{"id":5089,"date":"2017-07-30T06:53:34","date_gmt":"2017-07-30T06:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5089"},"modified":"2017-07-31T10:19:19","modified_gmt":"2017-07-31T10:19:19","slug":"talking-about-time-in-dutch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/talking-about-time-in-dutch\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking About Time in Dutch"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the land of agendas and appointments, talking about time is essential. The following are some essential words and phrases you can use when setting up your next appointment.<\/p>\n

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Photograph by Dominic Hargreaves found on Flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Hoe laat wil je afspreken?<\/h3>\n

It is useful to know how to ask at what time you would like to set up an appointment. While your Dutch-learning instinct would suggest you can say\u00a0wanneer wil je..\u00a0<\/em>(and it is technically not incorrect), the norm is to use the expression\u00a0hoe laat\u00a0<\/em>or how late.\u00a0Hoe laat wil je koffie drinken?<\/em><\/p>\n

Om 10 uur<\/h3>\n

When you want to be precise about the time,\u00a0om\u00a0<\/em>is the word to use. It establishes a specific time you will meet. If you want to talk about a day, you can use\u00a0op\u00a0<\/em>and if you want to talk about a month or a year, use\u00a0in. Ik wil op vrijdag om 10 uur koffie drinken.<\/em><\/p>\n

Voor\/Na<\/h3>\n

When you want to make a more casual appointment that doesn’t require a specific time, you can use\u00a0voor\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0na.\u00a0<\/em>Voor 4 uur<\/em> means that you would like to do X before 4 and\u00a0na 4 uur<\/em> means that you would like to do X after 4.\u00a0Ik wil na 10 uur koffie drinken.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rond een uur of 10<\/h3>\n

If you are not so particular about time, you can use the word\u00a0rond<\/em> to mean around a certain time.\u00a0Rond 10 uur.\u00a0<\/em>Another expression you can use is\u00a0rond een uur of 10\u00a0<\/em>which means the exact same as just\u00a0rond.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Een kwartier, een klein uur of een dik uur<\/h3>\n

Now, lets say you are about to leave your house to meet your friend for coffee. You have a few options to express how long you will take.<\/p>\n

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  • If you will meet your friend in 15 minutes, you can say\u00a0ik ben er over een kwartier.\u00a0<\/em>You can also add the diminutive –je\u00a0<\/em>to say over een\u00a0kwartiertje<\/em><\/li>\n
  • If you will be there in 45 minutes, you can say\u00a0ik ben er over drie kwartier.<\/em><\/li>\n
  • If you suspect it will take you a little under an hour (over 45 minutes but less than an hour), you can say\u00a0ik ben er over een klein uur<\/em>\u00a0or a little hour.<\/li>\n
  • If you suspect it will take you a little over an hour, you can say\u00a0ik ben er over een dik uur<\/em> or in a fat hour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    So now that you are armed with all the time-lingo in Dutch, put out your agenda and try to make an appointments. Hopefully, it will be easier than in the video below.<\/p>\n