r/learndutch Sep 02 '18

Resource Recommended books for learning Dutch

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understandingdutch.com
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r/learndutch Apr 23 '26

MQT Monthly Question Thread #99

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Previous thread (#98) available here.


These threads are for any questions you might have. No question is too big or too small, too broad or too specific, too strange or too common.

You're welcome to ask anything related to learning Dutch. This includes help with translations, proofreading, corrections, social etiquette, finding learning resources, understanding grammar, and so on.


De and het in Dutch...

This is the question our community receives most often.

The definite article ("the") has one form in English: the. In Dutch, there are two forms: de and het. Every noun takes either de or het ("the book" → "het boek", "the car" → "de auto").

Oh no! How do I know which to use?

There are some rules, but generally there's no way to know which article a noun takes. You can save yourself some hassle by familiarising yourself with the basic de and het rules and, most importantly, memorise the noun with the article!


Useful resources for common questions

If you're looking for more learning resources, please check out our sidebar. (If you're using an app, you may need to click About or Info or the ℹ️ button for /r/LearnDutch.)


Ask away!


r/learndutch 3h ago

Humour learn Dutch, it is a totally real language and totally different from English

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Ready to learn some Dutch? Here are some Dutch sentences for beginners:

  • Warm water is perfect.
  • Broccoli is bitter.
  • Victor won 1 week later in Boston.
  • Emma is in shock.
  • Professor Winter was in Portugal in april.
  • Thomas had talent in management.
  • Oh God, help me! Monsters in bed!
  • Simon was receptionist in discrete hotels in Rome.

r/learndutch 1d ago

Meta I ordered for the first time in dutch and the waiter didn't switch to english and even made a little joke!!

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Ik ben heel blij 😊 Ik leer alleen sinds 2 maanden

Honestly the best compliment

I'm German so i feel it's een beetje lichter om de taal te leeren maar... Ja!


r/learndutch 14h ago

Humour learning apps

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app maxxing or whatever people say now a days. I have decided to create a word doc with tables and inserted all of the words i learned so far. i don't know how else to get practice in. i just randomly say these words outloud


r/learndutch 19h ago

Nederlands 3f

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Ik volg een mbo-4-opleiding en over twee maanden moet ik slagen voor Nederlands 3F. Tot nu toe heb ik voor lezen en luisteren een 5,8 behaald. Dit onderdeel telt voor 50% van het eindresultaat.

Ik moet nog schrijven en spreken afleggen. Daar maak ik me best veel zorgen over, omdat ik het Nederlands pas 2,5 jaar leer.

Ik heb op internet gezocht hoe zo'n examen eruitziet. Ergens las ik dat het onderdeel spreken uit twee onderdelen bestaat: spreken/presenteren en gesprekken voeren. Bij het onderdeel spreken zag ik dat je je van tevoren mag voorbereiden en vervolgens 6-8 minuten over je BPV moet vertellen.

Klopt dit?

Zou iemand die dit examen al heeft afgelegd kunnen vertellen hoe het examen er precies uitziet en hoe het is verlopen? Vooral ervaringen met het onderdeel spreken en gesprekken voeren zouden mij erg helpen.


r/learndutch 2d ago

I spoke with a Dutchman in Dutch today

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Context: I live at home with my parents again because my parents said I can save money from my job instead of paying rent. We're from the US.

So, my mom was having trouble with the televisions throughout the house because none of her streaming platforms were logging her even though she put in the correct credentials, so she called her usual technician who actually sent a new guy. I heard their interactions since I was around to eat my lunch, and I noticed a few things about his accent: "use your „ijfoon" to login," retracted S, lack of aspiration. I didn't want to assume, so I didn't ask immediately, but when he checked the TV in my mom's room, he saw something in my mom's room that reminds him of his mom back in The Netherlands, so that's how my mom and I find out he's Dutch.

To us, we're interested because he's the first Dutch person we've interacted with. My mom doesn't know what Dutch sounds like, so she asks her, and (I'm pretty sure) he says „Nederlands spreken? Nederlands is niet een makkelijke taal". I slowly translated it (because I had to remember was „makkelijk" meant, then he asked me „oh, do you sp- spreek je Nederlands?", and then I continued in Dutch that he probably managed to understand because he eyes were widening. We continued a little onward and he talked about why I'm studying Dutch, and I gave my reasons, all in Dutch, then he looks at my mom and tells her in English everything we said, so I guess he understood it all. After that, my mom just barraged him with questions about The Netherlands and a potential vacation there.

