Learning Dutch

I now work for IBuildings who are really a Dutch company, and as a result I’m starting to realise it would be useful if I could manage a handful of Dutch phrases. My colleagues and other IRC friends from The Netherlands have all been very helpful and have promised to teach me new phrases one at a time. So far the list goes like this:

(Dutch -> English)

  • hallo -> hello
  • hoi -> hi
  • dank je -> thankyou
  • hoe is het? (apparently pronounced as “who is hat”) -> how are you?
  • thee tijd -> tea time
  • ik heb zin in taart -> I feel like having cake
  • I’m sure there are more phrases to come, I’ll be keeping them here to help me keep track of what I have learned :)

6 thoughts on “Learning Dutch

  1. * Ik wil het eens over mijn salaris hebben = I’d like to talk about my salary
    * Het eerste rondje is van mij ! = First round is on me ! ( e.g. in a pub )
    * Den haag = The hague, our political chaos center, often referred to in political discussions.
    * Schadevergoedingsmaatregelen = One word for: rules for damage compensation, hardly interesting to know. But I’d like to hear you pronounce it.

    • And don’t forget about “koninginnedag” (the day we celebrate the queen’s birthday) and “Scheveningen” (a place near the beach). They both seem to be hard to pronounce by foreigners.

      Anyway, the sentences you’ll need:
      * Ik wil graag een koffie < I would like a coffee. * Ik wil graag een pilsje < I would like a lager.

  2. stefan: thanks for that (and thanks for the correct translation!!)

    fumanchu182: useful link, thanks!

    Dynom: ha, I’ll have to get some tutoring on that long word I think.

    berry__: Yep, I think you’ve got the main points covered with those two examples, how did you get to know me so well over IRC alone??

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