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The Small Change of Conversation™
I found the phrase in a book by Henry James. It's a useful concept for students of foreign languages. The pages in this series (and my website in general) will help you speak with Dutch people.
I hope you have the passive vocabulary to understand what people say or write to you - to comment on that, learn the phrases on this page that look useful to you, make them part of your active vocabulary.

Meet and Greet

the: de click to hear 2 / het click to hear 2 3 - 't click to hear ->>
Plurals always take 'de'
a: (een) - 'n click to hear / one: één click to hear 2 3


Hello
How Are You?
Birthdays and Holidays
Goodbye
[I'm smiling]

Hallo click to hear = 'Hi, Hello'

Goedemorgen click to hear Good morning!
Goedemiddag click to hear Good afternoon!
Goedenavond click to hear Good evening!
Hallo click to hear Hi, Hello
Ik heet ... click to hear My name is ..., I'm called ...
Hallo, ik heet Marco click to hear Hi - my name is Marco
Ik ben ... click to hear I am ...
ik ben zevenentwintig click to hear 2 I am 27 years old
ik ben één meter tachtig click to hear I am 1 meter 80 cm tall (about 5'11")
Hallo, ik ben Marco click to hear Hi - I am Marco
Mijn naam is ... click to hear My name is ...
Mijn naam is Daniël click to hear My name is Daniel
Wat is Uw naam? click to hear 2 What's your name? (polite, formal)
Hoe heet je? click to hear What's your name? (informal)

(de) naam click to hear name - (de) voornaam click to hear first, given name - (de) achternaam click to hear last, family name
Common First and Last Names

Mevrouw click to hear 2 3 Ma'm and Mrs.
Meneer ("Mijnheer") click to hear Sir and Mr.
Juffrouw click to hear 2 3 4 Miss (old-fashioned)

Aangenaam kennis te maken click to hear 2 3 Nice meeting you (slightly formal) Kan het zijn dat ik U ken? click to hear
['Could it be that I know you?'] - 'Have we met before?' 't Spijt me, ik ben Uw naam vergeten click to hear 2 I'm sorry, I forgot your name Hoe heet-ie ook-al-weer? click to hear 2 3 4 What's his name again? - I don't remember (Wat een rare naam! click to hear 2 3 What a strange name!) Zoals je 't zegt? click to hear 2 3 Like you say it? (Asking if a name is written phonetically, according to the spelling rules)

How Are You? + Answers

In Dutch, we don't say something like "How are you?" to about everyone you come across, like in America. I only say it to people I already know.
Hoe gaat 't? click to hear How are you? (informal)
Hoe is 't? click to hear 2 3 How are you? (informal)
Hoe is 't ermee? click to hear [How are things?] - How are you (informal)
Hoe maakt U het? click to hear How are you? (polite)

Hoe is het met je moeder? click to hear How is your mother?
alternatives:  vader click to hear ('father') - baby click to hear ('baby') - kindje click to hear 2 ('little one') - man click to hear ('husband') - vrouw click to hear ('wife') - vriendin click to hear ('girlfriend') - vriend click to hear ('boyfriend') - see also:  Family

Heel goed, dank je click to hear 2 Great! Very good, Thank you
goed click to hear 2 good
't Gaat goed click to hear It's going well
redelijk click to hear reasonably, relatively well
best click to hear 2 OK, fine, not bad, carrying on ‑>>
niet zo goed click to hear not so good, not that good
belabberd click to hear 2 miserable, pretty bad
Men sleept zich voort click to hear 2 3 'Carrying on' (in less-than-ideal circumstances)

Gaat 't wel? click to hear 2 Are you OK? (It looks like there is a problem)
't Gaat wel click to hear 2 3 I'm OK (but not great)

Birthdays, Holidays

(De) verjaardag click to hear birthday
"Hartelijk gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!" click to hear [Heartfelt congratulations on your birthday] - Happy birthday (informal) Gefeliciteerd! click to hear 2 Congratulations! Van harte gefeliciteerd click to hear 2 Congratulations 'from the heart' Hartelijk gefeliciteerd! click to hear Many Congratulations! more Birthday
Do note that Dutch people congratulate  on birthdays, there is no Gelukkige verjaardag  (or Gelukkige moederdag  etc.)
But next to the congratulations you could write or say in a phone call:
Een prettige dag gewenst click to hear Wishing (you) a nice day Een prettige dag nog click to hear Wishing you an enjoyable day (said when that day has already begun) Een gezellige dag gewenst click to hear 2 3 Wishing (you) a pleasant day in the company of friends and/or relatives

Prettige Kerstdagen! click to hear 2 Merry Christmas! - >> Prettige Kerstdagen en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! click to hear 2 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Vrolijk Kerstfeest! click to hear 2 quick Merry Christmas! Zalig Kerstfeest! click to hear 2 Blessed Christmas! (said by Roman Catholics) Zalig Uiteinde! click to hear 2 Happy Year's End! (jocular and among Catholics) Prettige Jaarwisseling! click to hear 2 3 [Happy Year's Change] Happy New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! click to hear Happy New Year! - Resolutions Prettige Paasdagen! click to hear Happy Easter! Vrolijk Pasen! click to hear Happy Easter Zalig Pasen! click to hear 2 3 Blessed Easter! (said by Roman Catholics) Prettige Feestdagen! click to hear 2 Happy Holidays! Ik kijk uit naar de kerstdagen click to hear I'm looking forward to the Christmas [days] holiday Ik kijk uit naar de feestdagen click to hear I'm looking forward to the holidays more Holidays

Tot Ziens click to hear Goodbye, See you

For 'goodbye' there is the somewhat informal 'dag' click to hear - which is often stretched out to da-ag click to hear - or even into a long goodbye dag - da-ag - dag hoor - nou, dag hoor click to hear 2.
Some people say 'dag' click to hear as a 'Hello' but I think that's confusing.

Tot ziens click to hear See you, Goodbye
Tot zo click to hear 2 See you in a moment
Tot straks click to hear 2 See you later
Tot vanmiddag click to hear See you this afternoon
Tot vanavond click to hear See you tonight, this evening
Tot morgen click to hear 2 See you tomorrow
(Dutch [(de)] morgen click to hear 2 can mean both 'morning' and 'tomorrow')
Tot maandag click to hear See you Monday
Prettige avond click to hear Have a nice evening
Prettig weekend click to hear Have a nice weekend
Een prettige dag nog click to hear Have a nice day
Sterkte click to hear [wishing you strength] - Good luck

To friends, you can use the somewhat-slang expressions doei click to hear or doe-ie click to hear
Originally from Groningen, but now a generally popular 'goodbye' is hoi click to hear or even moi click to hear.

Letters (and email)

The Small Change of Conversation™
More pages like this:
Talking about Time
Ziek - Talking about Not Feeling Well
Commenting on Statements and Opinions
Why? / Because / The Reason / Cause & Effect
Chance, Luck, Outcomes and Risk
Expectations and What Happens

Weather - Food - Drink - Travel - Sleep - Work - Money - Speaking Dutch

- The Senses - Using Words - 'What I Want' - Likes and Loves - Sayings, Standard Phrases - Fun Things to Say - Life - Change - Time

email - Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2021. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed, or hotlinked to.
Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2