabulary nul
1, een" een" (Also written as "e e n" or een "één" to distinguish it from the article "een") 2, twee" twee"
twee
3, drie" drie"
drie
4, vier "
four
5, vijf "
five
6, zes" zes"
six
7, zeven" zeven" (also pronounced as "zeven zeven))
seven
8, acht" acht"
eight
9, negen" negen"
nine
10, tien" tien"
ten
11, elf (also pronounced as elf )
eleven
12, twaalf (also twaalf (also pronounced as twaalf )
twelve
13, dertien
thirteen
14, veertien
fourteen
15, vijftien
fifteen
16, zestien
sixteen
17, zeventien
seventeen
18, achttien
eightteen
19, negentien
nineteen
20, twintig
twenty
21, eenentwintig
twenty one
22, tweeëntwintig
twenty two
23, drieëntwintig
twenty three
24, vierentwintig
twenty four
25, vijfentwintig
twenty five
26, zesentwintig
twenty six
27, zevenentwintig
twenty seven
28, achtentwintig
twenty eight
29, negenentwintig
twenty nine
30, dertig
thirty
40, veertig
fourty
50, vijftig
fifty
60, zestig
sixty
70, zeventig
seventy
80, tachtig
eighty
90, negentig
ninety
honderd
hundred [het, honderden]
duizend
thousand [het, duizenden]
aan
(give) to, at (her bedside), on (board),
on (the wall) achter
behind, after, at the back of
alle
all (all objects)
als
if (also some other usages)
alsjeblieft
here you are, if you please, yes please
alstublieft
here you are, if you please, yes please (polite form)
altijd
always
april
April [de (m)]
arm
poor (also the noun arm)
augustus
August [de (m)]
auto
car [de (m), auto's]
avond
evening [de (m), avonden]
's avonds
in the evening, in the night
badkamer
bathroom (not the lavatory) [de, badkamers]
bah
bah, pooh, pah
balkon
balcony [het, balkons]
bank
couch (also bank (the money thingy)) [de, banken]
bed
bed [het, bedden]
bedanken
to thank, to return thanks, to decline [bedank, bedankt, bedanken, bedankte(n), bedankt (no ge)]
bedankt
thanks
begrijpen
to understand, comprehend [begrijp, begrijpen, begreep, begrepen, begrepen (no extra 'ge')]
beloven
to promise [beloof, beloven, beloofde(n), beloofd]
beneden
below, beneath, under, downstairs
blauw
blue [blauwe]
bloem
flower [de, bloemen]
boek
book [het, boeken]
boven
above, over (upwards of), upstairs
brief
letter [de (m), brieven]
brood
bread [het, broden]
bureau
desk, bureau, (police) station, (travel) agency [het, bureaus]
computer
computer (watch the special 'pu' pronounciation) [de (m), computers]
daar
there
dag
day, 24 hours [de (m), dagen]
dag
bye
dank
thanks [de (m), danken]
danken
to thank [dank, dankt, danken, dankte(n), gedankt]
dank je
thank you
dank u
thank you
dank u wel
thank you kindly
dank u zeer
thank you very much
da's
that is (short for "dat is")
dat
that, or: that, which
de
the (male/female/unisex)
december
December [de (m)]
deur
door [de, deuren]
deze
these
die
those/that
dik
big, bulky, fat
dinsdag
Tuesday [de (m), dinsdagen]
dit
this
dochter
daughter [de (v), dochters]
doeg
bye
doei
bye
doen
to do, work, to put (it one's pocket), to do (one's hair, a room), to make (a promise), and some more [doe, doet, doen, deed, deden, gedaan]
dom
dumb
donderdag
Thursday [de (m), donderdagen]
door
through (the door), by (the author), due to (the rain)
doordat
because, on account of
douchen
to take a shower [douch, doucht, douchen, douchte, douchten, gedoucht]
drinken
to drink [drink, drinken, dronk, dronken, gedronken]
dun
thin
een
a/an
eergisteren
day before yesterday
eetkamer
dining room [de, eetkamers]
en
and
Engels
English [het, no plural
eten
to eat [eet, eet, eten, at, aten, gegeten]
februari
February [de (m)]
fluisteren
to whisper [fluister, fluisteren, fluisterde(n), gefluisterd]
foto
fotograph [de, foto's]
gaan
to go, go to ... [ga, gaat, gaan, ging, gingen, (zijn) gegaan]
gang
passage of a house (and some other uses) [de, (m), gangen]
garage
garage [de (v), garages]
gebeuren
to happen, occur, come about [gebeur, gebeuren, gebeurden, (zijn) gebeurd (no extra "ge")]
geel
yellow [gele]
geen
no, none
geen dank
you're welcome (literally: no thanks (needed))
gek
crazy, weird, mad, silly, silly, nuts (also the noun madman)
geld
money [het]
geven
to give [geef, geeft, geven, gaf, gaven, gegeven]
gisteren
yesterday
goed
good, correct, kind, well, goodly [goede, goeie]
goedemiddag
good afternoon
goedemorgen
good morning
goedenacht
good night
goedenavond
good evening/night
goeiemorgen
good morning
gokken
to gamble [gok, gokken, gokte, gokten, gegokt]
graag
with pleasure, gladly, readily, willingly
graag gedaan
you're welcome (literally: done with pleasure)
grijs
grey [grijze]
groeien
to grow [groei, groeit, groeien, groeide(n), (zijn) gegroeid]
groen
green [groene]
groot
big
haar
her, hers, also hair [de and het, haren]
hal
hall [de hallen]
hallo
hello
hebben
to have [heb, hebt, (hij heeft), hebben, had, hadden, gehad]
hem
him
hen
them (after "aan" or "voor" in directional, cooperative way)
het
it/the (neutral), or it (possesive)
het's
its
hier
here
hij
he
hoe
how
hoe gaat het?
how are you doing? (literally: how are you going?)
hoe gaat het met je?
how are you doing? (literally: how is it going with you?)
hoi
hi
hond
dog [de, (m), honden]
huilen
to cry [huil, huilen, huilde, huilden, gehuild]
huis
house [het, huizen]
hun
them, their
ie
he
iets
something
ik
I
in
in (a house), at (a plane), on (a committee)
indien
if, in case ("als" is used more often, "indien" is more used in official documents)
ja
yes
jaar
year [het, jaren]
januari
January [de (m)]
je
you (singular)
jij
you (singular)
jong
young, or: young one, litter [het, jongen]
jongen
boy, lad [de (m), jongens], or: "jongen, jongen!" dear, dear!, oh dear!, or: to bring forth young animals [jong, jongen, jongde(n), gejongd]
jou
you (possesive)
juli
July [de (m)]
juni
June [de (m)]
jullie
you (plural), or you, yours (plural, possesive)
kamer
room [de, kamers]
kast
cupboard, wardrobe, chest, cabinet [de, kasten]
kat
cat [de, katten]
kelder
cellar [de, (m), kelders]
kennen
to know, be acquinted with [ken, kennen, kende, kenden, gekend]
keuken
kitchen [de, keukens]
kijken
to look [kijk, kijken, keek, keken, gekeken]
kind
child [het, kinderen]
klein
small
kleur
color [de, kleuren]
koken
to boil, or: to cook food [kook, koken, kookte(n), gekookt]
komen
to come (lotsa other uses, we'll come (no pun intented) to them later) [kom, komen, kwam, kwamen, (zijn) gekomen]
kunnen
to be able [kan, jij/u kunt/kan, hij kan, kunnen, kon, konden, gekund]
kus
kiss [de (m), kussen]
kussen
to kiss [kus, kussen, kuste, kusten, gekust]
lamp
lamp [de, lampen]
lekker
nice, delicious, good, fine, nicely
lepel
spoon [de (m), lepels]
leren
to learn [leer, leren, leerde(n), geleerd]
les
lesson [de, lessen]
leuk
amusing, funny or: jolly, pleasant
lezen
to read [lees, lezen, las, lazen, gelezen]
lief
sweet, nice, beloved, dear
liggen
to lie, be situated [lig, liggen, lag, lagen, gelegen]
lopen
to walk [loop, lopen, liep, liepen, gelopen]
maandag
Monday [de (m), maandagen]
maart
March [de (m)]
mama (mamma, ma)
mamma, mommy, mom [de, (v), mama's, mamma's, ma's]
man
man [de, (m), mannen]
mei
May [de (m)]
meid
maid, girl [de (v), meiden] ({girl} on its own is usually "meisje")
meisje
girl, missy [het, meisjes]
mens
human [de (m), mensen]
mes
knife [het, messen]
met
with
mogen
to be allowed, be permitted, may, or to like [mag, mag, mogen, mocht(en), gemogen]
middag
noon [de (m), middagen]
's middags
in the afternoon
mij
me
mijn
mine, also the mine [de, mijnen]
moeder
mother [de, (v), moeders]
moeten
to must/have to [moet, moet, moeten, moest(en), gemoeten]
mooi
beautiful, fine, pretty, handsome
morgen
tomorrow, morning [de (m), morgens]
's morgens
in the morning
muur
wall [de (m), muren]
na
after, in succession (and some others)
naar
at/to (a directional point of view)look at go to
nacht
night [de (m), nachten]
's nachts
in the night
nadat
after (we had seen it)
namiddag
afternoo [de (m), namiddagen]n
Nederlands
Dutch [het, no plural]
nee
no
niet
not
niets
nothing
nieuw
new
november
November [de (m)]
ochtend
morning [de (m), ochtenden]
's ochtends
in the morning
oktober
October [de (m)]
oma
grandma, granny [de (v), oma's]
omdat
because, as
onder
under, beneath, below
ons
us, ours, also 100-gram ounce (official no longer used, but still present in spoken language) [het, onsen, onzen]
ontdekken
to discover, find out [ontdek, ontdekken, ontdekten, ontdekt (no extra "ge")]
op
on (the chair), upon (the roof), at (school), in (an island)
opa
grandad [de (m), opa's]
opdat
that, in order that
oud
old
papa (pappa, pa)
papa, daddy, dad [de, (m), papa's, pappa's, pa's]
papier
paper [het, papieren]
pen
pen [de, pennen]
plafond
ceiling [het, plafonds]
potlood
pencil [het, potloden]
praten
to talk [praat, praat, praten, praatte, praatten, gepraat]
radio
radio [de, (m), radio's]
raam
window [het, ramen]
rood
red< [rode]
schip
ship [het, schepen]
schrijven
to write [schrijf, schrijven, schreef, schreven, geschreven]
september
September [de (m)]
sjonge
same as "tjonge", even more slang
slaapkamer
bedroom [de slaapkamers]
slapen
to sleep [slaap, slapen, sliep, sliepen, geslapen]
sommige
some (some objects)
spreken
to speak [spreek, spreken, sprak, spraken, gesproken]
staan
to stand [sta, staat, staan, stond, stonden, gestaan]
stoel
chair [de, (m), stoelen]
taal
language [de, talen]
tafel
table [de, tafels]
tegen
against (and some more)
tellen
to count [tel, tellen, telde, telden, geteld]
terwijl
while, whilst, as, or: meanwhile
thuis
at home, home
tja
well!
