Dutch Language Blog

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Though there are relatively few ways of saying “Hello,” the Dutch certainly make up for it when saying goodbye. Hmmm… wonder if that says more about the Dutch or the company they keep

Either way, saying hello and goodbye are the two most important things to know when learning a new language. And we at Transparent Dutch have got you covered.

So without further ado, here are 29 ways to say “Goodbye” in Dutch.

Tot ziens –> So long
Tot gauw –> See you soon
Dag –> Goodbye
Doeg –>Bye
Doei –> Bye
Vaarwel –> Farewell
Hoje –> Bye (Limburg and Nijmegen)
Houdoe –> Bye (Brabandt)
Ik ga je zien –>I’ll be seeing you
Later –> Later, but spoken with a Dutch accent (short “a”)
Tjuus –> Bye (the Dutch spelling of the German Tschüss)
Doe-doei –> Bye-bye
Tot straks –> See you soon
Tot later –> See you later
Ajuu –> Bye
Tabee –> I’m outta here
Toedeledoki –> Toodaloo
Joe –> Bye
De mazzel –> Good luck
Laters –> Laters (baby)
De ballen –> Goodbye
Tot de volgende keer –> Till next time
Tot kijk –> Till I see you
Tot zo –> See you in a bit

And just in case you need them (because, you never know)
Tot in de pruimentijd –> Till hell freezes over
Zie je aan de poort –> See you at the (pearly) gate

These you want to think of as the Dutch equivalents of “see you later, alligator” and “after awhile, crocodile”
Tot sinas –> a take on “tot ziens” and “sinas” as in “sinasappel” (orange, the fruit)
Ajuu paraplu –> literally, this would be “later, umbrella”
Goede dagschotel –>goededag + dagschotel (special of the day, dish of the day) = goededagschotel

If you’ve got more ways to say “peace out” in Dutch, please share in the comments so I can add them to this list.

And once you’re finished reading this post and leaving a comment, you can go ahead and make like a tree and leave! (Or check out more posts on the blog, read more about saying “toedeledokie,” or keep hanging out here for the next learn Dutch post — whatever floats your boat)

Till we meet again!

Okay, now let’s see who was paying attention… Did anyone catch the 50 Shades reference?

Flickr Creative Commons/jetheriot

The paashaas is coming to town this weekend! That’s the Easter Bunny to you and me.

Paas = Easter

Haas = hare

Easter is one of those holidays that goes all out. The big day occurs three weeks after Lent (de vastentijd = lit. fasting period) and includes Holy Thursday (Witte Donderdag = lit. White Thursday) and Good Friday (Goede Vrijdag).

E-Day itself always falls on a Sunday. In English, this is Easter Sunday. In Dutch, that would be paaszondag. However, it’s much more common to refer to the day as eerste paasdag, or First Easter Day.

First Easter Day? Yup.

The Dutch – as they are wont to do with holidays – have turned Easter into a double-day holiday, making the Monday after Easter tweede paasdag (Second Easter Day). You may also hear it referred to as paasmaandag, or Easter Monday.

Easter’s not the only holiday celebrated by the Dutch that gets this treatment. There’s also eerste en tweede kerstdag (first and second Christmas Day) and eerste en tweede pinksterdag (first and second Pentecost Day). Interestingly enough, they don’t do eerste en tweede ontbijt (first and second breakfast). That seems to be just a Hobbit thing.

So, we have our paashaas who comes each year on paaszondag, bringing with him – what else? – a basket full of paaseieren (Easter eggs), which he hides on balconies and in gardens, yards, and flower pots all across the country for a good, old-fashioned eierenjacht (egg hunt).

Eggs are hard boiled and decorated with paints, stickers, and dye, but the Dutch favorite are the chocolate eggs. You’ll find them everywhere starting as early as late January. They’re wrapped in colorful foil and come in milk, pure, or white chocolate, sometimes flavored with praline, hazelnut, or advocaat (a creamy Dutch/Belgian liqueur).

If you’re looking to get photos of little Ingrid or Henk Junior with the paashaas, however, I’m going to have to disappoint you. The bunny (un)fortunately does not make appearances. In fact, he’s really only seen in the Netherlands this time of year in chocolate form.

If you’re going to be decorating eggs this year, the PAAS brand Easter Egg Kits are rumored to have been spotted at the check out in HEMA department stores. Otherwise, the HEMA, the Blokker, or the Xenos are good places to look for other brands more indigenous to the Netherlands. If all else fails, you can always mix up some homemade dye using recipes from the internet or with regular old craft supplies.

However you choose to celebrate and no matter where you may be, vrolijke paasdagen (Happy Easter) from all of us here at Transparent Language!

We’ve provided this simple table of Dutch numbers from 0 – 20 for everyone who may be new to learning Dutch.  There’s also a video below that contains native speaker pronunciation for each number.  Listen to it a few times, and make sure you practice saying the words out loud, too; this will really help you memorize these numbers permanently.

And when you’re ready for more numbers, check out our Dutch Numbers 1 – 100 post!

Here’s the video: