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Dutch: The Most Basic Phrases

Useful words and phrases for when you're visiting Holland. Many people in Holland speak some English, but it's a nice courtesy to say a few words in Dutch.

Hi, hello	Hallo
My name is ...	Ik heet ...
My name is ...	Mijn naam is ...

Hi - I am Marco	Hallo, ik ben Marco
Hi - my name is Marco	Hallo, ik heet Marco
My name is Daniel	Mijn naam is Daniël

What's your name?
polite: Wat is Uw naam?

2
informal: Hoe heet je?

Common First and Last Names

Mr. and Sir	Meneer ( = Mijnheer)	Mr. van Dijk	Meneer van Dijk
Mrs. and Ma'am	Mevrouw	Mrs. Jansen	Mevrouw Jansen
Miss	Juffrouw (old-fashioned)	Miss de Jong	Juffrouw de Jong

Ladies and Gentlemen ... (addressing a group)	Dames en Heren ... 2
Allow me to introduce myself ...	'Mag ik me even voorstellen?' 2

Good morning	Goedemorgen
Good afternoon	Goedemiddag
Good evening	Goedenavond

Goodbye, See you	Tot ziens
See you in a moment	Tot zo 2
See you later	Tot straks 2

See you this afternoon	Tot vanmiddag
See you this evening	Tot vanavond
See you tomorrow	Tot morgen 2
see you Monday	Tot maandag

Morgen!

2 - short for goedemorgen

- often 'softened' to goeiemorgen

- or further shortened to môge

2
Most often 'morgen'

2 means: 'tomorrow' but it can also mean 'morning' and 'good morning!'

How are you? (polite)

Hoe maakt U het?

How are you? (informal)

Hoe gaat 't?

Hoe is 't ermee?

Gaat 't wel?

Are you all right? (the person looks troubled or unwell)

Very good, thank you

Heel goed, dank je

2 >>

And you?

En met jou?

Please

Alstublieft

Thank you (polite)

Dank U wel

Thank you (informal)

Dank je wel

Bedankt!

Thank you, and the same to you

Bedankt en van hetzelfde

You're welcome, My pleasure

Graag gedaan

No Problem ('Minimal effort')
Don't mention it
('no reason to thank me')

Kleine moeite

Geen dank

It doesn't matter

't Geeft niet

Excuse me

Pardon

(French)

Just a moment, please
just a moment ...

Een momentje, alstublieft

ogenblikje

Wait a moment ...

Wacht even

I'm sorry

Het spijt me

2
(sorry

) ‑>>

Best wishes	Het beste ermee
Have fun	Veel plezier
Have a nice day	Een prettige dag nog
Have a nice weekend	Prettig weekend 2
Bon Appetit (Enjoy your meal) Cheers!	Eet smakelijk - >> Proost! 2
Have a safe & pleasant trip	Goede reis - >>
Sleep well, Happy dreams	Welterusten
What's going on?	Wat is er aan de hand?
What's the price?	Wat is de prijs? 2 - >>
Ouch!	Au!
Help me!	Help! 2 - >>
Where is the bathroom? Gents Ladies	Waar is de WC? 2 Heren (Heeren) Dames
Bless you! (Gesundheit!) (when somebody sneezes )	Gezondheid!
Get well (speedy recovery!)	Beterschap - >>

In Holland, people don't say something like "How are you?" to about everyone you come across, like in America. Just say it to people you already know.
Next to Heel goed, dank je

2 (Very good, thank you) other possible answers to Hoe gaat 't?

("How are you?") are: goed

2 ('good') - redelijk

('reasonably, relatively well') - 't gaat wel

2 3 ('not so bad, hanging in there') - niet zo goed

('not so good') - belabberd

2 ('pretty bad.')
Tot ziens

is the best all-purpose 'goodbye' and 'see you,' but it is a bit formal. With a more specific meaning you could say (as I already mentioned above) tot zo

2 ('see you in a moment') - tot straks

2 ('see you later') - tot vanmiddag

('see you this afternoon') - tot vanavond

('see you this evening') - Tot morgen

2 ('see you tomorrow') or tot maandag

('see you Monday.')
For 'goodbye' I can only think of the somewhat informal dag

- which is often stretched out to da-ag

- or even into a long goodbye dag - da-ag - dag hoor - nou, dag hoor

2. You may hear people say doei

or doe-ie

but I think it's a bit intimate. Originally from Groningen, but now a generally popular 'goodbye' is hoi

or even moi

. When I was a teenager, we said things like aju

(from French 'adieu') - tabé

(from Malay) or de mazzel!

(from Hebrew 'mazzal,' luck) but those things went out of fashion.
I often say sterkte

with a goodbye, it's like 'good luck.' Literally it means [wishing you] 'strength.'
I have the impression people in England and America don't say something like "Enjoy your meal" to the other people at the table, it's the waiter or waitress who says that; but in Holland, saying Eet smakelijk

to your fellow eaters is very common.
When you thank someone whose job it is to help you, their 'you're welcome' may be: Tot Uw dienst!

2 ('at your service'?)

Prettige Kerstdagen en Een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! 2 (Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!) - Dutch New Year's Resolutions

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! Happy New Year! - Prettige Feestdagen! 2 Happy Holidays!

question	vraag
answer	antwoord

yes	ja
no	nee
maybe, perhaps	misschien

Yes, please (polite) Yes, please (informal) Yes, please (informal)	Ja, alstublieft 2 Ja, alsjeblieft 2 3 Ja, graag 2
No, thank you (polite) No, thank you (informal)	Nee, dank U 2 Nee, dank je 2

Alstublieft

and alsjeblieft

2 are the magic word 'please,' but they're also said when you hand someone something, like 'here you are,' and sometimes they're said in reply to a 'thank you,' in the sense of 'you're welcome, my pleasure.'

Happy birthday! Congratulations! Many Congratulations!	Hartelijk gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag! - >> Gefeliciteerd! 2 Hartelijk gefeliciteerd!
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! Blessed Christmas! Happy Year's End! Happy New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Happy New Year! Happy Easter! Blessed Easter! Happy Holidays!	Prettige Kerstdagen en Een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! 2 Prettige Kerstdagen! 2 - >> Zalig Kerstfeest! 2 (said by Roman Catholics) Zalig Uiteinde! 2 (jocular and among Catholics) Prettige Jaarwisseling! 2 3 Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! - >> Prettige Paasdagen! - >> Zalig Pasen! 2 3 (said by Roman Catholics) Prettige Feestdagen! 2
The food was delicious	't Eten was heerlijk - >>
I'm sorry, I forgot your name	't Spijt me, ik ben Uw naam vergeten 2
In a shop >> a sales person may ask you: or shorter: receipt or about a plastic bag for your purchase: a plastic bag or: a small paper bag	Wilt U een bonnetje? 2 3 ('Would you like a receipt?') Bonnetje mee? 2 3 ('The receipt along with it?') bonnetje Tasje d'r bij? 2 (A plastic bag with it?) tasje zakje 2
You can answer: Yes, Please or: No, thank you or with more emphasis: I don't need a receipt	Ja, graag 2 Nee, dank U 2 Ik hoef geen bonnetje 2
You may also need these lines: I don't speak Dutch Unfortunately, I don't speak Dutch	(But I do hope you'll learn Dutch and won't need these two phrases for long) Ik spreek geen Nederlands 2 Ik spreek helaas geen Nederlands 2

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Chris Tunnell suggested a few additional lines

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Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2