Dutch Tutorial Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and

Grammar
Note: Before heading to the tutorial I would Strictly recommend to download any
online dictionary which could easily translate the difficult Dutch words
provided below so that you can understand them easily and learn quickly, if
you have one so thats good if not then Ill personally prefer BabelFish
dictionary which is free so you dont need to buy it. The download link is
provided below:

Download BabelFish Translator

1. Basic Phrases
Goedemorgen
khoo-duh-mawr-ghuh
Good Morning

Goedemiddag
khoo-duh-mih-dahkh
Good Day

Goedenavond
khoo-duh-nah-fohnt
Good Evening

Goedenacht
khoo-duh-nahkht
Good Night

Hoi / Hallo / Daag / Doei

hoy / hah-loh / dahk / dooee
Hi / Bye

Tot ziens
toht zeens
Goodbye

Tot straks
toht straks
See you later (in the same
day)

Tot zo
toht zoh
See you soon

Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft
ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuhbleeft
Please

Dank u wel / Dank je wel

dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk-yuhvehl
Thank you

Hartelijk bedankt
hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt
Thank you very much

Graag gedaan
khrahkh khuh-dahn
You're welcome (don't
mention it)

Sorry
saw-ree
I'm sorry / Excuse me

Pardon, wat zei u?

pahr-dohn, vat zay ew
Pardon me (didn't
understand)

Ja / Nee
yah / nay
Yes / No

Hoe gaat het met u?

hoo khaht ut meht ew
How are you? (formal)

Hoe gaat het?

hoo khaht ut
How are you? (informal)

Goed / Heel goed

khoot / hayl khoot
Fine / Very well

Het gaat / Slecht

uht khaht / slehkht

Ik ben moe / ziek

ik ben moo / zeek

Ik heb honger / dorst

ik heb hohng-ur / dohrst

So so / Bad

I'm tired / sick.

I'm hungry / thirsty.

Hoe heet u?
hoo hayt ew
What's your name? (formal)

Hoe heet je?

hoo hayt yuh
What's your name?
(informal)

Ik heet...
ik hayt...
My name is (I'm called)...

Ik ben...
ik ben
I am...

Aangenaam (kennis te
maken)
ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis tuh
mah-kuh)
Nice to meet you.

meneer / mevrouw /
mejuffrouw
muh-nayr / muh-frow / muhyuh-frow
Mister / Misses / Miss

Waar komt u vandaan?

vahr kawmt ew fun-dahn
Where are you from?
(formal)

Waar kom je vandaan?

vahr kawn yuh fun-dahn
Where are you from?
(informal)

Ik kom uit Nederland.

ik kawm owt nay-der-lant
I am from the Netherlands.

Waar woont u?
vahr vohnt ew
Where do you live? (formal)

Waar woon je?

vahr vohn yuh
Where do you live?
(informal)

Ik woon in Amerika.
ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kah
I live in America.

Hoe oud bent u?

hoo owt bent ew
How old are you? (formal)

Hoe oud ben je?

hoo owt ben yuh
How old are you? (informal)

Ik ben ... jaar (oud).

ik ben ... yahr owt
I am ____ years old.

Spreekt u Nederlands?
spraykt ew nay-der-lahnds
Do you speak Dutch?
(formal)

Spreek je Engels?
sprayk yuh ehng-uhls
Do you speak English?
(informal)

Ik spreek [geen]...
ik sprayk [khayn]
I [don't] speak...

Ik spreek niet zo goed...

ik sprayk neet zoh khood
I don't speak ... very well.

Ik begrijp het [niet.]

ik buh-khraip ut neet
I [don't] understand.

Ik weet het [niet.]

ik vayt ut [neet]
I [don't] know.

Wat kost het?

vat kohst ut
How much is it?

Ik wil graag...
ik vil khrahk
I'd like...

Proost!
prohst
Cheers!

Veel plezier!
fayl pleh-zeer
Have fun!

Veel succes!
fayl suk-sehs
Good luck!

Wees voorzichtig!
vays fohr-zikh-tikh
Be careful!

