Dutch Tutorial Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and

Grammar
Note: Before heading to the tutorial I would Strictly recommend to download any
online dictionary which could easily translate the difficult Dutch words provided
below so that you can understand them easily and learn quickly, if you have one so
thats good if not then Ill personally prefer BabelFish dictionary which is free so
you dont need to buy it. The download link is provided below:

Download BabelFish Translator

1. Basic Phrases
Goedemorgen
khoo-duh-mawr-ghuh
Good Morning

Goedemiddag
khoo-duh-mih-dahkh
Good Day

Goedenavond
khoo-duh-nah-fohnt
Good Evening

Goedenacht
khoo-duh-nahkht
Good Night

Hoi / Hallo / Daag / Doei

hoy / hah-loh / dahk / dooee
Hi / Bye

Tot ziens
toht zeens
Goodbye

Tot straks
toht straks
See you later (in the same
day)

Tot zo
toht zoh
See you soon

Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft
ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuhbleeft
Please

Dank u wel / Dank je wel

dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnkyuh-vehl
Thank you

Hartelijk bedankt
hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt
Thank you very much

Graag gedaan
khrahkh khuh-dahn
You're welcome (don't
mention it)

Sorry
saw-ree
I'm sorry / Excuse me

Pardon, wat zei u?

pahr-dohn, vat zay ew
Pardon me (didn't
understand)

Ja / Nee
yah / nay
Yes / No

Hoe gaat het met u?

hoo khaht ut meht ew
How are you? (formal)

Hoe gaat het?

hoo khaht ut
How are you? (informal)

Goed / Heel goed

khoot / hayl khoot
Fine / Very well

Het gaat / Slecht

uht khaht / slehkht
So so / Bad

Ik ben moe / ziek

ik ben moo / zeek
I'm tired / sick.

Ik heb honger / dorst

ik heb hohng-ur / dohrst
I'm hungry / thirsty.

Hoe heet u?
hoo hayt ew
What's your name?
(formal)

Hoe heet je?

hoo hayt yuh
What's your name?
(informal)

Ik heet...
ik hayt...
My name is (I'm called)...

Ik ben...
ik ben
I am...

Aangenaam (kennis te
maken)
ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis tuh
mah-kuh)
Nice to meet you.

meneer / mevrouw /
mejuffrouw
muh-nayr / muh-frow /
muh-yuh-frow
Mister / Misses / Miss

Waar komt u vandaan?

vahr kawmt ew fun-dahn
Where are you from?
(formal)

Waar kom je vandaan?

vahr kawn yuh fun-dahn
Where are you from?
(informal)

Ik kom uit Nederland.

ik kawm owt nay-der-lant
I am from the Netherlands.

Waar woont u?
vahr vohnt ew
Where do you live?
(formal)

Waar woon je?

vahr vohn yuh
Where do you live?
(informal)

Ik woon in Amerika.
ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kah
I live in America.

Hoe oud bent u?

hoo owt bent ew
How old are you? (formal)

Hoe oud ben je?

hoo owt ben yuh
How old are you?
(informal)

Ik ben ... jaar (oud).

ik ben ... yahr owt
I am ____ years old.

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)

Ik spreek [geen]...
ik sprayk [khayn]
I [don't] speak...

Ik spreek niet zo goed...

ik sprayk neet zoh khood
I don't speak ... very well.

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.

Wat kost het?

vat kohst ut
How much is it?

Ik wil graag...
ik vil khrahk
I'd like...

Proost!
prohst
Cheers!

Veel plezier!
fayl pleh-zeer
Have fun!

Veel succes!
fayl suk-sehs
Good luck!

Wees voorzichtig!
vays fohr-zikh-tikh
Be careful!

Dat is geweldig /
vreselijk!
dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh /
fray-zuh-likh
That is great / terrible!

Ik hou van je.

ik how fahn yuh
I love you. (informal)

Ik hou van jullie.

ik how fahn juh-lee
I love you (all).

Wat vreemd!
vaht fraymt
How funny / odd!

Wat jammer!
vaht yah-mer
What a pity!

Wat is dit / dat?

vut iss dit / dut
What is this / that?

Note: In the pronunciations, kh denotes a uvular guttural sound. Meneer, mevrouw and
mejuffrouw are all written with a small letter when they precede a name. When typing,
de Heer is used instead of meneer and Dhr. is used on envelopes. Mevrouw and
mejuffrouw are abbreviated as Mevr. and Mej. In addition, Mw. can be used as an
equivalent of the English Ms.

2. Pronunciation
Dutch
letters
ch
sch
g
w
v
r
j
sj
tj
aa
ee
ie
oo
oe
eu

English sound
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
oo as in pool, but shorter

uu
a
e
i
o
u
ei / ij
aai
oei
ooi
ou / au
eeuw
ieuw
uw
ui

ur as in hurt, but with lips rounded

ew, but with lips rounded (sound not found in
English)
ah as in father, but shorter
eh as in bed
ih as in bit
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
like ow, as in house
combination of ee and oe
combination of ie and oe
combination of uu and oe
combination of a and uu

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
a ah

yay

ess

b bay

kah

tay

c say

ell

u ew

d day

m emm v

e ay

enn

w vay

oh

eeks

g khay p

pay

ee-grek

h hah

kew

zett

air

eff

ee

fay

4. Nouns and Gender

All nouns have a gender in Dutch, either common (de words) or neuter (het words). 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 (words ending in -je) and infinitives used as nouns, as well as
colors, metals, compass directions, and all words that end in -um, -aat, -sel, -isme are
neuter. Most nouns beginning with ge- and ending with -te are neuter, as are most nouns
beginning with ge-, be-, and ver-. Common noun endings include: -aar, -ent, -er, -es, -eur,
-heid, -ij, -ing, -teit, -tie.

5. Articles and Demonstratives

Singular "the"
Plural "the"
Indefinite "a" or
"an"

common neuter
de
het
de
een

common neuter
Singular
this
deze
that
die
Plural
these
those

dit
dat
deze
die

The definite article is used more in Dutch than in English. It is always used before the
names of the seasons, street names and in an abstract sense. There are some idioms that
should be memorized, however: in het Nederlands (in Dutch), in de stad (in town), in het
zwart (in black), met de auto (by car), met de tijd (in/with time); op tafel (on the table), in
zee (in the sea), op kantoor (at the office), in bad (in the bath), op straat (in the street).

6. Subject Pronouns

Subject Pronouns
ik

ik
jij (je) / u

yay / ew

hij
zij (ze)
het

hay
zay
ut

I
you (singular informal
/ sing. and plural
formal)
he
she
it

wij (we)

vay

we

jullie

yewlee

you (plural
informal)

zij (ze)

zay

they

Unstressed forms (shortened forms used in the spoken language) 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
Present tense of zijn - to be (zayn)
ik ben
we are
wij zijn

I am

ik ben

You are

jij / u bent

yay / ew bent

you are

He, she, it is

hij, zij, het is hay, zay, ut is

they are

vay zayn

jullie zijn yew-lee zayn

zay zayn
zij zijn

Present tense of hebben - to have (heh-buh)

I have

ik heb

You have jij / u hebt

yay / ew hebt

we have wij hebben vay heh-buh

you have jullie hebben yew-lee heh-buh

He, she, it hij, zij, het

is
heeft

hay, zay, ut
hayft

they
have

ik heb

zij hebben

I was

ik was

Past tense of zijn - to be (zayn)

ik vas
we were wij waren

You were

jij / u was

yay / ew vas

you were

He, she, it
was

hij, zij, het

was

hay, zay, ut
vas

they were zij waren

zay heh-buh

vay vah-ruh

jullie waren yew-lee vah-ruh

zay vah-ruh

Past tense of hebben - to have (heh-buh)

I had

ik had

ik hahd

we had

wij hadden

vay hah-duh

You had

jij / u had

yay / ew hahd

you had

jullie hadden yew-lee hah-duh

He, she, it
had

hij, zij, het

had

hay, zay, ut
hahd

they had zij hadden

zay hah-duh

Note: You must use the subject pronouns; however, I will leave them out of future
conjugations.
Expressions with zijn and hebben:
Het/dat is jammer - It's/that's a pity
jarig zijn - to have a birthday
kwijt zijn - to have lost
op het punt staan - to be about to
van plan zijn - to intend
voor elkaar zijn - to be in order
honger / dorst hebben - to be hungry / thirsty
gelijk hebben - to be right
haast hebben - to be in a hurry
het hebben over - to talk about
het druk hebben - to be busy
het koud hebben / warm - to be cold / warm
last hebben van - to be bothered by
nodig hebben - to need
slaap hebben - to be sleepy
zin hebben in - to feel like

8. Useful Words
soms
sometimes
altijd
always
nooit
never
vaak,
often
dikwijls
usually
gewoonlijk
now
nu
and
en
but
maar
or
of
very
zeer, heel
here
hier
there
daar
also
ook
much
veel
another
een ander
already
al
perhaps
misschien

9. Question Words
Who

Wie

vee

Where

Waar

vahr

What

Wat

vaht

Where to

Waar... naartoe vahr nahr-too

Why

Waarom

vah-rohm Where from

Waar...
vandaan

vahr vun-dahn

When

Wanneer

vah-nayr

Which

Welk(e)

velk(-uh)

How

Hoe

hoo

Isn't it?, etc. Niet waar?

neet vahr

Welk is used before het words, and welke is used before de words and plural nouns. Niet
waar is a tag question, and is added to the end of statements to make them questions. It
can translate several ways into English: isn't it?, doesn't it?, isn't he?, doesn't he?, isn't
she?, doesn't she?, aren't we?, don't we?, aren't they?, don't they?, aren't you?, don't you?,
right?, yes?, etc.

10. Numbers
0

nul

nuhl

een

ayn

1st

eerste

twee

tvay

2nd

tweede

drie

dree

3rd

drede

vier

feer

4th

vierde

vijf

faif

5th

vijfde

zes

zehs

6th

zesde

zeven

zay-fuh

7th

zevende

acht

akht

8th

achtste

negen

nay-khuh

9th

negende

10

tien

teen

10th

tiende

11

elf

ehlf

11th

elfde

12

twaalf

tvahlf

12th

twaalfde

13

dertien

dayr-teen

13th

dertiende

14

veertien

fayr-teen

14th

veertiende

15

vijftien

faif-teen

15th

vijftiende

16

zestien

zehs-teen

16th

zestiende

17

zeventien

zay-fuh-teen

17th

zeventiende

18

achttien

ahkh-teen

18th

achttiende

19

negentien

nay-khuh-teen

19th

negentiende

20

twintig

tvin-tuhkh

20th

twintigste

21

eenentwintig

ayn-ehn-tvin-tukh

21st

eenentwintigste

22

tweentwintig

tvay-ehn-tvin-tukh

22nd

tweentwintigste

23

drientwintig

dree-ehn-tvin-tukh

23rd

drieentwintigste

30

dertig

dayr-tukh

30th

dertigste

40

veertig

fayr-tukh

40th

veertigste

50

vijftig

faif-tukh

50th

vijftigste

60

zestig

zes-tukh

60th

zestigste

70

zeventig

zay-fun-tukh

70th

zeventigste

80

tachtig

takh-tukh

80th

tachtigste

90

negentig

nay-guhn-tukh

90th

negentigste

100

honderd

hohn-dert

100th

honderdste

101

honderd en een

hohn-dert en un

101st

honderd en eerste

110

honderd tien

hohn-dert teen

110th

honderd tiende

200

tweehonderd

tvay-hohn-dert

200th

tweehonderdste

1,000

duizend

dow-zuhnt

1,000th

duizendste

1,001

duizend en een

dow-zent

1,001st

duizend en eerste

million een miljoen

meel-yoon

millionth miljoenste

billion een miljard

meel-yart

billionth miljardste

Note: In the word for twenty-two, the 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. The use of commas and decimals is reversed in Dutch. Also note that I speak
American English, so billion means 1,000,000,000 and not the British counterpart.

11. Days of the Week

Monday

maandag

mahn-dahkh

Tuesday

dinsdag

dins-dahkh

Wednesday

woensdag

voons-dahkh

Thursday

donderdag

dohn-der-dahkh

Friday

vrijdag

frai-dahkh

Saturday

zaterdag

zah-ter-dahkh

Sunday

zondag

zohn-dahkh

day

dag

dahkh

morning

ochtend

awkh-tehnt

afternoon

middag

mih-dahkh

evening

avond

ah-fohnt

night

nacht

nahkht

today

vandaag

fahn-dahkh

tomorrow

morgen

mawr-khuh

tonight

deze nacht

yesterday

gisteren

last night

(de) afgelopen nacht

day after tomorrow

overmorgen

oh-fer-mawr-khuh

day before yesterday

eergisteren

ayr-khih-stuh-ruh

week

week

last week

afgelopen week

weekend

weekend

daily

dagelijks

weekly

wekelijks

khih-stuh-ruh

12. Months of the Year

January

januari

yah-noo-ah-ree

February

februari

fay-broo-ah-ree

March

maart

mahrt

April

april

ah-pril

May

mei

mai

June

juni

yoo-nee

July

juli

yoo-lee

August

augustus

ow-khus-tus

September september
October
oktober

sep-tehm-ber
awk-toh-ber

November

november

noh-fehm-ber

December

december

day-sehm-ber

month

maand

mahnt

year

jaar

yahr

last year

het afgelopen jaar

monthly

maandelijks

mahn-duh-luks

yearly

jaarlijks

yahr-luks

13. Seasons
Winter

de winter

Spring

de lente / het voorjaar

Summer

de zomer

Autumn

de herfst / het najaar

14. Directions
Compass/Wind Location/Movement
North noord
South zuid

noorden

right

rechts

zuiden

left

links

East

oost

oosten

straight rechtdoor

West

west

westen

15. Colors
orange

oranje

oh-rahn-yuh

pink

roze

roh-zuh

purple

paars

pahrs

blue

blauw

blow

yellow

geel

khayl

red

rood

rohd

black

zwart

zvahrt

brown

bruin

brown

gray

grijs

grah-ees

white

wit

viht

green

groen

khroon

silver

zilver

gold

goud

beige

beige

Licht and donker are added to the colors to mean light and dark: lichtbruin - light
brown.

16. Time
What time is it? Hoe laat is het?
It's 1:00
Het is een uur.

hoo laht is ut

2:00

Het is twee uur.

ut is tvay ewr

3:30

Het is half vier.

ut is half feer

5:45

Het is kwart voor zes.

ut is kvahrt for zehs

7:03

Het is drie (minuten) over zeven.

ut is dree mih-new-tuh oh-fer zayfuh

at 9:30

om half tien

awm half teen

noon

twaalf uur 's middags

tvahlf ewrs mihd-dahkhs

midnight

twaalf uur 's nachts / middernacht tvahlf ewrs nahkhts

ut is ayn ewr

In the morning 's ochtends

During the day 's middags
In the evening 's avonds
At night

's nachts
Minuten can be omitted, just as in English.

17. Weather
How's the weather today?

Wat voor weer is het vandaag?

It's cold

Het is koud

beautiful

mooi

hot

heet

clear

open / helder

icy

het vriest/ijzig

warm

warm

windy

windig

cloudy

bewolkt

hazy

mistig

muggy

drukkend/benauwd

humid

vochtig

foggy

mistig

It's snowing

het sneeuwt

It's raining

het regent

It's freezing

het vriest

18. Family and Pets

Parents

ouders

adult

volwassene

Mother

moeder

relative

bloedverwant

Father

vader

siblings

broers en zusters

Son

zoon

twin

tweeling

Daughter

dochter

birth

geboorte

Brother

broeder, broer

death

dood

Sister

zuster, zus

marriage

huwelijk (n)

Grandfather

grootvader, opa

divorce

echtscheiding

Grandmother

grootmoeder, oma

Grandson

kleinzoon

Granddaughter

kleindochter

dog

hond

Niece

nicht

cat

poes

Nephew

neef

bird

vogel

Cousin (m)

neef

goldfish

goudvis

Cousin (f)

nicht

Uncle

oom

Aunt

tante

Boy

jongen

Girl

meisje (n)

Child

kind

Man, husband

man

Woman, wife

vrouw

Friend (m)

vriend

Friend (f)

vriendin
Note: In the vocabulary lists, (n) after the noun denotes neuter nouns.

19. To Know People and Facts

kennen - to know people
ken kennen ken-nuh
ken
kent

kent

kennen

ken-nuh

kent

kent

kennen

ken-nuh

weten - to know facts

weet vayt weten vay-tuh
weet vayt weten
weet vayt weten

vay-tuh
vay-tuh

20. Formation of Plural Nouns

Most plural nouns are formed by adding either -en or -s. Remember that the definite
article is always de before plural nouns.
1. -en (the n is pronounced softly) is added to most nouns, with a few spelling changes
boek - boeken book(s)
jas - jassen coat(s)
haar - haren hair(s)
huis - huizen house(s)
Spelling changes: Words with long vowels (aa, ee, oo, and uu) drop the one vowel when
another syllable is added. Words with the short vowels (a, e, i, o and u) double the
following consonant to keep the vowels short. The letters f and s occur at the end of
words or before consonants, while the letters v and z occur in the middle of words before
vowels. (These spelling rules are also used for conjugating verbs, so it's best to memorize
them as soon as possible.)
2. -s is added to nouns ending in the unstressed syllables -el, -em, -en, and -er (and aar(d), -erd, -ier when referring to people), foreign words and to most nouns ending in
an unstressed vowel
tafel - tafels table(s)
jongen - jongens boy(s)

tante - tantes aunt(s)

bakker - bakkers baker(s)
Nouns ending in the vowels -a, -o, and -u add an apostrophe before the s: foto's,
paraplu's
Irregular forms
3. Some nouns containing a short vowel do not double the following consonant in the
plural before -en. The plural vowel is then pronounced as long.
bad - baden bath(s)
dag - dagen day(s)
spel - spelen game(s) (like the Olympics, smaller games are spellen)
glas - glazen glass(es)
weg - wegen road(s)
4. A few neuter nouns take the ending -eren (or -deren if the noun ends in -n)
blad - bladeren leaf(leaves)
kind - kinderen child(ren)
ei - eieren egg(s)
been - beenderen bone(s) [Note: been - benen leg(s)]
lied - liederen song(s)
volk - volkeren nation(s), people
5. Nouns ending in -heid have a plural in -heden.
mogelijkheid - mogelijkheden possibility(ies)
6. Some other common irregular plurals are:
stad - steden town(s)
schip - schepen ship(s)
lid - leden member(s)
koe - koeien cow(s)