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These are the most useful Dutch phrases for travelers (in my opinion) as a foreigner living in the Netherlands along with some my favorite words in Dutc of mine. I do my best to explain how to pronounce key words in Dutch, including how to say thank you in Dutch, as well as explain food allergies in Dutch. I hope that this Dutch language guide for travelers helps you a little.

Note on Dutch pronunciation: Ws are generally pronounced like Vs. J is pronounced closer to a light y. G is a harsh sound that you make with your throat similar to phlegm or “ch” in challah. Sch is related to this sound, but shorter with a SCH sound.

If you’re traveling in the Netherlands, most people speak English, however it’s always polite to learn some Dutch. Don’t be offended if people switch to English if they hear you speaking Dutch. The level of English spoken in the Netherlands is really high and most Dutch people rather just talk to you in English rather than hear you struggle. You can always say please and thank you in Dutch, even if you have to default to English for other things. People appreciate the effort.

This list focuses on Dutch spoken in the Netherlands. Although Flemish/Dutch is spoken in Belgium, it is slightly different in a few ways. These phrases should help still, but pronunciations differ a bit.

There are many regions of the Netherlands with their own dialects (even languages), so things might sound a little different to your ears depending on whether the person you’re talking to is from Limburg, Amsterdam, or the Hague. Some people will drop the “en” sound at the end of words (lopen) to sound closer to an short “uh” sound (lop-uh). I recommend not doing this as a first-time learner of Dutch.

Dankjewel – Thank you

Thank you is used in a number of contexts in the Netherlands. When someone does anything for you, you usually say Dankjewel. Generally, when you say thank you in English, you say thank you in Dutch. I usually say thanks after placing a food or drink order at a restaurant.

Pronounced Dahnk-yuh-vell. Once you have the j sound down, it will be a lot easier! Even if you mostly speak in English, thank you is always appreciated. 🙂

Alstublieft – Please

Please is a multi-use word. Similar to German with the use of bitte, you use alstublieft as a way of politely requesting things. It’s generally abbreviated as a.u.b on signs, which might help a bit with signs in the Netherlands. Generally, I add alstublieft to things that I ask of people, however as a visitor, don’t beat yourself up for not knowing when to use it.

Pronounced Alst-oo-bleeft. You typically hear this at cafes and restaurants. You’ll place an order (keep reading!) and when your food or drink is delivered to your table, your waiter might say alstublieft. (You can then say Dankjewel!)

Doei or Tot Ziens- Goodbye

If you’re leaving a small shop, it’s always nice to say goodbye. Tot Ziens is the easiest for non-native speakers, however you can also say Doei or Dag! The g in Dutch is hard due to the gch sound. Pronounced: Tot Zee-ens or Do-ee and Da-gch.

Goedemorgen – Good morning

The first greeting that you typically hear in the morning is Good Morning. It’s generally polite to say it back if someone says it to you as it’s just friendly and polite. If you walk into a shop in the morning and you want to get service, I typically say good morning to start things off. Pronounced: Gch-ood–mor–gch-en.

Goedemiddag – Good afternoon

Similarly, the afternoon is always a popular time to go shopping, so you’ll hear this a lot. It’s pronounced Gch-ood-mid-da-ch.

Goedenavond – Good evening

If you walk into a cafe, you might be greeting with a good evening to the bartender or waiter if it is evening. It’s pronounced Gch-ood-ave-ond.

Hallo – Hello

Hello is easy. It’s quite close to English. You would use Hello in a similar way. You can pronounce Hello like Hall-o. The Dutch a is closer to an “ah” sound in english.

Gezellig – Cozy

One of my favorite words in Dutch is gezellig. It’s a feeling as well as an adjective. It’s closer to cozy if I had to pick an English, word, but it’s used far beyond this use. A cafe that is really homey can be gezellig. Similarly, a nice night out with friends can be gezellig. It’s just a nice word to learn as it’s so quintessentially Dutch! Pronounced gch-zell-gch.

Sorry – Sorry

Sorry is the same in Dutch as in English. Dutchies have their own way of pronouncing it, however it’s generally useful for when you bang into someone or make a mistake.

Ja & Nee – Yes & No

I’m not sure what you’re saying yes and no to, but ja and nee are the words for yes and no respectfully. Pronunciated like Ja (Ya) and Nee (Neigh).

Ik spreek geen Nederlands – I don’t speak Dutch

You can say this in English if you don’t know Dutch, however maybe you’ll want to say it in Dutch. Pronounced: Ik spr-ache gch–aine Neder-laands.

