{"id":5666,"date":"2018-07-02T13:10:48","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T13:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5666"},"modified":"2018-07-02T13:10:48","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T13:10:48","slug":"doe-de-groetjes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/doe-de-groetjes\/","title":{"rendered":"Doe de Groetjes!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Picture the following: You are\u00a0<em>op bezoek bij\u00a0<\/em>(visiting) your friend, and you start talking about these old mutual friends you have. It&#8217;s been years! And you will see them in just a few days! So your friend tells you:\u00a0<em>doe ze de groetjes van mij!\u00a0<\/em>(Say hi to them for me!). Sounds familiar? Not surprising. The Dutch like to say hi. What is this tradition, and how do you handle it?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is\u00a0<em>de groeten doen<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Groeton\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iBIhFqjp7u8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>First, let&#8217;s look at what\u00a0<em>de groetjes doen\u00a0<\/em>(literally &#8220;to do the greetings&#8221;, or simply &#8220;to say hi to sb.&#8221;) means.\u00a0A <em>groet\u00a0<\/em>is just a greeting. The verb\u00a0<em>groeten\u00a0<\/em>means to greet somebody, for example if you see somebody on the street or in the supermarket. So it can be equated to &#8220;saying hi&#8221;. In a letter, you would end with\u00a0<em>met vriendelijke groeten\u00a0<\/em>(with kind regards) if it is formal. <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/writing-a-letter-in-dutch\/\">See this post for more on that<\/a>.\u00a0In a more informal setting, even the ending\u00a0<em>groet\u00a0<\/em>(regards) is accepted.<\/p>\n<p>So, you\u00a0<em>groet\u00a0<\/em>someone. That is not very different from any other culture. But where it gets interesting is when somebody tells you to give your regards to another person, to say hi for them. It is not that other cultures don&#8217;t do that, it is that the Dutch do it\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">all the time<\/span>!<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A Manual To <em>D<\/em><em>e Groeten Doen<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5673\" style=\"width: 944px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/mo5owC\" aria-label=\"Barakgroeten 1024x683\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5673\" class=\" wp-image-5673\"  alt=\"\" width=\"934\" height=\"623\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-1024x683.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 934px) 100vw, 934px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5673\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Barack, doe je Michelle wel even de groeten?<\/em> (Image by Minister-president Rutte at Flickr.com under license CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>So how does it work? There are three people involved:<\/p>\n<h4><strong>The\u00a0<em>groetendoener\u00a0<\/em>(greetings-doer)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>groetendoener\u00a0<\/em>tells the\u00a0<em>boodschapper\u00a0<\/em>to do the\u00a0<em>groeten\u00a0<\/em>to\u00a0the\u00a0<em>ontvanger<\/em>. Mostly because the\u00a0<em>groetendoener\u00a0<\/em>is not in frequent contact with the\u00a0<em>ontvanger<\/em>, but also would like to let them know that they are not forgotten.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>The\u00a0<em>boodschapper\u00a0<\/em>(messenger)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The <em>boodschapper\u00a0<\/em>has no stakes in the whole affair: They just deliver the <em>groet<\/em>. Because it is such a mundane affair, a lot of people just forget doing it. Because\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">everyone<\/span> forgets about doing\u00a0<em>de groeten<\/em>, it is not a big deal if you do! However, what is considered rude is if the\u00a0<em>boodschapper\u00a0<\/em>tells the\u00a0<em>groetendoener\u00a0<\/em>no when they ask to give the\u00a0<em>ontvanger de groeten<\/em>. So, if somebody tells you to do\u00a0<em>de groeten<\/em>, just accept, and say,\u00a0<em>zal ik doen!\u00a0<\/em>(Sure thing, I&#8217;ll do it!)<\/p>\n<h4><strong>The\u00a0<em>ontvanger\u00a0<\/em>(recipient)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>ontvanger\u00a0<\/em>is told byFu the\u00a0<em>boodschapper<\/em>:\u00a0<em>Ik moet je de groetjes doen van &#8230; (de groetendoener)<\/em> (I need to do you\u00a0<em>de groeten\u00a0<\/em>from &#8230;). The\u00a0<em>ontvanger\u00a0<\/em>says\u00a0<em>dankjewel\u00a0<\/em>(thank you) to the\u00a0<em>boodschapper<\/em>, of course, for delivering the message. But what can the\u00a0<em>ontvanger\u00a0<\/em>do to show the\u00a0<em>groetendoener\u00a0<\/em>their respect and mutual feelings? Obviously, they could just pick up the phone, or open whatever\u00a0<em>sociale media\u00a0<\/em>(social media) they (have and shoot the\u00a0<em>groetendoener\u00a0<\/em>a message. But there is a more convenient way:<\/p>\n<p><em>Groetjes terug<\/em>! (return the greetings!)<\/p>\n<p>So&#8230; Yeah. The\u00a0<em>boodschapper\u00a0<\/em>always loses. As long as the\u00a0<em>boodschapper\u00a0<\/em>does not ignore this cycle or forgets, the\u00a0<em>groetjes\u00a0<\/em>can go back and forth forever!<\/p>\n<h2><em><strong>Groetjes!<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5672\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/X7Qy3g_foOg\" aria-label=\"Groeten 1024x683\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5672\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5672\"  alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/groeten-1024x683.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/groeten-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/groeten-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/groeten-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5672\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Groetjes!<\/em> (Image by JuniperPhoton at Unsplash.com)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Apart from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/29-ways-to-say-goodbye-in-dutch\/\"><em>doei!\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0<em>Tot ziens!\u00a0<\/em><\/a>after visiting friends, they may also say bye with\u00a0<em>groetjes!\u00a0<\/em>(regards!), without specifying to whom. Likely, this just came from the tradition of\u00a0<em>de groeten doen<\/em>, and is to mean that you tell close family and friends that are mutual about the visit. But it is a lot less compulsory or directed as\u00a0<em>de groeten doen<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2>Fun or terrible?<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5671\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5671\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5671\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/plusminus-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/plusminus-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/plusminus-350x197.png 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/plusminus-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/plusminus.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5671\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by author<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There are some negative voices about this practice as well. Obviously. Why, in the world of the internet, would we do something like this? Why not just contact the\u00a0<em>ontvanger\u00a0<\/em>directly? And why even bother, because apparently the person is not even close enough for a phone call or simple text message.<\/p>\n<p>But is it not also just a nice way to remind people of each other, that there was some social contact between the <em>groetendoener\u00a0<\/em>and the <em>ontvanger<\/em>, and that is not because they don&#8217;t want to be in touch anymore, but just because they are in different places? A friend of mine always tells me to\u00a0do\u00a0<em>de groeten <\/em>to my mom, who is a teacher. We were both in her class. Obviously, it has been some time we were in her class, I see her often, but she barely ever sees her. So by commanding me to give her\u00a0<em>de groeten<\/em>, my mother is reminded of that nice person she once taught. It is part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-g-in-groningen-is-for-gezelligheid\/\">Dutch<em> gezelligheid<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think? Is this nice, or rather rude, putting this burden on the\u00a0<em>boodschapper<\/em>? Do you have similar tradition in your country? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-350x233.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/07\/barakgroeten.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Picture the following: You are\u00a0op bezoek bij\u00a0(visiting) your friend, and you start talking about these old mutual friends you have. It&#8217;s been years! And you will see them in just a few days! So your friend tells you:\u00a0doe ze de groetjes van mij!\u00a0(Say hi to them for me!). Sounds familiar? Not surprising. The Dutch like&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/doe-de-groetjes\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":5673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[60713,3590],"tags":[445038,506135,24660,913],"class_list":["post-5666","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","category-dutch-language","tag-dutch-traditions","tag-interaction","tag-social","tag-traditions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5666"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5674,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions\/5674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}