Let’s learn the days of the week in the Dutch language. Let’s start with the first four days. Also feel free to watch the video with audio:
First off: the days of the week aren’t written with capitals and all days end with the Dutch word for day, which is ‘dag.’ As you can see, Monday is very close to its Dutch equivalent. One trick to remember Monday in Dutch: ‘maan’ means the moon. Same so for Thursday: ‘donder’ means thunder.
Tip: put a calendar in Dutch on your desk, you’ll learn the days in no time!
Second part of the week: Friday is in Dutch literally free-day. And Sunday, just like in English, is sun-day. On calendars, you might see the following abbreviations. They’re simply the first two letters of the days of the week:
One last thing: to say ‘on’ a particular day, we use ‘op’ in Dutch. So you say ‘op maandag’, meaning on Monday.
Interested in starting to learn Dutch? Enrol in my course for absolute beginners!
YouTube is an obvious choice to learn a language: it’s free, and there are plenty of teachers teaching you Dutch. Let’s check out which YouTube channels offer the best choices.
LearnDutch.org is one of the most popular channels (120 000+ subscribers, 2.4M+ views, 380+ videos!) to learn Dutch. For good reasons: the channel has a course including the 1000 most common words, animated videos on grammar and pronunciation and plenty of cultural advice for the Netherlands.
DutchPod101.com is connected with many channels to learn other languages. It has good animated series on listening comprehension, includes many exercises and new words and also focuses on how to learn Dutch. Over 70 000 already subscribed, amounting to 5M+ views for over 320 videos.
My own channel is obviously the best. I answer those questions and topics Dutch students have the most difficulties with. Expect to learn a lot with my videos.
EasyDutch publishes videos in very easy Dutch, interviewing people who make an effort to speak slowly.
Yes, you can learn on YouTube too!
A few channels seem inactive but have over 10 000 subscribers. Learn Dutch with Niels features a teacher explaining single topics in 15 videos, just like in DutchForN00bs with 25 videos. Learn Dutch with Rozemarijn features only pictures with words written on them read out loud. If you know Arabic, check out this channel.
As a Dutch teacher, I often correct the same mistakes. Why? Because almost all students know English too. And they translate literally from English. But Dutch isn’t English, and typical issues will arise because of those structures, grammar issues and words different in Dutch.
One typical example is the structure of the sentences. How does the following sound: ‘Now think I that it good is in order quick to travel’? Yes, this is the word structure in Dutch. Other typical example is ‘I speak in the English’, because Dutch adds an article in front of the languages.
That’s why I wrote a book, based on my experiences. Over 300 of examples are shown, translated and corrected with clear explanations about the reason why English speakers make them. The book is written for advanced beginners, from level A2 to B1.
There are hundreds of additional exercises to help you practice, with the solutions at the end of the book. I sincerely hope to help you perfect your Dutch by buying this book. Feel free to take a look at other products in the shop.
Wanting to learn Maltese with books? Make sure to check my new page with many books to learn the Maltese language, from beginners up to intermediate level.
Have you thought about learning Maltese while reading Maltese books? This can help if you already reached the intermediate level. Also, some famous books have been translated into Maltese, check them out here.
Books can help you learn Maltese! If only there were so many in Malta’s language…
Enjoy watching films and series? You’ll love learning while watching. So here’s how it goes.
As a beginner, you have two choices. For example, you’re learning French. You can either watch French films with English subtitles. Or you can watch English ones with French subtitles. Depends on whether you learn best while hearing or while reading.
Quickly, you’ll pick up new words. Start with the easiest ones. Or those you see or hear most frequently. Write them down if it helps you. As you’ll start to understand more and more, this will motivate you to continue.
When you’re ready, watch French films with French subtitles. This is the fastest way to learn. But you’ll need to understand a lot, so don’t frustrate yourself if you haven’t reached that level.
So where do you find films and series with subtitles? If you’re renting, check on the back of the box which subtitles there are. Also, popular platform Netflix doesn’t only feature many multi-language series, but also offers plenty of subtitles.
An alternative is YouTube. Translate ‘films with subtitles’ in the language you’re learning, and put this in the search box in YouTube.
Enjoy your films and series! Or even documentaries…
Podcasts are an excellent way to learn languages by listening. Wherever you are, improve your Dutch skills with these podcasts.
