Every week, we receive the local newspaper filled with articles about local people and events as well as ads for local businesses. One of my favorite sections in this newspaper is the personal ads or advertenties because there is always something funny or interesting to read. To start, the ads are limited in the words they use because most newspapers charge per word. Those looking to sell or buy must, in the least amount of words, get their point across.

My favorite section of these ads are the huwelijk en kennismaking. These seem to be the older version of online dating sites and apps like Tinder where people put themselves out there in the hopes to find a match. While I’ve never used these methods to meet someone, I think they are quite interesting because they allow people who wouldn’t normally have any contact to meet, and in some cases, marry and build lives together (I’ve met plenty of couples who met via the internet and are now happily married).

Here are a few examples of these advertisements:

Personal Ad in local newspaper

Personal Ad in local paper

After going over last week’s local newspaper, I started thinking about what a hypothetical personal advertisement of mine would say if I were to take one out. Considering that my word count is limited, what would I want to say and how would I say this? Because I am not looking for a romantic partner, I decided to come up with an ad for a language partner. Here are my attempts at a language-partner personal ad:

Nerdje zoekt taal partner.
Bij voorkeur Italiaans en Frans.
Alleen omgeving Maastricht.

Taal geliefde zoekt man/vrouw om mee
te spreken. Leeftijd niet belangrijk.
Omgeving Maastricht. Alle talen mogelijk.

What would your language-partner personal ad say? Share them in the comments below!