Dat is geweldig / vreselijk!

dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh /
fray-zuh-likh
That is great / terrible!

Ik hou van je.

ik how fahn yuh
I love you. (informal)

Ik hou van jullie.

ik how fahn juh-lee
I love you (all).

Wat vreemd!
vaht fraymt
How funny / odd!

Wat jammer!
vaht yah-mer
What a pity!

Wat is dit / dat?

vut iss dit / dut
What is this / that?

Note: In the pronunciations, kh denotes a uvular guttural sound. Meneer, mevrouw and
mejuffrouw are all written with a small letter when they precede a name. When typing, de
Heer is used instead of meneer and Dhr. is used on envelopes. Mevrouw and mejuffrouw
are abbreviated as Mevr. and Mej. In addition, Mw. can be used as an equivalent of the
English Ms.

2. Pronunciation
Dutch
letters
ch
sch
g
w
v
r
j
sj
tj
aa
ee
ie
oo
oe
eu
uu
a
e
i
o
u
ei / ij
aai

English sound
guttural sound, made at back of mouth
s followed by guttural ch sound
same as ch, guttural sound from back of mouth
like v before r, otherwise like w but with bottom lip
against top teeth
like v, but sometimes closer to f
either rolled or guttural
y as in yes
sh as in ship
ch as in chip
ah as in father, but longer
ay as in hail, but shorter
ee as in neat, but shorter
oh as in boat
oo as in pool, but shorter
ur as in hurt, but with lips rounded
ew, but with lips rounded (sound not found in
English)
ah as in father, but shorter
eh as in bed
ih as in bit
aw as in paw, with lips rounded
ir as in dirt, but very short

oei
ooi
ou / au
eeuw
ieuw
uw
ui

between the sounds in "light" and "late"

combination of aa and ie
combination of oe and ie
combination of oo and ie
like ow, as in house
combination of ee and oe
combination of ie and oe
combination of uu and oe
combination of a and uu

The consonants s, f, h, b, d, z, l, m, n, and ng are pronounced the same way in Dutch as in

English. P, t, and k are pronounced without the puff of air (called aspiration.) Sometimes
the g is pronounced like zh in words borrowed from French. One last vowel sound is
found in various Dutch spellings. It is pronounced like uh, as in along or sofa. For
example, this sound is found in de (the), een (a), aardig (nice), and vriendelijk (kind).

3. Alphabet
a

yay

ess

b bay

kah

tay

ell

u ew

ah

say

d day

m emm v

ay

enn

w vay

eff

oh

eeks

khay p

pay

ee-grek

zett

h hah

kew

air

ee

fay

4. Nouns and Gender

All nouns have a gender in Dutch, either common (de words) or neuter (het words). It is
hard to guess which gender a noun is, so it is best to memorize the genders when
memorizing vocabulary. However, two-thirds of Dutch words are common gender
(because the common gender has combined the former feminine and masculine genders.)
So it may be easier to memorize which nouns are neuter, and then assign common gender
to the rest. All diminutives (words ending in -je) and infinitives used as nouns, as well as
colors, metals, compass directions, and all words that end in -um, -aat, -sel, -isme are

neuter. Most nouns beginning with ge- and ending with -te are neuter, as are most nouns
beginning with ge-, be-, and ver-. Common noun endings include: -aar, -ent, -er, -es, -eur,
-heid, -ij, -ing, -teit, -tie.

5. Articles and Demonstratives

common neuter
Singular "the"
de
het
Plural "the"
de
Indefinite "a" or
een
"an"
common neuter
Singular
this
deze
dit
that
die
dat
Plural
these
those

deze
die

The definite article is used more in Dutch than in English. It is always used before the
names of the seasons, street names and in an abstract sense. There are some idioms that
should be memorized, however: in het Nederlands (in Dutch), in de stad (in town), in het
zwart (in black), met de auto (by car), met de tijd (in/with time); op tafel (on the table), in
zee (in the sea), op kantoor (at the office), in bad (in the bath), op straat (in the street).

