ENGThe Alphabet, Introductions, Greetings and Phrases
I will begin this course by going over the fundamentals of how to introduce yourself, how to shake someone's hand, and what to talk about in your first few interactions.
However, as in any language we firstly need to learn the alphabet. It's crucial to understand how each letter in the Dutch alphabet is pronounced before we begin introducing ourselves and learning the appropriate greetings. Although the Dutch alphabet is identical to the English alphabet, you must know how to pronounce Dutch words and letters in order to learn it as accurately as possible. You can find the Dutch alphabet below.
| Letter | Pronunciation | Letter | Pronunciation | Letter | Pronunciation |
| A | [ah] | J | [yay] | S | [es] |
| B | [bay] | K | [ka] | T | [tay] |
| C | [say] | L | [el] | U | [Düsseldorf] |
| D | [day] | M | [em] | V | [convey] |
| E | [ay] | N | [en] | W | [way] |
| F | [ef] | O | [boat] | X | [ix] |
| G | [hr]* | P | [pay] | Y | [eye] |
| H | [ha] | Q | [kuu] | Z | [zet] |
| I | [ee] | R | [er] |
We are now at the stage where we will truly begin to learn how to speak generally with Dutch folks. Additionally, you will become acquainted with your initial lists of words that are usually helpful in simple greatings.
| English Dutch | Dutch |
| Hello! My name is Peter | Hallo! Mijn naam is Peter |
| What’s your name? | Wat is jouw naam? / Hoe heet je? |
| How are you? | Hoe gaat het met je? |
| I am great | Met mij gaat het goed |
| Where are you from? | Waar kom je vandaan? |
| I am from Germany | Ik kom uit Duitsland |
| I live in Amsterdam | Ik woon in Amsterdam |
| How old are you? | Hoe oud ben jij? |
| I am 17 years old | Ik ben 17 jaar oud |
There are several differences in how you greet people. We can speak informally (like "hi") or formally. English and Dutch greetings are very similar.
More phrases
| Goodbye | Tot ziens | toht zeens |
| See you later (in the same day) | Tot straks | toht straks |
| See you soon | Tot zo | toht zoh |
| Please | Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft | ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuh-bleeft |
| Thank you | Dank u wel / Dank je wel | dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk-yuh-vehl |
| Thank you very much | Hartelijk bedankt | hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt |
| You're welcome (don't mention it) | Graag gedaan | khrahkh khuh-dahn |
| I'm sorry / Excuse me | Sorry | saw-ree |
| Pardon me (didn't understand) | Pardon, wat zei u? | pahr-dohn, vat zay ew |
| Yes / No | Ja / Nee | yah / nay |
| How are you? (formal) | Hoe gaat het met u? | hoo khaht ut meht ew |
| How are you? (informal) | Hoe gaat het? | hoo khaht ut |
| Fine / Very well | Goed / Heel goed | khoot / hayl khoot |
| So so / Bad | Het gaat / Slecht | uht khaht / slehkht |
| I'm tired / sick. | Ik ben moe / ziek | ik ben moo / zeek |
| I'm hungry / thirsty. | Ik heb honger / dorst | ik heb hohng-ur / dohrst |
| What's your name? (formal) | Hoe heet u? | hoo hayt ew |
| What's your name? (informal) | Hoe heet je? | hoo hayt yuh |
| My name is (I'm called)... | Ik heet... | ik hayt... |
| I am... | Ik ben... | ik ben |
| Nice to meet you. | Aangenaam (kennis te maken) | ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis tuh mah-kuh) |
| Mister / Misses / Miss | meneer / mevrouw / mejuffrouw | muh-nayr / muh-frow / muh-yuh-frow |
| Where are you from? (formal) | Waar komt u vandaan? | vahr kawmt ew fun-dahn |
| Where are you from? (informal) | Waar kom je vandaan? | vahr kawn yuh fun-dahn |
| I am from the Netherlands. | Ik kom uit Nederland. | ik kawm owt nay-der-lant |
| Where do you live? (formal) | Waar woont u? | vahr vohnt ew |
| Where do you live? (informal) | Waar woon je? | vahr vohn yuh |
| I live in America. | Ik woon in Amerika. | ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kah |
| How old are you? (formal) | Hoe oud bent u? | hoo owt bent ew |
| How old are you? (informal) | Hoe oud ben je? | hoo owt ben yuh |
| I am ____ years old. | Ik ben ... jaar (oud). | ik ben ... yahr owt |
| Do you speak Dutch? (formal) | Spreekt u Nederlands? | spraykt ew nay-der-lahnds |
| Do you speak English? informal) | Spreek je Engels? | sprayk yuh ehng-uhls |
| I [don't] speak... | Ik spreek [geen]... | ik sprayk [khayn] |
| I don't speak ... very well. | Ik spreek niet zo goed... | ik sprayk neet zoh khood |
| I [don't] understand. | Ik begrijp het [niet.] | ik buh-khraip ut neet |
| I [don't] know. | Ik weet het [niet.] | ik vayt ut [neet] |
| How much is it? | Wat kost het? | vat kohst ut |
| I'd like... | Ik wil graag... | ik vil khrahk |
| Cheers! | Proost! | prohst |
| Have fun! | Veel plezier! | fayl pleh-zeer |
| Good luck! | Veel succes! | fayl suk-sehs |
| Be careful! | Wees voorzichtig! | vays fohr-zikh-tikh |
| That is great / terrible! | Dat is geweldig / vreselijk! | dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh / fray-zuh-likh |
| I love you. (informal) | Ik hou van je. | ik how fahn yuh |
| I love you (all). | Ik hou van jullie. | ik how fahn juh-lee |
| How funny / odd! | Wat vreemd! | vaht fraymt |
| What a pity! | Wat jammer! | vaht yah-mer |
| What is this / that? | Wat is dit / dat? | vut iss dit / dut |
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