tjonge
well!, have you ever! (slang for "jongen, jongen")
toen
when, as, or: then, at that time
tot
until
tot ziens
(see you)
tussen de middag
noon (literally: between the noon)
typen
to type [typ, typen, typte(n), getypt]
tuin
garden [de (m), tuinen]
tv
tv [de, (v), tv's]
u
you (polite form, singular and plural)
vader
father [de, (m), vaders]
van
of, from, belonging to
vanavond
this evening, tonight
vandaag
today
vanmiddag
this afternoon
vanmorgen
this morning
vannacht
tonight or last night
vanochtend
this morning
verven
to paint (a house, not a painting) [verf, verven, verfde(n), geverfd]
vet
fat
vies
dirty, grubby, nasy, filthy
vijand
enemy, foe [de (m), vijanden]
voor
for, before, in front of (and some more)
voordat
before (we had seen it)
vork
fork [de, vorken]
vriend
friend, boy friend [de (m), vrienden]
vriendin
friend, girl friend, lady friend [de (v), vriendinnen]
vrijdag
Friday [de (m), vrijdagen]
vrouw
woman, wife [de, (v), vrouwen]
waarom
why
waar
where
wanneer
when
want
for (we must do so) (comjugation)
wat
what
werken
to work [werk, werken, werkte, werkten, gewerkt]
wc (w.c.)
lavatory, w.c. [de, (m), wc's]
weten
to know, be aware of [weet, weet, weten, wist, wisten, geweten]
wie
who
wij
we
willen
to want [wil, wilt, willen, wilde(n) (bad: wou(den)), gewild]
wit
white [witte]
woensdag
Wednesday [de (m), woensdagen]
woord
word [het, woorden]
worden
to become, going to be, to grow (old) [word, wordt, worden, werd(en), (zijn) geworden]
zaterdag
Saturday [de (m), zaterdagen]
ze
she/they
zeggen
to say [zeg, zegt, zeggen, zei, zeiden, gezegd]
ziek
sick
zien
to see [zie, ziet, zien, zag, zagen, gezien]
zij
she/they
zijn
to be [ben, bent, (hij is), zijn, was, waren, (zijn) geweest], or his
zingen
to sing [zing, zingen, zong, zongen, gezongen]
zitkamer
sitting-room [de, zitkamers]
zitten
to sit [zit, zit, zitten, zat, zaten, gezeten]
zo
so, like that, such, or: thus, like this, in this way, or: presently, and: many other usages
zolder
loft, attic [de, (m), zolders]
zondag
Sunday [de (m), zondagen]
zoon
son [de (m), zonen]
zullen
to shall/will [zal, jij/u zal (zult) (zal jij), hij zal, zullen, zou(den) (no past perfect)]
zwart
black [zwarte]
Ik ben niet ziek.
Sentences I am not sick.
Het is vies.
It is dirty.
Zij is niet rijk.
She isn't rich.
Hij is dom.
He is dumb.
Jij bent lief
You are sweet.
Wij hebben geld.
We have money.
Jullie zijn arm.
You (multiple) are poor.
Zij zijn niet gek.
They aren't crazy.
Hij gokt niet.
He doesn't gamble.
Zij is niet klein.
She isn't small.
Ik ben dun.
I am thin.
De man kijkt naar het kind.
The man looks at the child.
Hij kust de vrouw.
He kisses the woman.
Jullie kijken door het raam.
You look through the window.
Jij ziet de hond.
You see the dog.
Wij kijken door een raam naar de kat.
We look through a window to the cat.
Ben jij vies? Nee, ik ben niet vies. Are you dirty? No, I'm not dirty. De man en de vrouw zitten op een The man and the woman are stoel. sitting on a chair. Ik sta in het huis.
I'm standing in the house.
Jij loopt, hij staat en ik zit.
You walk, he stands and I sit.
Ja, jullie zingen mooi.
Yes, you sing beautifully.
De kinderen kussen oma in de auto.
The children kiss grandma in the car.
Waar zijn de lepels en de vorken van de zoon?
Where are the spoons and the forks of the son?
Hij geeft de messen aan opa.
He gives the knifes to grandad.
Oma's en opa's hebben foto's van de kinderen aan de muur.
Grandmas and grandads have pictures of the children on the wall.
Ik ga naar bed.
I'm going to bed.
Moeder en vader hadden twee bedden in de slaapkamer.
Mother and father had two beds in the bedroom.
Wat is er?
What's the matter?
Er stond een bank in de zitkamer.
There was a couch in the sittingroom
Waarom heb je gehuild?
Why have you cried?
Hoe heb je dat gedaan?
How have you done that?
Wat is er gebeurd?
What has happened?
Ruud, kom je naar beneden?
Ruud, are you coming downstairs?
Waarom bent u in de hal geweest? Why have you been in the hall? Ik heb moeder elf boeken gegeven.
I have given mother eleven books.
De hond heeft de kat onder de tafel The dog has discovered the cat ontdekt. below the table. Spreekt u Engels?
Do you speak English.
Ik kan Nederlands lezen en schrijven.
I can read and write Dutch.
Ken jij Johanna?
Do you know Johanna?
Weet jij waar mama is? Ze is niet boven in bed.
Do you know where mom is? She is not upstairs in bed.
Heeft u begrepen wat ik in het Nederlands zei?
Have you understood what I said in Dutch?
Jullie hadden achtentachtig potloden en pennen.
You had eighty eight pencils and pens
Kunt u mij het boek geven?
Can you give me the book?
Hij heeft het gele huis rood geverfd.
He has painted the yellow house red.
Zij typte een brief aan hen op mijn She typed a letter to them on my computer. computer. In de tuin staan rode, gele en blauwe bloemen.
In the garden are (stand) red, yellow and blue flowers.
Jullie brood is voor jullie, hun Your bread is for you, their bread brood is voor hen, en mijn brood is is for them, and my bread is for voor mij. me. Alle kinderen zijn lief.
All children are sweet.
Is er gisteren iets gebeurd?
Has something happened yesterday?
Hallo, hoe gaat het met je?
Hello, how are you doing?
Met mij gaat het goed, dank je.
I'm doing fine, thanks. (With me it's going good)
's Morgens loopt hij altijd naar de garage.
In the morning he always walks to the garage.
Het is vandaag 31 december 1999.
Today it is December the 3rd, 1999.
We deden het graag voor je.
We did it gladly for you.
Mag ik u bedanken voor vanmorgen?
May I thank you for this morning?
Als haar vriendin komt, zal zij het If her girl friend comes, she will doen. do it. We moeten het doen, want we hebben 't beloofd.
We must (have to) do it, for we have promised it.
Omdat zij het niet willen, moet ik 't Because they don't want to, I doen. must (have to) do it. Ik beloof je dat ik morgen zal koken.
I promise you that I'll cook tomorrow.
Zo zo! Waarom ben jij hier?
So so! Why are you here?
Jongen, jongen, wat is dat lekker!
Dear, dear, that is delicious!
Bah, da's vies!
Bah, that's filthy!
Tja, da's niet zo mooi.
Well, that's not so fine.
Ik word niet goed.
I'm becoming unwell.
Lesson 1: It's a start In the first lesson we'll start slow. We'll learn about a special 'y'-ish letter in the Dutch alphabet. The sound of most of the consonants and simple vowels can be heard. Some of the personal pronouns are listed and used along with out first, and immediately irregular verb. We'll learn very short sentences with this verb and some adjectives to use with it. And finally some abusive language. Spelling Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Bad language Back to main
Spelling Well, Dutch has all the usual letters of the alphabet, plus one. That is: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz and ÿ (ij) Yep, that new letter "ÿ" is very hard to enter on a normal QWERTY keyboard. That's why we normally use "ij" (an "i" and an "j") in typed documents (in handwritten documents usually the "ÿ" is used). So "ij" actually counts as one letter in Dutch (we even have it in Scrabble :-). Of course, we also have the i and j as separate letters, but I can't come up with a word in which j follows i and isn't used as an "ij". So whenever you see "ij" in a word it's the ÿ. For example: "hij" {he}, "IJsselmeer" (name of a lake). The capital "ij" is written as "IJ"; so both letters are capitalized. The "y" is like in English, sometimes vowel, and sometimes a consonant. It is only used in words derived from a foreign language, like Greek, e.g. "hypnose" {hypnosis} or "yoghurt" {yogurt}. As in most languages the first character of a sentence starts with a capital (well almost all of the time). Also names of persons, geographical names start with a capital. Nouns don't normally start with a capital (it does in the German language for instance).
Sentences end with a "."
Back to start Pronunciation In this text and following lessons we'll use /Word/ to give an example of an English word which contains one more (capitalized) letters which have an approximate pronunciation as the Dutch letters, syllable or word. We'll use (and already have) {word} to denote the English translation of a Dutch word. The more common (with English) consonants are:
B as in " bad" /Bath/ (B at end of words sounds like "P") D as in "dom" /Doll/ (D at end of words sounds like "T")
F as in "fijn" /Fix/ and "laf " /lauGH/
H as in "help" /Help/
J as in " jas" /Yes/ (not like J in /Jet/, that's more a DJ sound)
K as in "kat" /Cat/ and "ik " /liCK/
L as in "los" /Lot/ and "tol" /toLL/
M as in "mijn" /Mine/ and "dom' /suM/
N as in "niet" /Not/ and "tin" /tiN/
P as in " pas" /Pen/ and "sop" /cuP/
Q as in "quiz" /Quiz/
R as in "rot" /Run/ and "kar " /faR/ (don't roll it)
S as in "sop" /Sob/ and "los" /boSS/
T as in "tin" /Tin/ and "rot" /weT/
V the same as "F", "V" can't be at the end of a word or syllable.
W as in "wat" /Where/ and "ruw" /hoW/
X as in "sex" /seX/
Z as in "zak" /Zoo/ and "quiz" /quiZ/
The vowels differ more from the English, and they are so many ways to pronounce them!! Pffff. To make it more difficult is that the sound of a vowel depends (just like in English) on the surrounding consonants and other vowels. Two or three adjacent vowels can also form diphthongs, i.e.
they makes one sound together. But let's make an attempt at the more easy ones, the ones we'll use for the moment in the next of this lesson.
A as in "kat", sounds something like /cUt/
E as in " ben" /zEn/
I as in "ik " /dIck/
O as in "dom" /sOld/
IJ as in "hij", sounds not entirely not like /whY/
And finally one easy diphthong:
IE as in "lief " /sEE/
Back to start Grammar We'll start of easy with most of the single personal pronouns, the verb {to be} and the general layout of simple sentence. The single personal pronouns are (we'll skip one for now, which is used in the form of etiquette):
"ik" {I}
"jij" {you}
"hij" {he}
"zij" {she}
"het" {it}
There are also other forms of "jij", "hij" and "zij", which we'll tell in another lesson. The verb {to be} is "zijn" in Dutch. This is a very irregular verb, but it's the most used one, as in all languages. We'll give the single present forms:
ik ben jij bent /bend/
hij is
zij is
het is
In general, "hij", "zij" and "het" have the same verb forms, so we'll only use "hij" or "zij" in future verb lists. The general form of a simple sentence is: subject verb object or subject verb adjective
Since we only have the verb {to be} for now, we'll use the adjective form only, like: {You are sweet.} Jij bent lief. To negate an adjective use the form: NOT ADJECTIVE The word for {not} is "niet", so: {He is not sweet.} Hij is niet lief.
Back to start Vocabulary dik big, bulky, fat dom dumb het
it
hij
he
ik
I
jij
you
lief sweet, nice, beloved, dear niet
not
vet
fat
vies dirty ziek sick zij
she
zijn
to be
Back to start Sentences Ik ben niet ziek. I am not sick. Het is vies.
It is dirty.
Zij is niet rijk.
She isn't rich.
Hij is dom.
He is dumb.
Jij bent lief.
You are sweet.
Back to start Bad language Unlike the English, Dutch doesn't normally use anal words to express one's anger with something. We, the Dutch, are more genital oriented, both male and female genitals are used (the male ones are generally used for male persons, the female ones for female persons and also for general things).
Of course, the English (mostly American) influence is present in the common Dutch language. Words like 'shit' are commonly used, especially by the youth. We also have blasphemous words which are generally in the same format as the English. Another good (or bad) habit of us is to diagnose people we don't like as sufferers of a particular illness or sickness. We will only list and translate the words below, not try to pronounce them, since we haven't had most of the vowel and consonant sounds yet. Also don't use them in a sentence yet, just shout them: "Eikel!!!" eikel
{dickhead}
godverdomme {goddamned} klerelijer
{cholera sufferer} ("klere" is slang for "cholera")
klootzak
{scrotum}
kutwijf
{cunt vixen/shrew}
lul
{dick}
Back to start
Lesson 2: BeHave In this lesson we'll finish off the verb "zijn" {to be} with the plural personal pronouns. We'll introduce the verb "hebben" {to have} and a regular verb "werken" {to work} (yeah, I know, work work work). Some more vowel sounds and difficult consonants will be handled. Some diphthongs are given. And finally some abusive language.. Spelling Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Bad language
Back to main Spelling The Dutch language has many diphthongs (two or more vowels forming one sound together). We already had the "ie" diphthong. We'll introduce some more: "aa", "ee", "oo", "ei" Dutch also has some sorta consonant diphthong: one of them is "ch", it usually sounds just like "g" (see below). Why have two things for the same sound? In the old times (before 1920) the "g" and the "ch" sounded different, this also is valid for other letters and diphthong, like "ij" and "ei" which have the same sound.
Back to start Pronunciation
In this text and following lessons we'll use /Word/ to give an example of an English word which contains one more (capitalized) letters which have an approximate pronunciation as the Dutch letters, syllable or word. We'll use (and already have) {word} to denote the English translation of a Dutch word. The less common (with English) consonants are:
G as in "god" (sounds somewhat like the "ch" in /loCH ness/, very throaty, and "dag" CH as in "lach" (same sound as "G")
Some weirder sounding vowels and diphthongs:
E as in "gokken", this is another sound for the single E, it sound like the mute "e" in English, like in {givEn}, it is used mostly when the syllable with the "e" doesn't have the emphasis (stress handled in further lesson) U as in " put" (sounds a bit like /wOrd} or {bIrd}, say the "i" sound and round your lips to a small circle) AA as in "daar " (a bit like /jA/ or /fAther/, but not really) EE as in " reet" /rAte/, sounds different before an "R", more like a long "i", like as in "meer " /gEAr/ OO as in "hoop" /hOpe/, sounds different before an "R", more like a long "o", like as in "door " /dOOr/ EI as in "zeik " /dIke/, sounds like the "ij"
Back to start Grammar The multiple personal pronouns are (we'll skip one for now, which is used in the form of etiquette):
"wij" {we}
" jullie" {you}
"zij" {they}
There are also other forms of "wij" and "zij", which we'll tell in another lesson. As you may have noticed, "zij" is used for both {they} and {she}. You must determine from the context or the verbs used which form is meant. Let's finish "zijn" {to be}:
ik ben
jij bent
hij/zij/het is
wij zijn
jullie zijn zij zijn
The forms for all the plurals are the same, so in future we'll only show "wij" form. The Dutch word for {to have} is "hebben":
ik heb
jij hebt
hij heeft
wij hebben
The first regular verb we'll introduce is "werken" {to work}:
ik werk jij werkt
zij werkt
wij werken
The more general form of the present tense of a regular verb is:
ik STEM
jij STEMt
hij STEMt
wij STEMen
Where STEM is the stem of the verb, the stem for "werken" would be "werk". When the stem ends with a single consonant, this consonant is usually doubled, like in "hebben" where the stem is "heb". In future new regular verbs, we'll just list the "ik" and "wij" form of the verb, so you'll know when to double the last consonant. For irregular verbs we'll list the "ik", "jij" and "wij" form, because in general the forms of "jij" and "hij"/"zij" are the same, except for some cases in which we'll mention this.
Back to start
Lesson 3: P'Articles We'll introduce the articles in the Dutch language. We'll handle some exceptions to the 'STEMen' rule introduced in lesson 2. Some prepositions are given. Some more diphthongs are given.
Spelling Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences
Back to main Spelling The Dutch language has many diphthongs (two or more vowels forming one sound together). We'll introduce some more: "uu", "ou", "au", "ui"
Back to start Pronunciation Some weirder sounding diphthongs:
UU as in "muur " (a sound not present in English, sounds like the French 'lune', try to say the "ie" /sEE/ sound, and round your lips)
OU as in "goud" /lOUd/
AU as in "rauw", same sound as OU
UI as in "huis" (a sound not present in English, a bit like saying the mute "e" followed by the "UU" sound, but very smooth)
Back to start Grammar In this lesson we'll introduce the articles. English only has two articles, the definite {the} and the indefinite {a} (and {an}). Dutch has two forms for the definite article and one for the indefinite. The Dutch language assigns genders to nouns. They can be either male, female, male/female or neutral. So neutral is not the same as male/female, more like unisex or something. There are not many general rules on which is male, female, male/female or neutral. In general things being of the male type, like {man} or {father}, are male, female things like {woman}, {sister} are female. We'll introduce some finer rules in further lessons. Just learn them by heart for now. Currently it doesn't matter whether a noun is male or female, since they both use the definite article "de", the neutral definite article is "het" (same word as for {it}, remember?), the indefinite article is "een". (The sound of "een" differs from the general EE sound - it uses the mute E form, like in "de" - to distinguish it from the sound for {one} which is written the same.) In written form also another form for "een" is used, the "ee" is replaced by a single
quote, like in " 'n " (it is pronounced the same). There is also a different written form for "het", just like "'n" the first two characters are replaced by a single quote, like in " 't ". This is pronounced differently than "het", it uses a mute "e". In spoken language the " 't " form is frequently used, since it's shorter and easier to say. The article is placed before the noun, like in: "de man", "het huis", "een dag". In the vocabulary list we'll place the articles before the new nouns and use (v) for female words and (m) for male words. In lesson 2 we introduced the STEMen rule: The more general form of the present tense of a regular verb is:
ik STEM
jij STEMt
hij STEMt
wij STEMen
Where STEM is the stem of the verb, the stem for "werken" would be "werk". When the stem ends with a single consonant, this consonant is usually doubled, like in "hebben" where the stem is "heb". An amendment is: When STEM ends with a "t", the second and third person (jij/hij/zij/het) don't get an extra "t" following the STEM. So for example the verb "zitten" {to sit} will be:
ik zit
jij zit
hij zit
wij zitten
Another amendment is: When the STEM ends with a single consonant the consonant is doubled in the STEMen form, only if the preceding vowel is one of the single vowels: "a", "e", "i", "o" or "u". So "ij" isn't one of them. Finally we'll introduce some prepositions. Prepositions are usually placed between the verb and the subject, like in English: {he looks through the window} "Hij kijkt door het raam"
Back to start Vocabulary de
the (male/female/unisex)
door
through (the door), by (the author), due to (the rain)
een
a/an
het
the (neutral)
hond
dog [de (m)]
huis
house [het]
kat
cat [de]
kijken to look [kijk kijkt kijken] kind
child [het, 't]
kussen to kiss [kus kust kussen] man
man [de (m)]
naar
at/to (a directional point of view)look at go to
raam
window [het]
vrouw woman/wife [de (v)] zien
to see [zie ziet zien]
zitten to sit [zit zit zitten]
Back to start Sentences De man kijkt naar het kind.
The man looks at the child.
Hij kust de vrouw.
He kisses the woman.
Jullie kijken door het raam.
You look through the window.
Jij ziet de hond.
You see the dog.
Wij kijken door een raam naar We look through a window to de kat. the cat.
Back to start
Lesson 4: And? The letters of the alphabet will be pronounced. We will look at the question form of a sentence. Some more prepositions will be given and the word "en" {and} is used. Some diphthongs are given. Spelling Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Back to main
Spelling
The Dutch language has many diphthongs (two or more vowels forming one sound together). We'll introduce some more: "eu", "oi", "ooi" Dutch also has some sort-a consonant diphthong: one of them is "ng", it sounds the same as in English.
Back to start Pronunciation Some weirder sounding diphthongs:
EU as in "neus" (a sound not known in English, just listen), sounds different before an "R", more like a long mute "E", like in "deur ". OI as in "hoi" /bOY/, not many words with this sounds though. OOI as in "mooi", a long OI NG as in "zingen" and "lang" /loNG/
The short vowels "a", "e", "o" and "u" are pronounced as the long vowels "aa", "ee", "oo" rsp. "uu" when they are in a so-called 'open' syllable. An open syllable ends with a single consonant and is followed by another vowel. So examples are: "tAken", "gOdin", "gEven", "Uren". NOT open syllables are: "lAchen", "wErken", "hEbben", "hEb". But the "e" is pronounced as a mute "e" when the emphasis (stress) is not on the syllable (more about this in another lesson). The "a", "o" and "u" are also pronounced long when the are at the end of a word (or used as a single letter, but then the word would consist of this single letter, and would therefore end with the letter, so what am I getting on about?), like in " ja", "zo" and "nu". Finally the letters of the alphabet as promounced: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X IJ Y Z
Back to start Grammar Dutch uses the word "en" like the English use the word {and}, to concatenate two sentences, like in {the cat eats the fish and the dog eats the cat} "de kat eet de vis en de hond eet de kat" or two objects, like in {the dog eats the cat and the fish} "de hond eet de kat en de vis" Questions are only a bit different from the English. The English uses the {do} verb a
lot in questions. {Do you think so?} The Dutch doesn't have this concept, it justs reverses the object and the verb, like with the English verbs {are}, {can} and {will} ({Are you sweet?}) The normal form is: SUBJECT VERB OBJECT The question form is: VERB SUBJECT OBJECT? Like in: "Is hij lief?" The verb keeps the same form as in the normal form, with an exception of the second person singular, the "jij" form, this changes to the "ik" form, so without the "t", like in: "Jij bent lief. Ben jij dik?" Like we mentioned in the pronounciation chapter, the vowels "a", "e', "o" and "u" in an open syllable are pronounced long. In written form the opposite applies, the diphthongs "aa", "ee", "oo" and "uu" in an open syllable are written in the short form. This happens when the verb STEM has this form and is conjugated in the multiple form with the "en", like in: "loop" - "lopen" "raad" - "raden" "leer" - "leren"
Back to start Vocabulary deur
door [de]
en
and
in
in (a house), at (a plane), on (a committee)
ja
yes
lopen
to walk [loop lopen]
mooi
beautiful, fine, pretty, handsome
nee
no
op
on (the chair), upon (the roof), at (school), in (an island)
staan
to stand [sta staat staan]
stoel
chair [de (m)]
zingen to sing [zing zingen]
Back to start Sentences Ben jij vies? Nee, ik ben niet vies.
Are you dirty? No, I'm not dirty.
De man en de vrouw
The man and the woman are
zitten op een stoel.
sitting on a chair.
Ik sta in het huis.
I'm standing in the house.
Jij loopt, hij staat en ik You walk, he stands and I zit. sit. Ja, jullie zingen mooi. Yes, you sing beautifully.
Back to start Lesson 5: Where are you all? We will handle the plural form of nouns. The adjective {where} and the other forms of 'jij', 'zij' and 'hij' are given. Some diphthongs are given. And some more dirty words. Spelling Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Bad language
Back to main
Spelling The Dutch language has many diphthongs (two or more vowels forming one sound together). We'll introduce some more: "oe", "aai", "eeu" Dutch also has some sort-a consonant diphthong: one of them is "sch".
Back to start Pronunciation Some weirder sounding diphthongs:
OE as in " boek " /lOOk/
AAI as in "saai", a bit like the "ij" sound, only longer
EEU as in "eeuw", almost like the long "ee" sound. It's always followed by a "w" SCH as in "schip", the "s" followed by the "CH" sound, but when an "r" follows "sch", as in "schreeuwen". At the end of a word its always preceded by a "i" and sounds like the "ies" sound, like in "logisch" (sometimes even written with "ies", like "logies", but only in 'rebelian', non-standard Dutch texts).
Back to start
Grammar The Dutch word for {where} is "waar ", the word for {there} is "daar ". Because adjectives like "waar" are used in questions, sentences have the form: "waar VERB OBJECT?" like: "Waar is hij?" {where is he?} The answer to this question has the same form, unlike the English which would be: {There he is} with the form {ADJECTIVE OBJECT VERB} but: "Daar is hij." with the form "ADJECTIVE VERB OBJECT". or: "Hij is daar.", like the English {He is over there} There are other forms for the pronouns "jij", "hij" and "zij" (singular and plural). They are: " je" - "jij" "ie" - "hij" "ze" - "zij" "je" and "ze" are normally used in most of the cases. "jij" and "zij" are used when stress or emphasis is used on the objects. For example: {Where is Susan? She is there.}, but {Who did it? SHE did it!}, or {Did Paul and Susan do it? No, SHE did it!} The "ie" pronoun can't be used in this form. It's only used in sentences with forms like: "Hier is ie." {Here he is.} Basically, the plural of nouns, are the singular form followed by either "en" or "s". When do you get "en" and when "s", you may wonder. Well, usually you get "en", but when the word ends with a vowel or with "el", "en" or "er" (with a mute "e"), it gets an "s". With "en" the doubling of a single consonant after a single vowel "a", "e", "i", "o", "u" applies, and the 'singling' of the diphthongs "aa", "ee", "oo" and "uu" in an open syllable applies, just like with the verbs. Another rule is that the "s" plural form gets a preceding quote (like in: 's) when the singular form ends with a "a", "e", "i", "o", "u" or "y" in which this vowel isn't part of a diphthong, and the "e" should be the mute one. To complete it, yet another rule for the "en" form: when the singular form ends with an "f" which wouldn't be doubled in the plural form (see above) the "f" is changed to a "v" in the plural form. The same goes for the "s" which is changed to a "z" (btw. these two rules also apply for verbs). And of course there are words which are irregular and follow their own rule. Examples: "vrouw/vrouwen", "man/mannen", "stoel/stoelen", "lepel/lepels", "muur/muren", "opa/opa's", "auto/auto's", "lente/lentes", "huis/huizen", "kus/kussen", "graf/graven", "verf/verven", "schip/schepen", "kind/kinderen". The plural form always gets the "de" article.
Finally, some words don't have a plural form, just like in English, which are things you can't count, like "water".
Back to start Vocabulary
aan
(give) to, at (her bedside), on (board), on (the wall)
auto
car [de (m), auto's]
boek
book [het, boeken]
daar
there
dochter daughter [de (v), dochters] foto
fotograph [de, foto's]
geven
to give [geef geeft geven]
hier
here
ie
he
je
you (singular)
kus
kiss [de (m), kussen]
lepel
spoon [de (m), lepels]
mes
knife [het, messen]
muur
wall [de (m), muren]
oma
grandma, granny [de (v), oma's]
opa
grandad [de (m), opa's]
schip
ship [het, schepen]
van
of, from, belonging to
vork
fork [de, vorken]
waar
where
ze
she/they
zoon
son [de (m), zonen]
Back to start Sentences De kinderen kussen oma in de auto.
The children kiss grandma in the car.
Waar zijn de lepels en de vorken van de zoon?
Where are the spoons and the forks of the son?
Hij geeft de messen aan opa.
He gives the knifes to grandad.
Oma's en opa's hebben foto's van de kinderen aan de muur.
Grandmas and grandads have pictures of the children on the wall.
