Learn Dutch with Babbel’s easy, quick, and fun lessons

Whether you’re looking to enrich your life culturally, professionally, or mentally, learning Dutch can offer you a range of opportunities. The Dutch language also opens the door to a rich heritage of literature, art, and philosophy. The Netherlands has produced renowned artists like Rembrandt and Van Gogh, and knowing Dutch allows for a deeper appreciation of their works and the historical context in which they were created. Dutch literature, from classic works to contemporary novels, offers further insight into Dutch society and values. And for those interested in travel, speaking Dutch enhances the experience of visiting the Netherlands or Belgium.

Another primary motivation for learning Dutch is the growing importance of the Netherlands and Belgium in global business and trade. As the Dutch economy is one of the strongest in Europe, proficiency in Dutch can provide significant advantages for those looking to work in international companies, particularly in sectors like finance, logistics, and technology. Many multinational corporations also have their headquarters in the Netherlands, making Dutch a valuable asset for career advancement and networking opportunities.

Maybe you’re heading to Amsterdam for a long weekend or planning a larger life change, but either way learning Dutch is a springboard into something new. If you’re ready to get started, you can try a free Babbel lesson right now! Or if you want to explore more about the language, read on for our introduction to the Dutch language and our best tips for setting out on your language journey.

Dutch lessons: A brief intro to taking a Dutch course

For English speakers, Dutch is considered one of the easiest languages to learn. That’s not to make light of the challenge — it still requires time and effort to master — but the two languages have quite a few similarities. Both of the languages are Germanic, and their grammars and vocabularies overlap. There are also differences, though, and it’s worth knowing about these tricky aspects from the start.

• Pronunciation. When you first look at written Dutch, it may look overwhelming. The letter J shows up more times than you ever thought possible. Fortunately, Dutch pronunciation is pretty straightforward. Once you’ve learned how to say the common letter combinations — all of which Babbel explains in detail — you’ll have no problem with any new vocab you encounter.

• Word Order. On the one hand, Dutch and English have the same basic word order, called subject-verb-object. On the other hand, verbs in Dutch are different from those in English. For example, “Yesterday I saw the man” would in Dutch read as “Yesterday saw I the man,” because the verb has to be in the second position. Don’t worry, though, there are predictable rules to follow that just take some studying to master.

• Gender. Unlike English, Dutch has grammatical gender, meaning each noun fits into a gender category. The good news is that the Dutch language has simplified their grammatical genders down to just two: common (which uses the definite article de) and neuter (which uses the definite article het). In certain regional varieties of Dutch, people might still distinguish between masculine and feminine, but in most places the two have been combined in the neuter category.

• Tenses. Dutch has the same number of tenses as English, and they do overlap in a lot of ways. That said, there are some places where the tense used differs. For example, where an English speaker says “I will go to the store tomorrow,” Dutch wouldn’t use this future “will” and would just say “I go to the store tomorrow.” It’s pretty common to make errors with the tenses, but just remember that mistakes are all part of learning.

Is it easy to learn Dutch if you know German?

As mentioned, English and Dutch are both Germanic languages, so you might be wondering if knowing German will give you a leg up. While it can depend on your skill level in both English and German, the short answer is that it almost definitely will. 

Some of the biggest differences we mentioned between Dutch and English above are the same as the differences between German and English. If you already know German and English, you’ll have no problem mastering Dutch grammatical gender, word order and more. It should be noted that if you’re learning German and Dutch at the same time, that can make things tricky — you may have trouble distinguishing which rules are Dutch and which are German — but having both these languages at your command will really extend your horizons.

Our best tips to learn Dutch online

With access to the internet, you can find more resources than ever before. This is a good thing for the most part, but it can also make getting started all the harder. How do you choose the best way to learn Dutch? To get you started, here are some of our best tips for learning Dutch, while using all the tools at your disposal.

• Get speaking early and often. No longer do you have to go out and find a Dutch speaker to help you with your pronunciation. If your goal is to get conversational, it’s important to start speaking as soon as you can. Tools like Babbel’s AI-powered speech recognition will set you on the right path, so you feel more prepared when speaking to real people.

• Study a little each day. No matter what your goal is for learning Dutch, studying consistently is the most important factor. Even just a short Babbel lesson every day will contribute more to your long-term success than trying to cram vocab the night before you travel to the Netherlands.

• Learn each word with its gender. As mentioned, learning grammatical gender in Dutch will probably be one of your biggest challenges. There are a few rules you can learn, but you have to commit most of it to memory. 

• Explore Dutch culture. A language isn’t just a set of dusty grammar rules; Dutch is intertwined with the culture of the Netherlands and everywhere else it’s spoken. That’s why Babbel mixes language learning with cultural insights, and you can check out the app’s lessons on Dutch food, holidays, and more. Understanding the culture will enrich the language, and vice versa.

• Mix things up once in a while. Learning a language isn’t always a linear path, and if you’re only using one method to learn you probably will hit a wall eventually. If you’re tired of just memorising grammar rules, try something else, like listening to a Dutch podcast or watching a Dutch TV show (if you’re advanced enough, change the subtitles from English to Dutch, too).

Learn Dutch with the Babbel app

Babbel is designed to get you conversational in a new language as quickly as possible. If you’re still feeling unsure, here are a few more facts that might convince you.

• Babbel is crafted by over 150 in-house language experts.

• The app features multimedia lessons, reading exercises, vocab reviews, speaking practice, grammar guides and more.

• Babbel focuses on real-world situations, starting you off with the words and phrases that will be most useful to know.

• Babbel is a flexible, cost-effective and fun way to learn the Dutch language.

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