6. Subject Pronouns
Subject Pronouns
ik
jij (je) / u
hij
zij (ze)
het

ik
yay / ew
hay
zay
ut

I
you (singular
informal / sing. and
plural formal)
he
she
it

wij (we)
jullie

zij (ze)

vay

we

you (plural
yew-lee informal)

zay

they

Unstressed forms (shortened forms used in the spoken language) are in the parentheses.
There are also unstressed forms of ik ('k), hij (ie) and het ('t) but these are not written.

7. To Be and to Have
Present tense of zijn - to be (zayn)
I am
ik ben
ik ben
we are
wij zijn
vay zayn
You are
jij / u bent
yay / ew bent
you are
jullie zijn yew-lee zayn
He, she, it is
hij, zij, het is hay, zay, ut is
they are
zij zijn
zay zayn
Present tense of hebben - to have (heh-buh)
I have
ik heb
ik heb
we have wij hebben vay heh-buh
You have jij / u hebt
yay / ew hebt
you have jullie hebben yew-lee heh-buh
He, she, it hij, zij, het
hay, zay, ut
they
zij hebben
zay heh-buh
is
heeft
hayft
have
Past tense of zijn - to be (zayn)
I was
ik was
ik vas
we were wij waren vay vah-ruh
You were
jij / u was
yay / ew vas
you were jullie waren yew-lee vah-ruh
He, she, it
hij, zij, het
hay, zay, ut vas they were zij waren
zay vah-ruh
was
was
Past tense of hebben - to have (heh-buh)
I had
ik had
ik hahd
we had wij hadden vay hah-duh
You had
jij / u had
yay / ew hahd you had jullie hadden yew-lee hah-duh
He, she, it
hij, zij, het
hay, zay, ut
they had zij hadden
zay hah-duh
had
had
hahd

Note: You must use the subject pronouns; however, I will leave them out of future
conjugations.
Expressions with zijn and hebben:
Het/dat is jammer - It's/that's a pity
jarig zijn - to have a birthday
kwijt zijn - to have lost
op het punt staan - to be about to
van plan zijn - to intend
voor elkaar zijn - to be in order
honger / dorst hebben - to be hungry / thirsty
gelijk hebben - to be right
haast hebben - to be in a hurry

het hebben over - to talk about

het druk hebben - to be busy
het koud hebben / warm - to be cold / warm
last hebben van - to be bothered by
nodig hebben - to need
slaap hebben - to be sleepy
zin hebben in - to feel like

8. Useful Words
sometimes
always
never
often
usually
now
and
but
or
very
here
there
also
much
another
already
perhaps

soms
altijd
nooit
vaak,
dikwijls
gewoonlijk
nu
en
maar
of
zeer, heel
hier
daar
ook
veel
een ander
al
misschien

9. Question Words
Who

Wie

vee

Where

Waar

vahr

What

Wat

vaht

Where to

Waar... naartoe

vahr nahr-too

Why

Waarom

vah-rohm Where from Waar... vandaan vahr vun-dahn

When

Wanneer

vah-nayr

Which

How

Hoe

hoo

Isn't it?, etc. Niet waar?

Welk(e)

velk(-uh)
neet vahr

Welk is used before het words, and welke is used before de words and plural nouns. Niet
waar is a tag question, and is added to the end of statements to make them questions. It
can translate several ways into English: isn't it?, doesn't it?, isn't he?, doesn't he?, isn't

she?, doesn't she?, aren't we?, don't we?, aren't they?, don't they?, aren't you?, don't you?,
right?, yes?, etc.

10. Numbers
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

nul
een
twee
drie
vier
vijf
zes
zeven
acht
negen

nuhl
ayn
tvay
dree
feer
faif
zehs
zay-fuh
akht
nay-khuh

10

tien

teen

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

elf
twaalf
dertien
veertien
vijftien
zestien
zeventien
achttien
negentien
twintig
eenentwintig
tweentwintig
drientwintig
dertig
veertig
vijftig
zestig
zeventig
tachtig
negentig

ehlf
tvahlf
dayr-teen
fayr-teen
faif-teen
zehs-teen
zay-fuh-teen
ahkh-teen
nay-khuh-teen
tvin-tuhkh
ayn-ehn-tvin-tukh
tvay-ehn-tvin-tukh
dree-ehn-tvin-tukh
dayr-tukh
fayr-tukh
faif-tukh
zes-tukh
zay-fun-tukh
takh-tukh
nay-guhn-tukh