Back to start
Bad language We'll give you some dirty words regarding sex this time. borst
{breast}
tepel
{nipple}
tiet
{tit}
kont
{ass}
penis
{penis}
vagina
{vagina}
kut
{cunt}
pik
{dick}
lul
{cock}
neuken
{to fuck}
naaien
{to screw}
beffen
{to suck pussy}
pijpen
{to suck cock}
Back to start Lesson 6: Who was there on two? We will handle the past present form of verbs. The words for {who} and {what} will be given. The much used word "er" will be used. Some more sounds. We'll count from 0 to 10. Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences
Back to main
Pronunciation Some consonants or diphthongs which are used rarely and mostly in words originating from foreign words:
SJ as in "sjaal" /SHow/
J as in " journaal" /CHopin/
TS as in "tsaar " /TSar/
Back to start Grammar The Dutch word for {who} is "wie", the word for {what} is "wat". There used the same as "waar". The Dutch word "er" is used for many things (probably because it is so small).
The most frequently usage is for {there}, as in {there are ...} - "Er zijn ..." Also: {What's the matter?} - "Wat is er?" And: {Here we are} - "We zijn er" And some more, you'll see them as we use them in sentences. The simple numbers are:
0 - "nul" 1 - "een" (Also written as "e e n" or "één" to distinguish it from the article "een")
2 - "twee"
3 - "drie"
4 - "vier "
5 - "vijf "
6 - "zes"
7 - "zeven" (also pronounced as "zeven
8 - "acht"
9 - "negen"
10- "tien"
The regular form of the past present form is the STEM followed by "te(n)" or "de(n)". The "n" is used in the plural form. Whether a "t" or "d" is used depends on the last vowel of the STEM. Normally, the "d" is used, but if the STEM ends with one of "k", "f", "s", "ch", "p" the "t" is used. Remember that the 'transformed' "z" (to an "s") and "v" (to an "f") are not one of these. A mnemonic for the "t" or "d" rule is the word "fokschaap" {breeding sheep} in which all the "t" vowels are present (also the word "kofschip" is used).
So: ik/jij/hij/zij/het STEMde - STEMte wij/jullie/zij STEMden - STEMten The irregular verbs (which are of course the most used) don't have any real rules, except that they have the same form for all the singular forms, and the same form for all the plural forms. Verbs we defined in previous lessons: werken - ik/jij/hij/zij/het werkte - wij/jullie/zij werkten tellen - ,, telde - ,, telden kussen - ,, kuste - ,, kusten gokken - ,, gokte - ,, gokten zijn - ,, was - ,, waren hebben - ,, had - ,, hadden staan - ,, stond - ,, stonden geven - ,, gaf - ,, gaven kijken - ,, keek - ,, keken lopen - ,, liep - ,, liepen zien - ,, zag - ,, zagen zingen - ,, zong - ,, zongen zitten - ,, zat - ,, zaten
Back to start
Vocabulary 0, nul"
zero
1, een" (Also written as "e e n" one or "één" to distinguish it from the article "een") 2, twee"
two
3, drie"
three
4, vier "
four
5, vijf "
five
6, zes"
six
7, zeven" (also pronounced as "zeven)
seven
8, acht"
eight
9, negen"
nine
10, tien"
ten
badkamer
bathroom (not the lavatory) [de, badkamers]
bank
couch (also bank (the money thingy)) [de, banken]
bed
bed [het, bedden]
drinken
to drink [drink, drinken, dronk, dronken]
eetkamer
dining room [de, eetkamers]
eten
to eat [eet, eet, eten, at, aten]
kamer
room [de, kamers]
kelder
cellar [de, (m), kelders]
keuken
kitchen [de, keukens]
liggen
to lie, be situated [lig, liggen, lag, lagen]
moeder
mother [de, (v), moeders]
onder
under, beneath, below
slaapkamer
bedroom [de slaapkamers]
slapen
to sleep [slaap,
slapen, sliep, sliepen] tellen
to count [tel, tellen, telde, telden]
vader
father [de, (m), vaders]
wat
what
wc (w.c.)
lavatory, w.c. [de, (m), wc's]
wie
who
zitkamer
sitting-room [de, zitkamers]
zolder
loft, attic [de, (m), zolders]
Back to start Sentences Ik ga naar bed.
I'm going to bed.
Moeder en vader hadden twee bedden in de slaapkamer.
Mother and father had two beds in the bedroom.
Wat is er?
What's the matter?
Er stond een bank in de zitkamer.
There was a couch in the sitting-room
Back to start Lesson 7: Why have you cried? We will handle the past perfect form of verbs. The words for {why} and {how} will be given. The polite form for {you} will be given. Some more sounds. We'll count from 11 to 19. We start with an experiment: exercises! You can try them on paper and then check the answers immediatly. Pardon the somewhat crude interface. Also there will be more in future lessons. Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Exercises
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Pronunciation Some vowels, consonants or diphthongs which are used rarely and mostly in words originating from foreign words:
EAU as in " bureau" /gO/ (pronounced like an "oo"), it's a French word, in previous spelling also written with "o" instead of "eau" OU as in "douchen" /lOOse/ (pronounced like an "oe"), from the French, always prononced like this before "CH", and in some other French words CH as in "douchen" /SHow/ (pronounced like "sj"), from the French, always pronounced like this before the "OU" difhthong
Back to start Grammar The Dutch word for {why} is "waarom", the word for {how} is "hoe". There used the same as "waar" and "wat". The next numbers are:
11 - "elf " (also pronounced as "elf ")
12 - "twaalf " (also pronounced as "twaalf ")
13 - "dertien"
14 - "viertien"
15 - "vijftien"
16 - "zestien"
17 - "zeventien"
18 - "achttien"
19 - "negentien"
The polite form for {you} is "u". It is used for both the singular and plural form. It uses the verb form of "hij"/"zij"/"het", but for "zijn" usually the "jij" form ("bent") is used. Whether the singular or plural form is used, must be deduced from the context. The polite form is used when talking to older people or people higher in the hierarchy, ie. people who need respect. There may come a moment when you start using the "jij" or "jullie" form when you get to know people better. It is written with a capital "U" when talking to divine and god-like creatures. Today's society (especially the youth) is using the polite form less and less (here talks an old dude :-). The regular form of the past perfect form is the STEM followed by "t" or "d" and prefixed with "ge", ie. geSTEMt or geSTEMd. The "t" or "d" depends on the "fokschaap" rule from lesson 6. The "ge" is omitted for verbs of which the STEM starts with one of the sylables:
"ge", "be", "her", "ver" or "ont" (maybe I missed one). So "geven" isn't one of them, since the stem is "geef" (or "gev" if you want), so the first sylable is "geef", not "ge". The "ge" prefix is also handled diferently for compound verbs starting with a preposition (these will be handled in a later lesson). Just like in English an auxilary verb is used, this can be either "zijn" or "hebben". The first one is used when the subject is the direct object of the sentence (the victim so to speak), the latter is used when the subject 'does' the action. Like in English: {I am struck} and {I have struck}, or {I am killed} and {I have killed}. In most cases "hebben" is used, and for "zijn" only "zijn" is used.
So (using last "d" or "t" at random): ik heb geSTEMd - ben geSTEMt jij hebt geSTEMt - bent geSTEMd u heeft geSTEMd - bent/is geSTEMt hij/zij/het heeft geSTEMd - is geSTEMt wij/jullie/zij hebben geSTEMd - zijn geSTEMt The irregular verbs (which are of course the most used) all use the "ge" prefix (except for the exceptions given above), but the STEM and "t/d" part may change. Unlike in English the auxilary verb and the participle (the "geSTEMt" word) can be separated by some other words, like the object. Verbs we defined in previous lessons: werken - gewerkt tellen - geteld kussen - gekust gokken - gegokt zijn - ben geweest hebben - gehad staan - gestaan geven - gegeven kijken - gekeken lopen - gelopen zien - gezien zingen - gezongen drinken - gedronken eten - gegeten liggen - gelegen slapen - geslapen zitten - gezeten
Back to start Vocabulary 11, elf (also pronounced as elf )
eleven
12, twaalf (also pronounced as twaalf )
twelve
13, dertien
thirteen
14, veertien
fourteen
15, vijftien
fifteen
16, zestien
sixteen
17, zeventien
seventeen
18, achttien
eightteen
19, negentien
nineteen
beneden
below, beneath, under, downstairs
boven
above, over (upwards of), upstairs
douchen
to take a shower [douch, doucht, douchen, douchte, douchten, gedoucht]
gang
passage of a house (and some other uses) [de, (m), gangen]
gebeuren
to happen, occur, come about [gebeur, gebeuren, gebeurden, (zijn) gebeurd (no extra "ge")]
hal
hall [de hallen]
hoe
how
huilen
to cry [huil, huilen, huilde, huilden, gehuild]
kast
cupboard, wardrobe, chest, cabinet [de, kasten]
komen
to come (lotsa other uses, we'll come (no pun intented) to them later) [kom, komen, kwam, kwamen, (zijn) gekomen]
lamp
lamp [de, lampen]
les
lesson [de, lessen]
met
with
ontdekken
to discover, find out [ontdek, ontdekken, ontdekten, ontdekt (no extra "ge")]
radio
radio [de, (m), radio's]
tafel
table [de, tafels]
thuis
at home, home
tv
tv [de, (v), tv's]
u
you (polite form, singular and plural)
waarom
why
Back to start Sentences Waarom heb je gehuild?
Why have you cried?
Hoe heb je dat gedaan?
How have you done that?
Wat is er gebeurd?
What has happened?
Ruud, kom je naar beneden?
Ruud, are you coming downstairs?
Waarom bent u in de hal geweest?
Why have you been in the hall?
Ik heb moeder elf boeken gegeven.
I have given mother eleven books.
De hond heeft de kat onder de tafel ontdekt.
The dog has discovered the cat below the table.
Back to start Exercises Translate into Dutch/English (select answer to view it): Question
Answer
We walked to the house.
We liepen naar het huis.
Why are you at home, mother? Waarom bent u thuis, moeder? De kinderen aten op de bank. The children ate on the couch. Wij hebben veertien auto's gehad.
We have had fourteen cars.
Hoe kom ik naar beneden?
How do I get downstairs?
Jullie kijken door het raam naar de kat.
You are looking through the window at the cat.
Les acht: I know the can-can We'll handle the difference between the Dutch words for {know} and {can}. Some more sounds. We'll count from 20 to 99. We'll continue with the experiment: exercises! You can try them on paper and then check the answers immediatly. Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Exercises
Back to main
Pronunciation Some vowels, consonants or diphthongs which are used rarely and mostly in words originating from foreign words:
OND as in " plafond" /On/ (pronounced like "on"), it's a French word, also and more frequently pronounced as the more Dutchie " plafond"
Back to start Grammar
The Dutch verb for {know} is "kennen", the verb for {can} is "kunnen". You can see they are very alike, and lots of Dutch people have the bad habit of using "kennen" instead of "kunnen" when speaking, especially in some dialects. You shouldn't do this yourself (unless you want to be a real Dutchie :-) but be prepared for it (and don't correct them!! :-). "Kunnen" is an highly irregular verb, so much that I'm not really sure myself about the "jij" form. It's like: ik kan, jij/u kan (or jij/u kunt) (kun/kan jij), hij/zij/het kan, wij kunnen, ik kon, wij konden, gekund I hope so at least (any Dutch language wizard with some feedback?). The next numbers are:
20 - "twintig"
21 - "eenentwintig"
22 - "tweeëntwintig"
23 - "drieëntwintig"
24 - "vierentwintig"
25 - "vijfentwintig"
26 - "zesentwintig"
27 - "zevenentwintig"
28 - "achtentwintig"
29 - "negenentwintig"
30 - "dertig"
40 - "veertig"
50 - "vijftig"
60 - "zestig"
70 - "zeventig"
80 - "tachtig"
90 - "negentig"
Note that it's not like in English, but first the singles, then the decades. Also note the diaeresis above the "e" in "tweeëntwintig" en "drieëntwintig". It's to stress the point where the next sylable begins in a juxtaposition where the first sylable ends with a vowel (diphthong) and the next starts with one. In other cases an '-' is used, but this will be handled in a further lesson. The numbers 31, 32, etc, till 99 are like the 20 numbers. Note the start 't' in 80 "tachtig".
Back to start Vocabulary
20, twintig
twenty
21, eenentwintig twenty one 22, tweeëntwintig twenty two 23, drieëntwintig twenty three 24, vierentwintig twenty four 25, vijfentwintig twenty five 26, zesentwintig twenty six 27, zevenentwintig
twenty seven
28, achtentwintig twenty eight 29, negenentwintig
twenty nine
30, dertig
thirty
40, veertig
fourty
50, vijftig
fifty
60, zestig
sixty
70, zeventig
seventy
80, tachtig
eighty
90, negentig
ninety
achter
behind, after, at the back of
begrijpen
to understand, comprehend [begrijp, begrijpen, begreep, begrepen, begrepen (no extra 'ge')]
Engels
English [het, no plural
gaan
to go, go to ... [ga, gaat, gaan, ging, gingen, (zijn) gegaan]
kennen
to know, be acquinted with [ken, kennen, kende, kenden, gekend]
kunnen
to can, be able [kan, jij/u kunt/kan, hij kan, kunnen, kon, konden, gekund]
lezen
to read [lees, lezen, las, lazen, gelezen]
mama (mamma, mamma, mommy, mom [de, (v), mama's, ma) mamma's, ma's] na
after, in succession (and some others)
Nederlands
Dutch [het, no plural]
papa (pappa, pa)
papa, daddy, dad [de, (m), papa's, pappa's, pa's]
papier
paper [het, papieren]
pen
pen [de, pennen]
plafond
ceiling [het, plafonds]
potlood
pencil [het, potloden]
praten
to talk [praat, praat, praten, praatte, praatten, gepraat]
schrijven
to write [schrijf, schrijven, schreef, schreven, geschreven]
spreken
to speak [spreek, spreken, sprak, spraken, gesproken]
taal
language [de, talen]
tegen
against (and some more)
voor
for, before, in front of (and some more)
weten
to know, be aware of [weet, weet, weten, wist, wisten, geweten]
woord
word [het, woorden]
zeggen
to say [zeg, zegt, zeggen, zei, zeiden, gezegd]
Back to start Sentences Spreekt u Engels?
Do you speak English.
Ik kan Nederlands lezen en schrijven.
I can read and write Dutch.
Ken jij Johanna?
Do you know Johanna?
Weet jij waar mama is? Ze is niet boven in bed.
Do you know where mom is? She is not upstairs in bed.
Heeft u begrepen wat ik in het Nederlands zei?
Have you understood what I said in Dutch?
Jullie hadden achtentachtig potloden en pennen.
You had eighty eight pencils and pens
Back to start Exercises Translate into Dutch/English (select answer to view it): Question
Answer
Ik schreef met een potlood.
I wrote with a pencil.
De lamp hangt aan het plafond.
The lamp hangs on the ceiling.
Ze gaf papa pen en papier.
She gave daddy pen and paper.
The pencil lies on the paper.
De pen ligt op het papier.
The chairs are standing behind the table.
De stoelen staan achter de tafel.
Why are you crying?
Waarom huil je?
Back to start Les negen: My small mistake We'll get to adjectives and the possesive pronouns. More exercises! You can try them on paper and then check the answers immediatly. Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Exercises
Back to start Pronunciation Some vowels, consonants or diphthongs which are used rarely and mostly in words originating from foreign words:
G as in "garage" /SHow/ only used in words originating from the French.
Back to start Grammar Adjectives describe a subject or object. They can proceed the noun or follow a verb describing the subject or object. They are used almost the same as in English. Like: {A red house is big} - Een rood huis is groot. Both {red} and {big} are adjectives as are "rood" en "groot".
An exception (you've been waiting for it) is when the adjective is placed between the definite article ("de" and "het") and a noun, or between the undefinite article ("een") and a non-neutral noun (which get the "de" article). The adjective is then followed by "e", and the usual rules of long vowels changing into short vowels ("aa", "ee", "oo" and "uu" into "a", "e", "o" and "u" rsp) and the doubling of the ending single consonant when the last sylable has a short vowel and ends with a single consonant ("a", "e", "i", "o" and "u"), and "s" changing into "z" and "f" into "v". So: Het rode huis, de dikke man, een groot huis, een grote man, een vies huis, het vieze huis. This is for the single nouns. Before plural nouns the "e" rule always applies. So: De rode huizen, de dikke mannen, grote huizen, grote mannen. The past perfect of verbs (the "ge" verb) may also be used as adjective, like in English. So: {the kissed woman} - de gekuste vrouw. The possesive pronouns are as follows in Dutch:
mij - me, mijn - mine
jou - you, jouw - your
hem - him, zijn - his
haar - her, haar - her
het - it, het's - its
ons - us, ons - ours
jullie - you, jullie - your hun - them, hun - their
Note that "ons" (as an exception) follows the adjective rule, so: ons huis, onze moeder. Also note that "mijn" is often abbreviated to m'n, "zijn" to z'n, "haar" to 'r . These forms are usually used in the non-stressed form. Also also note that "mij" has a non-stressed form me, and "jou" the non-stressed form je. So: {It's YOUR mother} - Het is jouw moeder. {It's your mother} - Het is je moeder. {The mother of you} - De moeder van jou.
An (almost accepted) error made by many Dutch people is to use "hun" instead of "zij" (plural) in the subject form, like: "Hun zijn ziek." instead of "Zij zijn ziek." Don't do it yourself, but be prepared. Finally another exception: after the pronouns "aan" and "voor", when they are used in a directional, cooperative way (rsp. to and for), "hun" is replaced by hen". This is also valid when the pronoun "aan" is left out, but you could insert it (like the English {to} in: I gave it (to) them). So: Ik praat tegen hun. Ik geef het boek aan hen. Ik geef hen het boek. Het is voor hen.
Back to start Vocabulary mij
me
mijn
mine, also the mine [de, mijnen]
jou
you (possesive)
hem
him
zijn
his
haar
her, hers, also hair [de and het, haren]
het
it (possesive)
het's
its
ons
us, ours, also 100-gram ounce (official no longer used, but still present in spoken language) [het, onsen, onzen]
jullie
you, yours (plural, possesive)
hun
them, their
hen
them (after "aan" or "voor" in directional, cooperative way)
garage
garage [de (v), garages]
tuin
garden [de (m), tuinen]
balkon
balcony [het, balkons]
computer
computer (watch the special 'pu' pronounciation) [de (m), computers]
bureau
desk, bureau, (police) station, (travel) agency [het, bureaus]
rood
red< [rode]
blauw
blue [blauwe]
groen
green [groene]
geel
yellow [gele]
zwart
black [zwarte]
wit
white [witte]
grijs
grey [grijze]
alle
all (all objects)
sommige some (some objects) kleur
color [de, kleuren]
brief
letter [de (m), brieven]
bloem
flower [de, bloemen]
brood
bread [het, broden]
mens
human [de (m), mensen]
fluisteren
to whisper [fluister, fluisteren, fluisterde(n), gefluisterd]
typen
to type [typ, typen, typte(n), getypt]
verven
to paint (a house, not a painting) [verf, verven, verfde(n), geverfd]
leren
to learn [leer, leren, leerde(n), geleerd]
Back to start Sentences Kunt u mij het boek geven?
- Can you give me the book?
Hij heeft het gele huis rood geverfd.
- He has painted the yellow house red.
Zij typte een brief aan hen op mijn - She typed a letter to them on my computer. computer. In de tuin staan rode, gele en blauwe bloemen.
- In the garden are (stand) red, yellow and blue flowers.
Jullie brood is voor jullie, hun
- Your bread is for you, their
brood is voor hen, en mijn brood is bread is for them, and my bread is voor mij. for me. Alle kinderen zijn lief.
- All children are sweet.
Back to start Exercises Translate into Dutch/English (select answer to view it): Question
Answer
Waarom ligt mamma niet in bed?
Why doesn't mummy lie in bed?
Sommige mensen zijn groot.
Some people are tall (big).
Alle witte bloemen waren klein.
All white flowers were small.
Ik heb de Nederlandse taal geleerd.
I have learned the Dutch language.
De grijze, grote computer staat op The grey, small computer stands het bureau van vader. on the desk of father. De rode pennen zijn van mij, niet van jou.
The red pencils are mine, not yours.
Have you seen their house?
Heb je hun huis gezien?
We gave some yellow letters to them.
We gaven enkele gele brieven aan hen.
All breads lay in the cupboard.
Alle broden lagen in de kast.
Back to start Les tien: 1999 Some more about adjectives. We'll learn all about the date. Some greetings will be made. More exercises! You can try them on paper and then check the answers immediatly. Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Exercises
Back to start Pronunciation Some more diphthongs:
OEI as in "groeien" /OOJ/
Back to start
Grammar In the previous lesson we handled adjectives, like "rood" and "rode". Some word having a vowel or diphthongs followed by "de", like "rode" can also be written and pronounced using the "i" letter instead of the "d", and therefor transform to the "OOI" sound instead of the "OO", like "rooie". Or "goeie" instead of "goede". Or "raaien" instead of "raden" (very very very slang). Note that this is not proper 'schoolbook' Dutch, more like slang, although the word "goeie" is very frequently used by everyone (but still can't be found in dictionaries). We'll note the alternatives in future vocabulary lists when appropiate.
In a previous lesson we noted that the past perfect verb (the "ge" form, like "geverfd") can also be used as an adjective, much like in English (the "ed" form like {painted}). In English the "ing" form (like {talking}) can also be used as an adjective, having an active meaning; the subject is currently performing the task (talking in the case of the example). The Dutch form of this construction is the full verb, like "praten" followed by a "d". This again follows the "e" form as handled before, like: "de pratende man" {the talking man}. Because a date also contains a year, we'll handle the numbers in the range 100 - 999999 first. The word for 100 is "honderd". The word for 1000 is "duizend". The word for X00 (X is 2 - 9) is X concatenated with "honderd", like "tweehonderd". If X is 1, you can leave out "een" unless you really really want to stress it. The word for XX000 (XX is 2 - 99) is XX concatenated with "duizend", like "drieduizend". If XX is 1, you can leave out "een" unless you want to stress it. You can also use the XY00 form (XY is 11 - 99), but not when Y is 0. You concatenate XY with "honderd", like "zevenentachtighonderd". The word for XXZZ (XX is 1 - 99, y is not 0) is XX (if not 1), optionally concatenated with the word "en", concatenated with "honderd", concatenated with the ZZ word like "vierhonderdvijfendertig" or like "honderdentweeëntwintig". The word for XXXZZZ (XXX is 2 - 999) is the XXX word concatenated with "duizend", optionally concatenated with the word "en", concatenated with the ZZZ word if not 0. like "driehonderdeenentwintigduizendvierhonderdzesenzestig". When pronouncing years in a date (so not as in an interval, e.g. the number of years between two occurences) we can leave out the "honderd" and "en" part. So the current years are "negentiennegenennegentig", "tweeduizend" en "tweeduizendeen", and it's "negentienhonderdnegentig" years ago. You may have noticed that I use 3 years as the current years, I hope this course is about finished in 2002 :-) Now the months. They are:
januari (January)
februari (February)
maart (March)
april (April)
mei (May)
juni (June)
juli (July)
augustus (August)
september (September)
oktober (October)
november (November)
december (December)
As you can see, they're very much alike in English and Dutch, propably because they origin from the Latin language (or Greek or whatever). We don't use capitals with the month names. Instead of saying MONTH DAY, like in English, e.g. {November the 3rd}, we use DAY MONTH in Dutch, like "3 November". A complete date will have the format DAY MONTH YEAR, like "28 februari 2001". We usually also use this sequence in the 'digit-only' form, like: "22/07/61" or "28/02/2001".
Now the weekdays. They are:
maandag (Monday)
dinsdag (Tuesday)
woensdag (Wednesday)
donderdag (Thursday)
vrijdag (Friday)
zaterdag (Saturday)
zondag (Sunday)
Again, no capitals. We'll give ordinal numbers, like {Friday the 13th} in another lesson.
Days and part of the days. They are:
vandaag (today)
morgen (tomorrow)
gisteren (yesterday)
eergisteren (day before yesterday)
ochtend (morning)
middag (noon)
namiddag (afternoon)
avond (evening)
nacht (night)
dag (day, 24 hours)
vanochtend (this morning)
vanmiddag (this afternoon)
vanavond (this evening, tonight)
vannacht (tonight or last night)
's ochtends (in the morning)
's middags (in the afternoon)
's avonds (in the evening, in the night)
's nachts (in the night)
The "'s" word is an abbreviation of an old Dutch word "des", meaning {of the}, which is almost never used anymore in the full form. When a sentence starts with a "'", like "'s" or "'t" the letter following the quote is lower cased, the following letter will be upper cased, like "'s Morgens", or "'t Huis". This is the original version of the day-part words. As you may have guessed we have come another weird thing in the Dutch language. Most people use the word morgen instead of ochtend, although that has an altogether different meaning originally. This brings us to the more popular:
vanmorgen (this morning)
's morgens (in the morning)
Also you may have noticed that the word "middag" {noon} is brutally misused in the meaning of "namiddag" {afternoon}. The latter word being rarely used and then usually in the meaning of: the latter part of the afternoon. Because of this misusage we lack a word which actually means {noon}. To compensate we came up with the illogical sentence "tussen de middag" {between the noon}, which actually makes no sense.
When using words or phrases that have a meaning of date or time, it is placed as close to the verb as possible, opposite to the English, like: "Morgen gaan we naar huis." {Tomorrow we are going home.} "We gaan morgen naar huis." {We are going home, tomorrow.} Some greetings which are very frequently used are:
hallo (hello)
hoi (hi)
dag (bye)
doei (bye)
doeg (bye)
goedemorgen (good morning)
goeiemorgen (good morning)
goedemiddag (good afternoon) (the "goeie" form also applies for the rest)
goedenavond (good evening/night)
goedenacht (good night)
tot ziens (see you)
hoe gaat 't? (how are you doing?) (literally: how are you going?) hoe gaat 't met je? (how are you doing?) (literally: how is it going with you?)
alstublieft (here you are, if you please, yes please)
alsjeblieft (here you are, if you please, yes please)
dank u (thank you)
dank je (thank you)
bedankt (thanks)
dank u wel (thank you kindly)
dank u zeer (thank you very much)
geen dank (you're welcome) (literally: no thanks (needed)) graag gedaan (you're welcome) (literally: done with pleasure)
Back to start Vocabulary honderd
hundred [het, honderden]
duizend
thousand [het, duizenden]
januari
January [de (m)]
februari
February [de (m)]
maart
March [de (m)]
april
April [de (m)]
mei
May [de (m)]
juni
June [de (m)]
juli
July [de (m)]
augustus
August [de (m)]
september
September [de (m)]
oktober
October [de (m)]
november
November [de (m)]
december
December [de (m)]
maandag
Monday [de (m), maandagen]
dinsdag
Tuesday [de (m), dinsdagen]
woensdag
Wednesday [de (m), woensdagen]
donderdag
Thursday [de (m), donderdagen]
vrijdag
Friday [de (m), vrijdagen]
zaterdag
Saturday [de (m), zaterdagen]
zondag
Sunday [de (m), zondagen]
vandaag
today
morgen
tomorrow, morning [de (m), morgens]
gisteren
yesterday
eergisteren
day before yesterday
ochtend
morning [de (m), ochtenden]
middag
noon [de (m), middagen]
namiddag
afternoo [de (m), namiddagen]n
avond
evening [de (m), avonden]
nacht
night [de (m), nachten]
dag
day, 24 hours [de (m), dagen]
vanochtend
this morning
vanmiddag
this afternoon
vanavond
this evening, tonight
vannacht
tonight or last night
's ochtends
in the morning
's middags
in the afternoon
's avonds
in the evening, in the night
's nachts
in the night
vanmorgen
this morning
's morgens
in the morning
tussen de middag
noon (literally: between the noon)
hallo
hello
hoi
hi
dag
bye
doei
bye
doeg
bye
goedemorgen
good morning
goeiemorgen
good morning
goedemiddag
good afternoon
goedenavond
good evening/night
goedenacht
good night
alstublieft
here you are, if you please, yes please
alsjeblieft
here you are, if you please, yes please
goed
good, correct, kind, well, goodly [goede, goeie]
tot
until
iets
something
niets
nothing
altijd
always
geen
no, none
dank
thanks [de (m), danken]
danken
to thank [dank, dankt, danken, dankte(n), gedankt]
bedanken
to thank, to return thanks, to decline [bedank, bedankt, bedanken, bedankte(n), bedankt (no ge)]
tot ziens
(see you)
hoe gaat het?
how are you doing? (literally: how are you going?)
hoe gaat het met how are you doing? (literally: how is it je? going with you?) dank u
thank you
dank je
thank you
bedankt
thanks
dank u wel
thank you kindly
dank u zeer
thank you very much
geen dank
you're welcome (literally: no thanks (needed))
doen
to do, work, to put (it one's pocket), to do (one's hair, a room), to make (a promise), and some more [doe, doet, doen, deed, deden, gedaan]
mogen
to be allowed, be permitted, may, or to like [mag, mag, mogen, mocht(en), gemogen]
groeien
to grow [groei, groeit, groeien, groeide(n), (zijn) gegroeid]
graag
with pleasure, gladly, readily, willingly
graag gedaan
you're welcome (literally: done with pleasure)
Back to start Sentences Is er gisteren iets gebeurd?
