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
that’s good if not then I’ll personally prefer BabelFish dictionary which is free so
you don’t need to buy it. The download link is provided below:

Download BabelFish Translator

1. Basic Phrases

Goedemorgen Goedemiddag Goedenavond

khoo-duh-mawr-ghuh khoo-duh-mih-dahkh khoo-duh-nah-fohnt
Good Morning Good Day Good Evening

Hoi / Hallo / Daag / Doei

Goedenacht Tot ziens
hoy / hah-loh / dahk / doo-
khoo-duh-nahkht toht zeens
ee
Good Night Goodbye
Hi / Bye

Tot straks Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft

Tot zo
toht straks ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuh-
toht zoh
See you later (in the same bleeft
See you soon
day) Please

Dank u wel / Dank je wel Graag gedaan

Hartelijk bedankt
dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk- khrahkh khuh-dahn
hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt
yuh-vehl You're welcome (don't
Thank you very much
Thank you mention it)

Pardon, wat zei u?

Sorry Ja / Nee
pahr-dohn, vat zay ew
saw-ree yah / nay
Pardon me (didn't
I'm sorry / Excuse me Yes / No
understand)

Hoe gaat het met u? Hoe gaat het? Goed / Heel goed
hoo khaht ut meht ew hoo khaht ut khoot / hayl khoot
How are you? (formal) How are you? (informal) Fine / Very well

Het gaat / Slecht Ik ben moe / ziek Ik heb honger / dorst

uht khaht / slehkht ik ben moo / zeek ik heb hohng-ur / dohrst
So so / Bad I'm tired / sick. I'm hungry / thirsty.
Hoe heet u? Hoe heet je?
Ik heet...
hoo hayt ew hoo hayt yuh
ik hayt...
What's your name? What's your name?
My name is (I'm called)...
(formal) (informal)

Aangenaam (kennis te meneer / mevrouw /

Ik ben... maken) mejuffrouw
ik ben ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis muh-nayr / muh-frow /
I am... tuh mah-kuh) muh-yuh-frow
Nice to meet you. Mister / Misses / Miss

Waar komt u vandaan? Waar kom je vandaan?

vahr kawmt ew fun-dahn
Where are you from?
(formal)
Ik kom uit Nederland.
vahr kawn yuh fun-dahn
ik kawm owt nay-der-lant
Where are you from?
I am from the Netherlands.
(informal)

Waar woont u? Waar woon je?

Ik woon in Amerika.
vahr vohnt ew vahr vohn yuh
ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kah
Where do you live? Where do you live?
I live in America.
(formal) (informal)

Hoe oud ben je?

Hoe oud bent u? Ik ben ... jaar (oud).
hoo owt ben yuh
hoo owt bent ew ik ben ... yahr owt
How old are you?
How old are you? (formal) I am ____ years old.
(informal)

Spreekt u Nederlands? Spreek je Engels?

spraykt ew nay-der-lahnds
Do you speak Dutch?
(formal)
Ik spreek [geen]...
sprayk yuh ehng-uhls
ik sprayk [khayn]
Do you speak English?
I [don't] speak...
(informal)

Ik spreek niet zo goed... Ik begrijp het [niet.] Ik weet het [niet.]

ik sprayk neet zoh khood ik buh-khraip ut neet ik vayt ut [neet]
I don't speak ... very well. I [don't] understand. I [don't] know.

Wat kost het? Ik wil graag... Proost!

vat kohst ut ik vil khrahk prohst
How much is it? I'd like... Cheers!

Veel plezier! Veel succes! Wees voorzichtig!

fayl pleh-zeer fayl suk-sehs vays fohr-zikh-tikh
Have fun! Good luck! Be careful!

Dat is geweldig / Ik hou van je. Ik hou van jullie.

vreselijk! ik how fahn yuh ik how fahn juh-lee
dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh / I love you. (informal) I love you (all).
fray-zuh-likh
 That is great / terrible!

