Yes, no and the essentials in Dutch
The small words that carry half of every conversation, and the ones that rescue it. Play the ten Dutch words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Dutch phrases in this lesson
- Jayaa
- Yes
- Neenay
- No
- Okéoh-KAY
- Okay
- Ik begrijp het nietik buh-KHRAYP hut neet
- I don't understand
- Spreekt u Engels?spraykt oo ENG-uls
- Do you speak English?
- Kunt u dat herhalen?kunt oo dat her-HAH-lun
- Can you repeat that?
- Langzaam, alstublieftLANG-zaam AHL-stew-bleeft
- Slowly, please
- Wat is dit?vat is dit
- What is this?
- Ik heb ... nodigik hep ... NOH-dikh
- I need...
- Kunt u mij helpen?kunt oo may HEL-pun
- Can you help me?
Straightforward yes. The a is long. Jep or joh are casual colloquial variants you will hear among friends.
A clear, direct no. Dutch communication tends to be direct and frank, so a simple nee is perfectly normal and not impolite.
Borrowed from English and used universally. Goed (khoot), meaning good, is the native Dutch equivalent used just as often.
Use this when someone speaks too fast or uses unfamiliar vocabulary. Dutch people will almost always switch to English happily.
Using the formal u is appropriate with strangers. The Netherlands has very high English proficiency, so this question will rarely be necessary but is still polite to ask.
The Dutch will mostly switch to English anyway.
The thing goes in the middle: "ik heb een dokter nodig".