Has something happened yesterday?
Hallo, hoe gaat het met je?
Hello, how are you doing?
Met mij gaat het goed, dank je.
I'm doing fine, thanks. (With me it's going good)
's Morgens loopt hij altijd naar In the morning he always walks to de garage. the garage. Het is vandaag 31 december 1999.
Today it is December the 3rd, 1999.
We deden het graag voor je.
We did it gladly for you.
Mag ik u bedanken voor vanmorgen?
May I thank you for this morning?
Back to start Exercises Translate into Dutch/English (select answer to view it): Question
Answer
Conjugate: to be.
ik ben, jij bent, hij/zij/het is, u bent/is, zijn, was, waren, geweest
Hallo, hoe gaat het met je?
Hello, how are you?
Waar was je gisteren?
Where were you, yesterday?
Ik ben morgen en overmorgen niet thuis.
I'm not home tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
I have worked on my computer this morning.
Ik heb vanmorgen op mijn computer gewerkt.
In the morning I eat with my 's Morgens eet ik met mijn vrouw en wife and children. kinderen. On the 1st of April we always laugh.
Op 1 april lachen we altijd.
List: the weekdays
maandag, dinsdag, woensdag, donderdag, vrijdag, zaterdag, zondag
Conjugate: to have.
ik heb, jij hebt, hij/zij/het heeft, u hebt/heeft, hebben, had, hadden, gehad
Back to start
Les elf: I want, you should A difficult and boring lesson, I fear, lots of grammar. We will learn 'this/that/these' words. We will handle the Dutch verbs for 'to must', 'to want' and 'to will/shall' Conjunctions will pass. More exercises! You can try them on paper and then check the answers immediatly. Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Sentences Exercises
Back to start Pronunciation Some more diphthongs:
IEU as in "nieuw" a bit like /sEAl/, always before a 'w'
Back to start Grammar The words for {this}, {that}, {these} and {those} depend partly on the article of the noun and partly whether they are used as a pronoun before a noun, or on their own as the object or on their own as the subject (with or without the noun they refer to). As a pronoun before a noun, or on their own as the subject, or on their own as an object without the noun they refer to: For the neutral article 'het' they are: this - dit that - dat For the male and female article 'de' they are: this - deze that - die The plural forms are the same for all articles: these - deze those - die On their own as an object when the noun they refer to is in the same sentence: this, these - dit that, those - dat
So, some examples: These books lie on this table - Deze boeken liggen op deze tafel. That man writes with those pencils - Die man schrijft met die pennen. This woman sleeps in that bed - Deze vrouw slaapt in dat bed. Or on their own as an object (without referred noun): This is mine - Dit is van mij. These are yours - Deze zijn van jou.
Or on their own as a subject: Ik give these to you - Ik geef deze aan jou. We ate this - We aten dit. Or on their own as an object (with referred noun): Is this your book? - Is dit jouw boek? Are those your books? - Zijn dat jouw boeken? We use the same Dutch verb for {will/shall} (they've basically the same meaning in English too). The Dutch verb is: "zullen", it's very irregular, almost like the verb "kunnen". It's like: ik zal, jij/u zal (or jij/u zult) (zal jij), hij/zij/het zal, wij zullen, ik zou, wij zouden There is no past perfect form. It's an auxilary verb, so always used with the full form of another verb (although it's also used in another meaning as a normal verb, more about that later). Examples: I shall work tomorrow - Ik zal morgen werken. Will you do it tonight? - Zal je het vanavond doen? We would do it this morning - We zouden het vanmorgen doen. When used as {should} it is used in conjunction with the {must} verb: "moeten": ik moet, jij/u/hij/zij/het moet, wij moeten, ik moest, wij moesten, wij hebben gemoeten Always the full verb is used in constructions like this: We should do this - We zouden dit moeten doen. But: We shall do this - We zullen dit doen. Should I eat at the table? - Zou ik aan de tafel moeten eten? But: Shall I eat at the table? - Zal ik aan de tafel eten? These sentences can also be constructed with only the "moeten" verb: We must do this - We moeten dit doen. Must I eat at the table? - Moet ik aan de tafel eten? Without the "moeten" verb it has more a meaning of {were supposed to}, as in: We were supposed to do this - We zouden dit doen. We were supposed to eat tonight - We zouden vanavond eten. All in all a very complicated verb. The Dutch verb for {want} is: "willen", it's not irregular (surprise!), but the past present tense is often used in a gramaticly bad form (no surprise). It's like: ik wil, jij/u wilt, hij/zij/het wil, wij willen, ik wilde, wij wilden, gewild The bad past present form is (looking like the past perfect for "zullen" ("zouden")): ik wou, wij wouden, gewild Examples: I want that dog - Ik wil die hond. Did you want the red book? - Wilde (wou) u het rode boek?
We didn't want to do this - We wilden (wouden) dit niet doen. Conjunctions are used like in English. See the vocabulary for a list. Examples: If you will write it, I'll read it - Als jij het zal schrijven, zal ik het lezen. I'll read it if you'll write it - Ik zal het lezen als jij het zal schrijven. We do it because we must - Wij doen het omdat we (het) moeten.
Back to start Vocabulary als
if (also some other usages)
bah
bah, pooh, pah
beloven to promise [beloof, beloven, beloofde(n), beloofd] da's
that is (short for "dat is")
dat
that, or: that, which
deze
these
die
those/that
dit
this
doordat because, on account of indien
if, in case ("als" is used more often, "indien" is more used in official documents)
jaar
year [het, jaren]
jong
young, or: young one, litter [het, jongen]
boy, lad [de (m), jongens], or: "jongen, jongen!" jongen dear, dear!, oh dear!, or: to bring forth young animals [jong, jongen, jongde(n), gejongd] koken
to boil, or: to cook food [kook, koken, kookte(n), gekookt]
lekker
nice, delicious, good, fine, nicely
leuk
amusing, funny or: jolly, pleasant
meid
maid, girl [de (v), meiden] ({girl} on its own is usually "meisje")
meisje
girl, missy [het, meisjes]
moeten
to must/have to [moet, moet, moeten, moest(en), gemoeten]
nadat
after (we had seen it)
nieuw
new
omdat
because, as
opdat
that, in order that
oud
old
sjonge
same as "tjonge", even more slang
terwijl
while, whilst, as, or: meanwhile
tja
well!
tjonge
well!, have you ever! (slang for "jongen, jongen")
toen
when, as, or: then, at that time
vijand
enemy, foe [de (m), vijanden]
voordat before (we had seen it) vriend
friend, boy friend [de (m), vrienden]
vriendin friend, girl friend, lady friend [de (v), vriendinnen] wanneer when want
for (we must do so) (comjugation)
willen
to want [wil, wilt, willen, wilde(n) (bad: wou(den)), gewild]
worden
to become, going to be, to grow (old) [word, wordt, worden, werd(en), (zijn) geworden]
zo
so, like that, such, or: thus, like this, in this way, or: presently, and: many other usages
zullen
to shall/will [zal, jij/u zal (zult) (zal jij), hij zal, zullen, zou(den) (no past perfect)]
Back to start Sentences Als haar vriendin komt, zal zij het doen.
If her girl friend comes, she will do it.
We moeten het doen, want we hebben 't beloofd.
We must (have to) do it, for we have promised it.
Omdat zij het niet willen, moet ik Because they don't want to, I must 't doen. (have to) do it. Ik beloof je dat ik morgen zal koken.
I promise you that I'll cook tomorrow.
Zo zo! Waarom ben jij hier?
So so! Why are you here?
Jongen, jongen, wat is dat lekker! Dear, dear, that is delicious! Bah, da's vies!
Bah, that's filthy!
Tja, da's niet zo mooi.
Well, that's not so fine.
Ik word niet goed.
I'm becoming unwell.
Back to start Exercises Translate into Dutch/English (select answer to view it): Question
Answer
Conjugate: to be able (can).
ik kan, jij kan/kunt, hij/zij/het kan, u kunt, kunnen, kon, konden, gekund
Het meisje en de jongen The girl and the boy are walking through the
lopen door het huis.
house.
Je mag eten wanneer ik You may eat when I say so. het zeg. < Listen.
's Morgens loopt hij altijd naar de garage. In the morning he always walks to the garage.
I don't wanna do that.
Ik wil dat niet doen. Or: Dat wil ik niet doen.
You (plural) shouldn't talk to those girls.
Jullie zouden niet moeten praten met die meisjes.
Your father is growing Jouw vader wordt oud. old. List: the months
januari, februari, maart, april, mei, juni, juli, augustus, september, oktober, november, december
Back to start Bad language Unlike the English, Dutch doesn't normally use anal words to express one's anger with something. We, the Dutch, are more genital oriented, both male and female genitals are used (the male ones are generally used for male persons, the female ones for female persons and also for general things). Of course, the English (mostly American) influence is present in the common Dutch language. Words like 'shit' are commonly used, especially by the youth. We also have blasphemous words which are generally in the same format as the English. Another good (or bad) habit of us is to diagnose people we don't like as sufferers of a particular illness or sickness. Also some dirty words will be listed here. We will only list and translate the words below, not try to pronounce them, since we haven't had most of the vowel and consonant sounds yet. Also don't use them in a sentence yet, just shout them: "Eikel!!!" beffen
{to suck pussy}
borst
{breast}
eikel
dickhead
godverdomme goddamned hoer
whore
jezus!
jesus!
kankerlijer
cancer sufferer
klerelijer
cholera sufferer ("klere" is slang for "cholera")
klerehoer
cholera suffering whore "klere" can be placed before almost