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
30th
40th
50th
60th
70th
80th
90th

eerste
tweede
drede
vierde
vijfde
zesde
zevende
achtste
negende
tiende
elfde
twaalfde
dertiende
veertiende
vijftiende
zestiende
zeventiende
achttiende
negentiende
twintigste
eenentwintigste
tweentwintigste
drieentwintigste
dertigste
veertigste
vijftigste
zestigste
zeventigste
tachtigste
negentigste

100
101
110
200
1,000
1,001

honderd
honderd en een
honderd tien
tweehonderd
duizend
duizend en een

hohn-dert
hohn-dert en un
hohn-dert teen
tvay-hohn-dert
dow-zuhnt
dow-zent

100th
101st
110th
200th
1,000th
1,001st

honderdste
honderd en eerste
honderd tiende
tweehonderdste
duizendste
duizend en eerste

million een miljoen

meel-yoon

billion een miljard

meel-yart

miljoenste
millionth
billionth miljardste

Note: In the word for twenty-two, the is necessary because there are three of the same
vowels in a row, and the accent mark shows that the third one needs to be pronounced
separately. The use of commas and decimals is reversed in Dutch. Also note that I speak
American English, so billion means 1,000,000,000 and not the British counterpart.

11. Days of the Week

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
day
morning
afternoon
evening
night
today
tomorrow
tonight
yesterday
last night
day after tomorrow
day before yesterday
week

maandag
dinsdag
woensdag
donderdag
vrijdag
zaterdag
zondag
dag
ochtend
middag
avond
nacht
vandaag
morgen
deze nacht
gisteren
(de) afgelopen nacht
overmorgen
eergisteren
week

mahn-dahkh
dins-dahkh
voons-dahkh
dohn-der-dahkh
frai-dahkh
zah-ter-dahkh
zohn-dahkh
dahkh
awkh-tehnt
mih-dahkh
ah-fohnt
nahkht
fahn-dahkh
mawr-khuh
khih-stuh-ruh
oh-fer-mawr-khuh
ayr-khih-stuh-ruh

last week
weekend
daily
weekly

afgelopen week
weekend
dagelijks
wekelijks

12. Months of the Year

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
month
year
last year
monthly
yearly

januari
februari
maart
april
mei
juni
juli
augustus
september
oktober
november
december
maand
jaar
het afgelopen jaar
maandelijks
jaarlijks

13. Seasons
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn

14. Directions

de winter
de lente / het voorjaar
de zomer
de herfst / het najaar

yah-noo-ah-ree
fay-broo-ah-ree
mahrt
ah-pril
mai
yoo-nee
yoo-lee
ow-khus-tus
sep-tehm-ber
awk-toh-ber
noh-fehm-ber
day-sehm-ber
mahnt
yahr
mahn-duh-luks
yahr-luks

Compass/Wind
North noord
South zuid
East oost
West west

Location/Movement
noorden
right
rechts
zuiden
left
links
oosten
straight rechtdoor
westen

15. Colors
orange
pink
purple
blue
yellow
red
black
brown
gray
white
green
silver
gold
beige

oranje
roze
paars
blauw
geel
rood
zwart
bruin
grijs
wit
groen
zilver
goud
beige

oh-rahn-yuh
roh-zuh
pahrs
blow
khayl
rohd
zvahrt
brown
grah-ees
viht
khroon

Licht and donker are added to the colors to mean light and dark: lichtbruin - light
brown.

16. Time
What time is it?
It's 1:00
2:00
3:30
5:45

Hoe laat is het?

Het is een uur.
Het is twee uur.
Het is half vier.
Het is kwart voor zes.