The only part I somehow messed up when I tried saying "because I know nobody to speak Dutch with," and it ended up being „[...] omdat ik niemand te meespreken Nederlands heb" when I probably should've said „[...] niemand te spreken Nederlands mee heb", or even easier „[...] niemand die Nederlands spreekt ken".

So, yeah. That my little victory today, so excuse me for being a bit excited about it.


r/learndutch 1d ago

Looking for Dutch speaking courses

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Hallo allemaal!
I’m looking for a Dutch course that focuses mainly on speaking, preferably in Rijswijk,Den Haag, or Rotterdam centre.
I’ve lived in the Netherlands for 5 years and passed my inburgering A2 through self-study. However, I rarely speak Dutch because of my work and friends circle. Now I really want to focus on improving my spoken Dutch.
I recently attended an A2 course for English speakers, but around 80% of the class was spent explaining Dutch grammar rules in English. Since I already know most of the rules, I’d prefer the teacher speak Dutch for 80% of the lesson and give us more speaking/listening exercises.
I think a small group, where people try to speak Dutch as much as possible, and the teacher can correct my pronunciation and grammar, would work best for me.
Does anyone know a good beginner course that focuses on speaking Dutch? I’d really appreciate any recommendations!


r/learndutch 1d ago

Question Looking for Dutch speaking courses

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Hallo allemaal!
I’m looking for a Dutch course that focuses mainly on speaking, preferably in Rijswijk,Den Haag, or Rotterdam centre.
I’ve lived in the Netherlands for 5 years and passed my inburgering A2 through self-study. However, I rarely speak Dutch because of my work and friends circle. Now I really want to focus on improving my spoken Dutch.
I recently attended an A2 course for English speakers, but around 80% of the class was spent explaining Dutch grammar rules in English. Since I already know most of the rules, I’d prefer the teacher speak Dutch for 80% of the lesson and give us more speaking/listening exercises.
I think a small group, where people try to speak Dutch as much as possible, and the teacher can correct my pronunciation and grammar, would work best for me.
Does anyone know a good beginner course that focuses on speaking Dutch? I’d really appreciate any recommendations!


r/learndutch 1d ago

Resource Offering stress-free, chat-based Dutch conversation practice (No video/calls needed!)

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Hi everyone! I know a lot of people learning Dutch feel anxious or hesitant about doing live video/voice calls.

I'm a native Dutch speaker and I just launched a low-pressure 100% text-chat based practice session on Fiverr. We chat in real-time about everyday topics, and I give you live feedback on grammar, vocabulary, and natural sentence flow as we text.

If you want to practice your Dutch at your own pace without the stress of being on camera, feel free to check it out or send me a message!


r/learndutch 2d ago

I'm think about building a Dutch learning game...

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where you'd have to walk around Dutch cities, every scene would have at least one person you'd have to interact with and it must be either spoken or written chat (AI based) and you'd always have a goal and you must complete that to get to other parts of the city. What do you think?


r/learndutch 2d ago

A2 inburgering results

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Hi all! I gave my A2 speaking exam last week, and wanted to see if the delay is still for about 4 months? Hoping thats not the case :)


r/learndutch 3d ago

Resource I need help finding song lyrics

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Hi everyone, I just started my journey learning Dutch and I thought it would be a good idea for me to listen to some songs while reading the lyrics so I could associate the spelling to the pronunciation.

I wanted to practice using the soundtrack for Tarzan in Dutch but I can't seem to find the official lyrics anywhere besides this webpage that's blocked on my country (lol).

I know this is a lot to ask but can you help me get the lyrics? just the screenshots will do! Thank you in advance!


r/learndutch 3d ago

Woordvolgorde

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Hallo,

Welke van de twee volgordes doet natuurlijker aan? Ik zet er nog een zinnetje bij voor wat extra context.

  1. Probeer eens een kaars met je eigen handen te maken! Al de nodige materialen staan klaar in het atelier.

  2. Probeer eens met je eigen handen een kaars te maken! Al de nodige materialen staan klaar in het atelier.

Zou je kunnen zeggen dat bij Optie 2 een beetje het idee naar voren komt dat de aangesprokene ertoe wordt geroepen om dit keer eindelijk zelf een kaars te maken? Terwijl Optie 1 een gewone uitnodiging is. Of toch enkel met een bepaalde nadruk? Klinken beide varianten even vriendelijk?

Alvast dank!


r/learndutch 3d ago

Anyone know the meaning of the surname “Kreulen?

