Dutch Language Blog

Flickr Creative Commons/Dave Goodman

The Dutch are all about blending in. Funny since, as some of the world’s tallest people, they tend to stick out like sore thumbs when they travel outside the Netherlands.

The goal is to downplay achievements and possessions so as not to appear “better” than anyone else. For all that they love to leave their windows wide open and in full view, the Dutch tend to keep everything else on the down-low.

As one learns during the inbureringscurses, asking a Dutch person how much he makes or how much her new car cost is as great a transgression as asking a woman’s age is in other cultures.

Don’t brag, don’t show off, don’t display too much personality, don’t publicly show emotions, follow all the rules and regulations, don’t act like you’re better or better off than anyone else.

This way of life is attributed to the country’s Calvinist roots. Though the religion no longer dominates in the Netherlands, there are still traces of it in the language.

For starters, take the saying “doe maar gewoon” (just be normal). It might just be the most important phrase for you to learn if you want to speak Dutch. Goodness knows you’ll hear it enough in your day-to-day interactions with Dutch speakers.

Or you might be treated to its cousins “doe normaal” (be normal) or “dat is niet normaal” (that’s not normal).

Then there are all the sayings and proverbs that act as constant reminders not to color outside the lines:

Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg –> Just act normal, that’s already crazy enough

Hoge bomen vangen veel wind –> “Tall trees catch a lot of wind.” This is the Dutch equivalent of “The bigger they are, the harder they fall” or “The higher you climb, the farther you fall.”

Steek je kop niet boven het maaiveld uit –> This translates loosely to “Don’t stand out from the crowd.” It literally means “Don’t stick your head above the mowing field (lawn or ground level).” The less frequently uttered second half of that sentence is “anders wordt hij eraf gemaaid” or “or else it’ll get cut/mowed off.” Well if that’s not incentive to keep yourself in line, I don’t know what is!

Wie voor een dubbeltje geboren is, wordt nooit een kwartje –> Literally translated, it means “He who is born a dime will never be a quarter,” essentially meaning “Born poor, stay poor.” The message here is that attempts to rise above your station in life are futile.

This mentality can be quite a shock to someone such as myself who grew up in a culture that encourages being loud and proud about your differences, your quirks, your hard work, your successes, and your talents.

But it’s what makes the Dutch Dutch. They may be plain as appeltaart (apple pie), but that’s why we love them.

And now we can speak like them too!

Flickr Creative Commons / Irargerich

When you take on the challenge of learning Dutch, native speakers will commend you for trying your hand at their “really difficult” language.

Their eyes will widen in admiration as they tell you “Dutch is such a hard language to learn.”

They’ve got a point… it sure ain’t easy.

But the good news for us English speakers is that our languages are quite similar, particularly if you speak the American variety.

And it makes sense, too. After all, the Dutch were some of the first Europeans to settle in America. Holland, Michigan and New York’s Brooklyn and Harlem remain as tributes to America’s strong Dutch roots. In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4.6 million Americans (1.5% of the United States’ population) identified themselves as having Dutch ancestry.

As a result, much of the (American) English language comes from the Dutch. Take a look at the list below for the words we nabbed from the Netherlands and what they mean in Dutch. You may be surprised at some of the words on the list.

Boss – comes from the word baas, which has the exact same meaning in Dutch as it does in English
Yankee – this one is a combo of two of the most popular Dutch names for boys at the time: Jan and Kees –> Jan-Kees –> Yankee
Coleslaw – in Dutch, it’s koolsla, which literally means “cabbage salad”
Landscape – we get this one from landschap, which has the same meaning in both languages
Cookie – is based on the Dutch word koekje (“biscuit” or “cookie”), which is sometimes written/pronounced koekie
Cruise – the origin for this word is the Dutch verb kruisen, which means “to cross”
Frolic – here, we took from the word vrolijk, which means “happy” or “cheerful”
Pump – change the ‘u’ to an ‘o,’ and you get the word pomp, which means “pump” (as in a gas or bicycle pump)
Rucksack – comes directly from the word rugzak, literally “back bag,” also known as backpack
Roster – just add an ‘o’ and you get the Dutch word rooster (“schedule” or “timetable”)
Spook – spelled exactly the same in both languages, in Dutch, a spook is a ghost, phantom, or spirit
Waffle – in Dutch, it’s spelled a bit differently (wafel), but they mean the same thing
Wagon – is not that far removed from it’s Dutch ancestor the wagen (used when referring to trains)
Onslaught – the Dutch word, aanslag, has the exact same meaning

This is by no means a comprehensive list, so if what you’ve seen here intrigues you and you’d like to know more, Wikipedia has an excellent collection of English words of Dutch origin.

Another interesting tidbit: While there are several languages that are supposedly easier for native English speakers to learn because of their similarities, the closest language to English is Friesian, which is spoken in Friesland, a province in the Netherlands.

Flickr Creative Commons/flattop341

Hello there! How are ya? Howdeedo! Howdy. Hey. Hiya. Hi. What’s up? How’s it going? How are ya?

It seems there are thousands of ways greet someone. That plus the fact that a greeting proceeds every encounter, it’s no wonder the first thing people want to know when learning a new language is how to say hello.

As it turns out, it’s not just English that offers up a plethora of options when it comes to saying hey. I conducted a little survey on Facebook and Twitter, which resulted in this list of 17 ways to say “hello” in Dutch.

Hallo –> Hello
Hoi –> Hi
Goede ochtend –> Good morning
Goedemorgen –> Good morning
Goeiesmorgens* –> Goooooood mornin’!
Goedenavond –> Good evening
Goedenacht –> Good night
Avondje –> Evenin’
Mogge –> ‘Mornin’!
Hallootjes –> Hiya!***
Joehoe –> Yoohoo
Goededag –> Good day
Alles kits achter de rits?** –> How’s it hanging?
Watskeburt? –> What’s happenin’?
Hoe is het? –>How is everything?
Hoe gaat het? –> How’s it going?
Hoe gaat ie? –> How’s it goin’? or, if you prefer, How you doin’!

Select a handful, commit them to memory, practice your delivery, and the next time the situation arises, just pick one and go for it!

*Literally means “is everything okay behind your zipper?” Alles kits onder de rits works too.

**This slurred take on the greeting goedemorgen was popularized by the character Edgar in the television show JISKEFET. The show ran from 1990-2005. JISKEFET (the Fresian word for “ashtray”) is an absurdist comedy done sketch-style (think: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, but not quite). Edgar and his buddy Storm appeared in the sketch titled DEBITEUREN, CREDITEUREN (Debiters, Crediters) which takes place in an office. If you want to impress the Dutch (well, the 30-plusers anyway) this should be your greeting of choice. The fact that you, a non-native Dutch speaker, would know this will earn you their undying respect.

***Use this one to get on a Dutch person’s last nerve

And don’t forget the three air kisses (girl-girl and girl-guy) or the handshake (guy-guy) to round out your how-do-you-do. Erg belangrijk (very important)!

If you know of any other Dutch salutations, let me know in the comments below and I’ll add them to the list. What’s your favorite way to greet people?