Wat vreemd! Wat jammer! Wat is dit / dat?

vaht fraymt vaht yah-mer vut iss dit / dut
How funny / odd! What a pity! 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
English sound
letters
ch guttural sound, made at back of mouth
sch s followed by guttural ch sound
g same as ch, guttural sound from back of mouth
w like v before r, otherwise like w but with bottom lip
v against top teeth
r like v, but sometimes closer to f
j either rolled or guttural
sj y as in yes
tj sh as in ship
aa ch as in chip
ee ah as in father, but longer
ie ay as in hail, but shorter
oo ee as in neat, but shorter
oe oh as in boat
eu oo as in pool, but shorter
uu ur as in hurt, but with lips rounded
a ew, but with lips rounded (sound not found in
e English)
i ah as in father, but shorter
o eh as in bed
u ih as in bit
ei / ij aw as in paw, with lips rounded
aai ir as in dirt, but very short
oei between the sounds in "light" and "late"
ooi combination of aa and ie
ou / au combination of oe and ie
 combination of oo and ie
eeuw like ow, as in house
ieuw combination of ee and oe
uw combination of ie and oe
ui 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 j yay s ess
b bay k kah t tay
c say l ell u ew
d day m emm v fay
e ay n enn w vay
f eff o oh x eeks
g khay p pay y ee-grek
h hah q kew z zett
i ee r air

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

  common neuter
Singular "the" de het
Plural "the" de
Indefinite "a" or
een
"an"
  common neuter
Singular
this deze dit
that die dat
Plural
these deze
those 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 I wij (we) we
ik vay
you (singular informal
you (plural
jij (je) / u / sing. and plural jullie yew-
yay / ew informal)
formal) lee

hij he
hay
zij (ze) she zij (ze) they
zay zay
het it
ut

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)

I am ik ben ik ben we are wij zijn vay zayn
You are jij / u bent yay / ew bent you are jullie zijn yew-lee zayn
He, she, it is hij, zij, het is hay, zay, ut is they are zij zijn zay zayn
Present tense of hebben - to have (heh-buh)
I have ik heb ik heb we have wij hebben vay heh-buh
You have jij / u hebt yay / ew hebt you have jullie hebben yew-lee heh-buh
He, she, it hij, zij, het hay, zay, ut they
zij hebben zay heh-buh
is heeft hayft have
Past tense of zijn - to be (zayn)
I was ik was ik vas we were wij waren vay vah-ruh
You were jij / u was yay / ew vas you were jullie waren yew-lee vah-ruh
He, she, it hij, zij, het hay, zay, ut
they were zij waren zay vah-ruh
was was vas
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 hij, zij, het hay, zay, ut
they had zij hadden zay hah-duh
had had hahd

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
sometime altijd
s nooit
always vaak,
never dikwijls
often gewoonlij
usually k
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    
1 een ayn 1st eerste
2 twee tvay 2nd tweede
3 drie dree 3rd drede
4 vier feer 4th vierde
5 vijf faif 5th vijfde
6 zes zehs 6th zesde
7 zeven zay-fuh 7th zevende
8 acht akht 8th achtste
9 negen nay-khuh 9th negende
10 tien teen tiende
10th
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 tweeëntwintig tvay-ehn-tvin-tukh 22nd tweeëntwintigste
23 drieëntwintig 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 miljoenste
millionth
billion een miljard meel-yart billionth miljardste

Note:  In the word for twenty-two, the ë is necessary because there are three of the same
vowels in a row, and the accent mark shows that the third one needs to be pronounced
separately. 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 khih-stuh-ruh
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
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 sep-tehm-ber
October oktober 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 noorden right rechts
South zuid 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? hoo laht is ut

It's 1:00 Het is een uur. ut is ayn ewr
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
ut is dree mih-new-tuh oh-fer zay-
7:03 Het is drie (minuten) over zeven.
fuh
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
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 hond
dog
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 weten - to know facts

ken ken kennen ken-nuh weet vayt weten vay-tuh
kent kent kennen ken-nuh weet vayt weten vay-tuh
kent kent kennen ken-nuh weet vayt weten 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)