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r/learndutch 4d ago

Question Would "Elk van ons was het eens" sound natural to a native Dutch speaker?

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I found the following sentence on Internet: Ieder van ons was het eens. Can I say Elk van ons was het eens instead? Coud the version with elk come out of the mouth of a native Dutch speaker?

And more generally, can I use ieder van + plural noun/pronoun and elk van + plural noun/pronoun interchangeably?

Bedankt!


r/learndutch 4d ago

My first interview in Dutch

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I'll have my first job interview in Dutch and my level is A2-B1 (they know). I am freaking out!!!! It will be very hard for me, I hope they will be kind 🙃 How do you prepare in this situation?


r/learndutch 4d ago

Question Question for native Dutch speakers; have you overheard someone speaking English and thought they were speaking Dutch, even just for a moment?

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I fully realize that English and Dutch are both technically Germanic-based, sister languages. However, there’s been a few moments where I was hanging out with some of my friends from the Netherlands and as I was walking up to them and hearing the backend of their conversation with one another in Dutch, there would be a split second where I turned my head to the side because it sounded so much like they were speaking English to one another.

Whereas for example if I were walking up on some people speaking German to one another, I don’t see any chance of me mistaking it for English even in the slightest despite German also being a “sister” language. I’m no linguist but, from what I can gather it almost seems like the cadence in how certain words are pronounced and the way they flow together in a sentence is what’s made me sometimes very briefly think I was hearing almost like an uncanny version of English.

I wanted to make this post out of curiosity to see if anyone else has experienced this before and in particular, on the other side of the two languages.


r/learndutch 4d ago

Best Resources to Learn Dutch to A1 Level

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Hello,

I am currently based in the Netherlands and studying here. I am looking to improve my Dutch language skills and eventually reach the C1 level. I would like to approach this strategically, as my field requires accurate and effective communication.

My first goal is to reach the A1 level. I prefer using physical books because they help me concentrate better, but I would also appreciate recommendations for useful online resources.

I would be grateful if the community could recommend suitable books, courses, websites, or study methods that could help me progress from beginner level to A1.

Thank you


r/learndutch 4d ago

Grammar Is het een geldige zin?

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Ik leer Nederlands sinds 2 maanden, en ik wil weten of het een geldige zin is:

"Heeft het gisteren in het Nederlands geregent?"

Ik leer nu een beetje verleden tijd, want Duolingo geeft eindelijk een paar oefeningen ervoor.

(Don't worry ik leer ook met videos en zo, Duolingo is niet het enige)


r/learndutch 4d ago

Has anyone used “Dutch Grammar for Beginners” by Alain de Raymond?

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Hi everyone! 😊

I’m currently learning Dutch and I’m looking for a good grammar book to study alongside my other resources. I came across Dutch Grammar for Beginners: With Exercises by Alain de Raymond, and I was wondering if anyone here has used it.

Would you recommend it for a beginner? How clear and useful did you find the explanations and exercises?

I’m particularly interested in whether it’s good for actually understanding Dutch grammar and building a solid foundation, rather than just being a reference book.

If you’ve used it, I’d love to hear your thoughts! And if you have any other beginner-friendly Dutch grammar books you’d recommend, I’m open to suggestions. 😊


r/learndutch 4d ago

Looking for japanese people near Amsterdam

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Are you looking to learn Dutch?

I am a native dutch speaker (28M) i live near Amsterdam in Amstelveen. And i am trying to learn Japanese! I am looking for japanese people, or people who are fluent in Japanese so we can learn eachother's language. I will help you learn Dutch. And you can help me with Japanese.

Don't know if there are any Japanese on this Reddit. But would love to connect!

Byeee


r/learndutch 4d ago

Question Anyone taking the inburgering exam in Paris on September 30?

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Hi everyone!
Is anyone here taking the Dutch inburgering exam (A2) at the Dutch Embassy in Paris on September 30, 2026?


r/learndutch 6d ago

Humour duo at it again

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trying to get my streak in


r/learndutch 6d ago

Is dit een soort stinkdier of...?

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Ik was Dungeon Crawler Carl aan het lezen en kwam ik tegen dit woord dat ik niks over het kon vinden op internet of door ai vertaling.

In de Engelse versie werd de achtervoegsel als "of the Leprous Bandit" geschreven, maar dat helpt niet 😂

Ik denk het bestaan niet in het Nederlands, maar wat soort gevoel of betekening krijg je zelf van het?