Hear news fragments read slowly and head over to the ‘Say it in Dutch‘ podcast. Ideal for advanced beginners to intermediate students. In each episode of around 30 minutes, someone reads a news story in Dutch, but very slowly. To get the PDFs with the transcripts you’ll have to pay though. Duration: 30 minutes, level: A2-B1, transcripts: paid
In een beetje Nederlands – a bit of Dutch – you’ll learn in each episode about Dutch culture and many other topics in slow Dutch. The website is entirely for free. Duration 10-20 minutes, level: A2-B1, transcripts: free.
DutchPod101.com is a Dutch learning platform. Except over 1000 podcasts for all levels, there are video lessons, exercises, transcripts and vocabulary lists. Making an account is necessary, and some of the features are paid. Duration: variable, level: A1-B2, transcripts: account/paid
Learn basic phrases with LinguaBoost, you can listen to the podcast here. However, you’ll have to pay to get the transcripts. Duration 5-10 minutes, level: A1-A2, transcripts: paid via this link.
Interested in simple, everyday stories of about 5 minutes? That’s what Dutch teacher Caroline makes with her podcast 5 minuten Nederlands. It’s intended for intermediate students, transcripts can be asked via her email address in the link. Duration: 5 minutes, level: B1+, transcripts: on demand
The Dutch Online Academy features podcasts for advanced beginners and intermediate learners. A simple text is read about a specific topic is read slowly. Occasionally it focuses on a grammar topic, but no explanations are given in the Podcast. Transcripts are available for free. Duration: 3-10 minutes, level: mostly A2-B1, transcripts: free
One of the few podcasts also using English are the ones from Dutch Grammar. They focus on a topic per podcast, with useful phrases. It’s one of the older podcasts, but you can find the transcripts and their translations via the link. Duration: 1-6 minutes, level: A2-B1, transcripts: free
However, there are many other podcasts unrelated to language learning. There is a huge selection of podcasts from Belgium you can find on Vlaamsepodcasts.be. If you prefer podcasts from the Netherlands, go to Podcast Luisteren. Need some help to choose one? Read my other article.
Watching the news is an excellent way to improve your comprehension skills. However, sometimes it goes too fast. That’s why I started making videos in slow Dutch. And here’s the first edition:
You’ll get the translation of the most difficult words. Plus, you can slow down the speed of the videos. So you’ll be learning news words in a Dutch context!
Don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more.
Als is translated in English as ‘if’ and ‘as’. However, many English speakers learning Dutch will have three challenges while using als: the word order, the connection with when and the comparative.
The word order Conjunctions such as because, while and so that change the order of the words. If the conjunction is in the middle of the sentence, the verbs will be at the end: -Ik ga naar huis als ik morgen niet moet werken. -I go home if I don’t have to work tomorrow. If you start your sentence with the conjunction, the verbs will be at the end of the first part of your sentence, and the next one starts with inversion: -Als ik morgen niet moet werken, ga ik naar huis. -If I don’t have to work tomorrow, I go home.
The connection with when ‘Wanneer’ has the same meaning as ‘als.’ However, wanneer also has another meaning: ‘when’ with time in the past. You can’t use als in the following case: -When I went to school, I was happy. –Wanneer ik naar school ging, was ik gelukkig. Same goes for questions. When you’re asking questions with when, always use wanneer: -When do we go? -Wanneer gaan we?
The comparative Als has also other uses, apart from being a conjunction. Here are two of them: -I work as a coach. -Ik werk als coach.
-It’s the same as yesterday. -Dat is hetzelfde als gisteren.
The first meaning is ‘in the capacity of’, and the second meaning one is only used with the same as, not by using the comparative as in the following example: -I’m bigger than you. -Ik ben groter dan jou.
Also, when you’re using the structure ‘as … as … ‘, only the second as will be als: -as big as him -zo groot als hem The first one will use zo.
Exercises Put the words in the right order (both starting with als and with als in the middle): – ga – wil – iets – ik – hem – naar – als – wil – wel – drinken Fill in wanneer / als (both are possible): – … heb je tijd? – … je tijd hebt, kom je dan naar mij? Translate: – He’s as fast as his sister. – If you study Dutch, you’ll need a good teacher.
Solutions -Als ik iets wil drinken, ga ik wel naar hem. / Ik ga wel naar hem als ik iets wil drinken. -wanneer / wanneer or als -Hij is zo snel als zijn zus. -Als je Nederlands studeert, zal je een goede leraar nodig hebben.
Interested in Dutch language lessons? Book me for private lessons (here‘s $10 extra).
While I was teaching Dutch and my student was talking about her week, she said she went shopping for food. In Dutch, that’s ‘boodschappen doen’. However, she had to buy lots of things, so she added: ