Dutch Phrases

Spoken by 25 million people primarily in the Netherlands and Belgium — though there are also speakers in South America and the Caribbean — Dutch is a West Germanic language closely related to English. Despite its reputation for being challenging, learning Dutch is more approachable than it seems. Dutch shares numerous similarities with English in vocabulary and grammar. Many words and phrases in Dutch already look familiar, which will make it all the easier for you.

Learn Dutch phrases

The best way to learn Dutch sentences is by total immersion. We know it's not always possible to spend a few months in another country in order to learn the native language, however. Fortunately, there have never been more resources that you can access relatively easily. Try to get some books to read. It is best to start with children's books, which are shorter and will teach you the basic vocabulary.

There are online courses available, which are the next best thing. Once you feel a bit more familiar with the language, a visit to the chosen country helps enormously to get the feel of it, especially with the pronunciation, which is often a stumbling block for English speakers who want to learn Dutch.

Basic Dutch phrases

• Kan u me de weg wijzen naar het station, alstublieft? — Can you show me the way to the station, please?

• Hoeveel kost dit? — How much does this cost?

• Verkoopt u postzegels? — Do you sell postage stamps?

• Hoe heet u? — What is your name?

• Goede morgen — Good morning

• Goede avond — Good afternoon

• Goede nacht — Good night

• Verstaat u Engels? — Do you understand English?

Learning Dutch phrases with Babbel

While Dutch spelling is generally straightforward, sentence structure can be less intuitive and requires some practice. Conjugating regular verbs in Dutch phrases is simple, providing a foundation for understanding the usage of any verb. However, irregular verbs pose a greater challenge, usually requiring rote memorization (it's not too bad, we promise!). Dutch adjectives and nouns have either a neuter or common gender, which you'll also need to memorize. In most Dutch phrases, you'll encounter definite articles like de and het, as well as the indefinite article een.

Learn Dutch with Babbel and start mastering Dutch phrases now. Incidentally, babbel in Dutch means "to talk." Babbel employs a range of tools to teach you Dutch. The voice recognition to train pronunciation and multimedia exercises are all geared to get you speaking the language with confidence as quickly as possible.