7:03

Het is drie (minuten) over zeven.

at 9:30
noon

om half tien
twaalf uur 's middags

hoo laht is ut
ut is ayn ewr
ut is tvay ewr
ut is half feer
ut is kvahrt for zehs
ut is dree mih-new-tuh oh-fer zayfuh
awm half teen
tvahlf ewrs mihd-dahkhs

midnight
In the morning
During the day
In the evening
At night

twaalf uur 's nachts / middernacht tvahlf ewrs nahkhts

's ochtends
's middags
's avonds
's nachts
Minuten can be omitted, just as in English.

17. Weather
How's the weather today?

Wat voor weer is het vandaag?

It's cold
beautiful
hot
clear
icy
warm
windy
cloudy
hazy
muggy
humid
foggy
It's snowing
It's raining
It's freezing

Het is koud
mooi
heet
open / helder
het vriest/ijzig
warm
windig
bewolkt
mistig
drukkend/benauwd
vochtig
mistig
het sneeuwt
het regent
het vriest

18. Family and Pets

Parents
Mother
Father
Son
Daughter
Brother
Sister

ouders
moeder
vader
zoon
dochter
broeder, broer
zuster, zus

adult
relative
siblings
twin
birth
death
marriage

volwassene
bloedverwant
broers en zusters
tweeling
geboorte
dood
huwelijk (n)

Grandfather
Grandmother
Grandson

grootvader, opa
grootmoeder, oma
kleinzoon

Granddaughter

kleindochter

Niece
Nephew
Cousin (m)
Cousin (f)
Uncle
Aunt
Boy
Girl
Child
Man, husband
Woman, wife
Friend (m)
Friend (f)

nicht
neef
neef
nicht
oom
tante
jongen
meisje (n)
kind
man
vrouw
vriend
vriendin

divorce

dog
cat
bird
goldfish

echtscheiding

hond
poes
vogel
goudvis

Note: In the vocabulary lists, (n) after the noun denotes neuter nouns.

19. To Know People and Facts

kennen - to know people
ken
ken kennen ken-nuh
kent
kent kennen ken-nuh
kent
kent kennen ken-nuh

weten - to know facts

weet vayt weten vay-tuh
weet vayt weten vay-tuh
weet vayt weten vay-tuh

20. Formation of Plural Nouns

Most plural nouns are formed by adding either -en or -s. Remember that the definite
article is always de before plural nouns.
1. -en (the n is pronounced softly) is added to most nouns, with a few spelling changes
boek - boeken book(s)
jas - jassen coat(s)
haar - haren hair(s)
huis - huizen house(s)

Spelling changes: Words with long vowels (aa, ee, oo, and uu) drop the one vowel when
another syllable is added. Words with the short vowels (a, e, i, o and u) double the
following consonant to keep the vowels short. The letters f and s occur at the end of
words or before consonants, while the letters v and z occur in the middle of words before
vowels. (These spelling rules are also used for conjugating verbs, so it's best to memorize
them as soon as possible.)
2. -s is added to nouns ending in the unstressed syllables -el, -em, -en, and -er (and
-aar(d), -erd, -ier when referring to people), foreign words and to most nouns ending in
an unstressed vowel
tafel - tafels table(s)
jongen - jongens boy(s)
tante - tantes aunt(s)
bakker - bakkers baker(s)
Nouns ending in the vowels -a, -o, and -u add an apostrophe before the s: foto's,
paraplu's
Irregular forms
3. Some nouns containing a short vowel do not double the following consonant in the
plural before -en. The plural vowel is then pronounced as long.
bad - baden bath(s)
dag - dagen day(s)
spel - spelen game(s) (like the Olympics, smaller games are spellen)
glas - glazen glass(es)
weg - wegen road(s)
4. A few neuter nouns take the ending -eren (or -deren if the noun ends in -n)
blad - bladeren leaf(leaves)
kind - kinderen child(ren)
ei - eieren egg(s)
been - beenderen bone(s) [Note: been - benen leg(s)]
lied - liederen song(s)
volk - volkeren nation(s), people
5. Nouns ending in -heid have a plural in -heden.
mogelijkheid - mogelijkheden possibility(ies)
6. Some other common irregular plurals are:

stad - steden town(s)

schip - schepen ship(s)
lid - leden member(s)
koe - koeien cow(s)