Lately, I feel like the more I advance with Dutch, the more I forget the basic things I learned right at the beginning. Perhaps these are the words and situations we encounter less, perhaps its a normal part of the language acquisition (the same happened with Italian). It is because of this that I decided to go back to basics, and, in this case, talk about giving directions.

The basic vocabulary for giving directions is the following:

rechts- right

links- left

rechtdoor- straight (straight ahead)

rechtsaf- go right or turn right

linksaf- go left or turn left

aan de rechterkant-  on the right side

aan de linkerkant- on the left side

de hoek- corner

de rotonde- the turnaround/turnabout

het stoplicht- de stoplight

tegenover- across or across from

tussen- in between

With these words, you can give directions. One example of the sentence structure for giving directions is the following. I will give a couple examples so that I can use all the words.

Ga rechdoor tot het stoplicht. Op de hoek, ga linskaf. De winkel is tegenover de apotheek. 

Op de hoek, ga rechtsaf. Aan de rotonde, neem de derde afrit. Mijn huis is tussen het park en de basisschool.

I found the following video on YouTube about the dangers of not knowing where you are going in the Netherlands. I don’t know if this is real, but it sure made me laugh! Can any of you relate to the men in the video?