Dutch for working in the Netherlands
For anyone starting a job in the Netherlands or commuting across the border: your first day with the team, meetings with famously direct Dutch colleagues, lunch and Friday drinks, trains and bikes, registering at the town hall and calling in sick. Your colleagues will switch to English in a heartbeat, but a few Dutch phrases make you part of the team much faster. Every phrase comes with a pronunciation guide for English speakers.
Pronunciation in six rules
Dutch is closely related to English, and many words look familiar. A handful of sounds, though, give away every beginner. These six rules help.
g and ch
Both are the rough throat sound in Scottish loch, even at the start of a word: goed (good) = "khoot", gemeente = "khuh-MAYN-tuh". In the south, in Limburg and Brabant, it is softer. Never the g in go.
ui
There is no English equivalent. Start from the vowel in British fur and glide towards ee with rounded lips. The ow in house gets you understood: huis (house) = "hows", uit (out) = "owt".
ij and ei
Both spellings are the same sound, somewhere between eye and the ay in day: mijn (my) = "main", trein = "train", vrijdag (Friday) = "VRAI-dakh".
oe, ie, eu and u
oe is oo (goed, boek, book), ie is ee (niet, not, = "neet"). eu is close to British fur without the r: leuk (nice) = "lurk". u and uu are ee said with rounded lips, as in French tu: uur (hour) = "uer".
sch and j
sch is s followed by the rough kh, never sh: Scheveningen = "S-KHAY-vuh-ning-uh". At the end of a word -isch is just "ees": praktisch = "PRAK-tees". j is the English y: ja = "yah", je = "yuh".
Long vowels, v, w and the silent n
Double vowels are long: aa as in father, ee as in day, oo as in go, all without the glide at the end. v is softer than in English, close to f, and for w the lips barely touch the teeth. In -en at the end of a word the n is usually dropped: werken (to work) = "WER-kuh".
In the transcriptions the stressed syllable is in CAPITALS, syllables are joined with "-", words are separated by spaces and "·" separates sentences. kh is the throaty Dutch g and ch, ow the ui sound, ai the ij sound, ue the rounded u as in French tu, uh a weak vowel as in about, ay a pure long e as in day and oh a pure long o. The transcription is an approximation; the speech recognition in LingoTrip listens more closely.
Your first day at work
Dutch colleagues use the informal you (je, stressed jij) and first names from the very first minute, including with the boss. You will hear the formal u at government offices, at the doctor's and with customers.
- Goedemorgen! Ik ben Anna, de nieuwe collega.khoo-duh-MOR-khuh · ik ben AN-nah duh NEE-wuh ko-LAY-khahGood morning! I'm Anna, the new colleague.
- Leuk je te ontmoeten.LURK yuh tuh ont-MOO-tuhNice to meet you.
- Zeg maar je.zekh mahr YUHNo need to be formal. (literally "just say je"; you will hear it the moment you address someone with u)
- Ik begin vandaag bij de afdeling inkoop.ik buh-KHIN van-DAHKH bai duh AF-day-ling IN-kohpI'm starting in the purchasing department today.
- Hoe spreek je je naam uit?hoo SPRAYK yuh yuh NAHM owtHow do you pronounce your name?
- Ik spreek nog niet zo goed Nederlands, maar ik leer het.ik sprayk nokh neet zoh KHOOT NAY-der-lants mahr ik LAYR uhtMy Dutch isn't very good yet, but I'm learning.
In the meeting
The Dutch say what they think, to the boss as well. Everyone is expected to speak up; decisions are reached together (overleg) and then they stick: afspraak is afspraak, a deal is a deal.
- Zullen we beginnen?ZUEL-luh wuh buh-KHIN-nuhShall we get started?
- Mag ik even iets zeggen?makh ik AY-vuh eets ZEKH-uhCan I say something?
- Daar ben ik het niet mee eens.dahr ben ik uht NEET may AYNSI don't agree with that. (open disagreement is normal and not taken as rude)
- Wat bedoel je precies?wat buh-DOOL yuh pruh-SEESWhat exactly do you mean?
- Kun je dat nog een keer zeggen?kuen yuh dat nokh uhn KAYR ZEKH-uhCould you say that again?
- Wie pakt dit op?wee pakt dit OPWho's picking this up?
Lunch and borrel
Lunch is short, often half an hour, and cold: broodjes (bread rolls) with cheese, with milk or karnemelk (buttermilk) to drink. The hot meal is in the evening. On Friday after work the team meets for borrel, drinks with beer and bitterballen.
- Gaan jullie mee lunchen?khahn YUEL-lee may LUN-shuhAre you coming to lunch? (to a group)
- Een broodje kaas en een glas karnemelk, graag.uhn BROHT-yuh KAHS en uhn khlas KAR-nuh-melk KHRAHKHA cheese roll and a glass of buttermilk, please.
- Eet smakelijk!ayt SMAH-kuh-luhkEnjoy your meal! (said before everyone starts eating)
- Ga je vrijdag mee naar de borrel?khah yuh VRAI-dakh may nahr duh BOR-ruhlAre you coming to the borrel on Friday? (after-work drinks at the office or in a bar)
- Fijn weekend!fain WEE-kentHave a nice weekend!
Commuting by train and bike
Most trains are run by NS. The platform is the spoor, the stopping train the sprinter. Larger stations have a guarded bike park, the fietsenstalling.
- Van welk spoor vertrekt de trein naar Utrecht?van welk SPOHR vuhr-TREKT duh train nahr UE-trekhtWhich platform does the train to Utrecht leave from?
- Stopt deze trein in Eindhoven?stopt DAY-zuh train in AINT-hoh-vuhDoes this train stop in Eindhoven?
- Hoeveel vertraging heeft de trein?hoo-VAYL vuhr-TRAH-khing hayft duh TRAINHow late is the train?
- Ik ben vergeten uit te checken.ik ben vuhr-KHAY-tuh OWT tuh chek-kuhI forgot to check out.
- Waar kan ik mijn fiets stallen?wahr kan ik main FEETS STAL-luhWhere can I park my bike?
Gemeente, BSN and paperwork
This is where u fits: at the town hall counter and with other authorities people use the formal you, at least to begin with.
- Ik wil me inschrijven bij de gemeente.ik wil muh IN-s-khrai-vuh bai duh khuh-MAYN-tuhI'd like to register with the municipality.
- Ik woon in Duitsland en werk in Nederland. Ik heb een BSN nodig.ik wohn in DOWTS-lant en WERK in NAY-der-lant · ik hep uhn bay-es-EN NOH-duhkhI live in Germany and work in the Netherlands. I need a BSN. (the citizen service number; cross-border commuters get it through RNI registration)
- Welke documenten moet ik meenemen?WEL-kuh doh-kue-MEN-tuh moot ik MAY-nay-muhWhich documents do I need to bring?
- Kunt u dat even spellen?kuent ue dat AY-vuh SPEL-luhCould you spell that, please?
- Waar moet ik tekenen?wahr moot ik TAY-kuh-nuhWhere do I sign? (tekenen means to sign here, as well as to draw)
Calling in sick and the GP
If you are ill, you call your manager in the morning. You usually don't need a doctor's note; if you are off for longer, the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) gets in touch. For anything medical the GP (huisarts) comes first, and you only see a specialist with a referral.
- Hoi Mark, ik meld me ziek.hoy MARK ik MELT muh ZEEKHi Mark, I'm calling in sick.
- Ik heb koorts en blijf vandaag thuis.ik hep KOHRTS en blaif van-DAHKH TOWSI've got a fever and I'm staying at home today.
- Ik laat morgen weten hoe het gaat.ik laht MOR-khuh WAY-tuh hoo uht KHAHTI'll let you know tomorrow how I'm doing.
- Neemt u nog nieuwe patiënten aan?naymt ue nokh NEE-wuh pah-SHEN-tuh AHNAre you taking on new patients? (many GP practices are full, so register early)
- Ik wil graag een afspraak maken.ik wil khrahkh uhn AF-sprahk MAH-kuhI'd like to make an appointment.
Emergency number in the Netherlands: 112. Police, if it is not an emergency: 0900 8844. In the evening, at night and at weekends, call the out-of-hours GP service (huisartsenpost) before you go there. A hospital emergency department usually sees you only with a referral or via 112.
Good to know
Direct is not rude
Dat vind ik geen goed idee (I don't think that's a good idea) is a matter-of-fact opinion at work, not an attack. In return, people expect you to say what you think in the meeting rather than afterwards. British-style hints often go unnoticed.
False friends
eventueel means possibly, not eventually. bellen means to call (Ik bel je straks, I'll call you later), and straks means later, not straight away. raar means strange, not rare, slim means clever and brutaal cheeky rather than brutal.
Check in and check out
On trains, buses, trams and the metro, tap your contactless bank card, your phone (OVpay) or an OV-chipkaart on the reader at the start and end of every journey. Forget to check out and you pay a high flat fare. Trains across the border often need a separate ticket.
Get your BSN first
Without a citizen service number (BSN) your employer cannot pay you. If you move to the Netherlands for more than four months, you register with the gemeente within five days of arrival and get your BSN there. Cross-border commuters register at an RNI desk instead.
A course for exactly your job
A phrasebook can only guess what you're planning. In LingoTrip you tell it: starting at a tech company in Eindhoven, commuting from Antwerp to Rotterdam, a nursing job in Groningen. LingoTrip builds a course around exactly those conversations, with audio, speech recognition and spaced review until your first day at work.
Coming soon to the App Store and Google PlayFAQ
Everyone in the Netherlands speaks English. Why learn Dutch?
In the meeting room they often do, especially at international companies. But at lunch, at the borrel and in the team chat, colleagues slip back into Dutch quickly. A few phrases make you part of the team much faster, and many employers expect some Dutch after a while.
Is Dutch hard for English speakers?
It is one of the closest languages to English: many words look familiar (water, warm, boek, huis). The hard parts are the throaty g, the ui and ij sounds and the word order. And as soon as you hesitate, the Dutch switch to English. Just say Ik wil graag Nederlands oefenen, I'd like to practise my Dutch.
Je or u?
Among colleagues almost always je and jij, including with your manager and from day one. Use u at government offices, at the doctor's, with customers and with people much older than you, until they offer you je: Zeg maar je. All phrases on this page use je unless they are said to an official or a doctor.
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