Spreekt je Engels? – Do you speak English?

You can ask this in English in most cases. Most people will answer with a Yes (or Ja) before switching to English. Pronounced Spr-achet ye Eng-els.

In the cases of elderly people, they might understand English a bit, but not be able to speak it back. In this case, they might say “Een beetje” which means that they know a little. It’s pretty uncommon to find someone who doesn’t know any English, however many people are uncomfortable speaking it if they took some English twenty years ago.

Directions & Paying

Open & Gesloten – Open & Closed

So you’re going to a shop and you need to check if they’re open or closed. the word for open is open and the Dutch word for closed is gesloten (pronounced gch–sloot-en).

Generally, in Amsterdam and bigger cities, most things are open on weekends (including Sundays [Zondag]) with Monday (Maandag) being the rest day. For most routine errands you might need to do, try to do them before 5 pm although finding an open supermarket past 9-10pm might be a bit tricky.

• Maandag – Monday
• Dinsdag – Tuesday
• Woensdag – Wednesday
• Donderdag – Thursday
• Vrijdag – Friday
• Zaterdag – Saturday
• Zondag – Sunday
• Feestdagen – Holidays

Kaartje – Ticket

If you plan to take public transit or the trains, you will need a ticket The word for a ticket is kaartje (pronounced cart-t-ye).

I include numbers later on , so you can add these numbers to your word for ticket to request more than one ticket. (You can also just use your fingers or ask in English if this is getting too hard!)

Volgende [Klant] – Next [Client]!

You’re at a store in the Netherlands and you’re next in line . You’ll hear the word Volgende (possibly with Klant [client]). This means next, so if you hear this, go up to the cashier if you’re next. It’s pronounced vol-gchen-duh.

Waar is ____? – Where is __?

You might want to know how to ask where something is. You can ask using the phrase Waar is ______? pronounced like Vaar is ____?

Links, Rechts, Rechtdoor – Left, Right, Straight

If you’re given directions in Dutch, you’ll want to know these.

• Links – Left pronounced like Links
• Rechts – Right pronounced like Wrecks
• Rechtdoor – Straight prounpronounced like Wreck-door

Waar is het toilet? – Where is the toilet?

You already know the word for where is, however you need to find the toilet. You can pronounce it like Vaar is het toil-let? Depending on your gender, you will want to choose the Dames (Women’s) or Heren (Men’s) toilets.

…Toilets are not always free here in the Netherlands. I usually recommend carrying some change around with you as you’re going to probably have to pay for a toilet at most train stations or public areas. (If you’re a man using a urinal, you might luck out and not have to pay anything.)

You might see someone near the entrance who will probably tell you one of the following phrases: vjftig Cent (50 cents) or een euro (one euro). It’s good to have some change on you. If you don’t, you can look for a cafe where you can buy a coffee or something in order to use the toilet.

Hoveel kost deze? – How much is this?

This is how to ask for the price. Pronunciation: Hoe-veel cost dez-eh?

Geldautomaat – ATM

The Netherlands is still a bit weird about non-Dutch cards, so I typically recommend having some cash on you. You’ll need to look for a geldautomaat, which is an ATM. You can typically find an ATM near the Dutch banks ABN AMRO and ING as well as within some larger Albert Heijns supermarkets (supermarkt).

Alleen Pin / Alleen Maestro

You might be in trouble as a tourist if you hear this. This means that you can only pay by card, generally only a Dutch debit card. It’s usually worth asking if the merchant accepts Visa, but you might need to look for an ATM.

Fiets – Bike

Biking in the Netherlands is one of the best ways to get around although many visiting friends have become less keen on it after biking for longer periods and/or getting scared while biking. The word for bike is fiets, which is pronounced like feets. Click for my guide to biking in Amsterdam.

Bus – Bus

The word for bus is the same in both English and Dutch. Same with tram.

De bushalte – Bus stop

If you’re looking de bushalte, you are looking for the bus stop. This is pronounced like de bus-halt-uh.

Trein – Train

The train is one of the best ways to get around the Netherlands. The Netherlands is small enough that you can easily take day trips in the Netherlands. The word trein sounds quite close to the the English word for train.

Treinstation – Train station

If you’re looking for the treinstation (pronounced train stat-shon), you might want to ask for ____(city)____ Centraal. Most cities have a main train station although there may be other stations depending on the size of the city. The Hague has 4 stations while Amsterdam has five, I believe. Look for NS staff, which work for the Dutch railways.

Dining out

Een tafel voor een, twee, drie – A table for one, two, three

If you’re heading to a restaurant, you will need to ask for a table. You can say this by saying, “Een tafel voor twee” in the case of two. It’s pronounced Aine taf-el four tw–ei.

Een menukaart, alstublieft – Menu please!

A menukaart is a menu for food. The polite way to ask for a menu is “Een menukaart alstublieft,” which is pronounced like aine menu-cart alst-oo-bleeft. If you are only looking for drinks, there might be a separate drink menu, which is generally called the drink kaart.

Ik wil …. – I would like

To order to in Dutch, you say Ik wil…. It is pronounced like Ik vil. then, say whatever you want to order. if you want to be more polite, you can say, “Mag ik hebben ...” (May I have…. ).

Ik heb een ___ allergie – I have an allergy

I cannot have dairy, so it’s important to be able to communicate that to others. Ik heb een notenallergie means that I have a nut allergy. Although you can say I cannot eat nuts (e.g. Ik kan geen noten eten), I would recommend saying that it’s an allergy if you are allergic.

I’m lactose-intolerant and many times, I’ve gotten dishes with dairy after specifying that I wanted a dish without cheese (zonder kaas). If it’s medical, it’s best to be clear in English and Dutch, so the kitchen can prevent contamination.

Legally, restaurants in the Netherlands are required to have a working knowledge of the dishes on the menu, so ask if you’re not sure. Similarly, products at the supermarket will list possible contaminants on the label list in bold.

These are the most common allergens and their Dutch translations.

• pinda’s – peanuts
• noten – nuts
• amandelen – almonds
• gluten – gluten
• zeevruchten – seafood
• schelpdier – shellfish
• eieren – eggs
• vis – fish
• vlees – meat
• soya – soy
• zuivel / lactose – dairy / lactose

If you are vegetarian, you can say Ik ben vegetariër.  (You can also say I do not eat meat, which is translated as Ik eet geen vlees. Similarly, you can say I am vegan if this is the case: Ik ben veganist. There are a lot of vegetarian-friendly cafes in the Netherlands (although not everywhere will be vegan-friendly), so I recommend checking on Happy Cow as well as this vegan-guide to Amsterdam.

Lekker – Delicious

You might be asked how your food or drink tasted. By default, you can say Het was lekker, which means it was delicious. You can pronounce this like, Het vas lek-er.

De rekening alstublieft – the bill, please

This is how you ask for the bill at a cafe or a restaurant. In some cases, you’ll need to go to the front to pay at the cashier’s desk while in others, the bill will be brought to you. Pronounced like De reck-on-ing alst-oo-bleeft.

If you want to pay separately, that is usually okay. However, some restaurants may get annoyed by this and may request that you sort it out among yourselves. If you want to ask for separate bills, you can say, “Kunnen wij apart afrekenen?”

BTW

To clarify, the BTW is the tax paid by consumers on goods. By default, it is included in the price of most food and drinks, so it is not optional to pay it. It’s generally 9% (2019) on consumer goods. You’ll see it on your receipts.

A tip/gratuity (een fooi) is not necessary unless you feel service was quite good. Service staff are paid decently here. In that case, tip 1-2 euros on an inexpensive lunch or roughly the BTW amount for a nicer dinner. 10% is a nice tip typically.

De bon – the Receipt

De bon is the receipt. You might be asked if you would like the receipts after a transaction. You can say Yes (Ja) or No (Nee). It’s sometimes called a bonnetje.

Een bierje – A beer

If you’re at a bar and you want to order a simple beer (e.g. whatever is on tap). Expect to pay a few euros for a beer, which might be something like Heineken or Juliper. A nicer beer in the bottle or on the tap can be named directly by name.

Een thee – Tea

You might want a tea, which is pronounced closer to aine tei. You might need to choose between green (groene), black (zwart), mint (munt), rooibos, and white (witte) tea. Another popular choice is fresh mint tea (verse muntthee), which is a favorite of mine.

Een koffie  – Coffee

A coffee is always a good choice! You can order a coffee by asking for een koffie (pronounced like aine koffee). I am not a fan of black coffee, so I usually ask for a latte with soy milk (latte met soya melk).

Een glas wijn – A glass of wine

A glass of wine is very closer to the English: een glas wijn. You can specify the type by putting red (rode), rose, or white (witte) in front of wine. Een glass rode wijn is a glass of red wine.

Proost – Cheers!

Of course, you must learn how to say cheers in Dutch. You can pronounce this like Pr-oost (like in Toast).

Any Dutch phrases that you’re wondering about? Let me know!

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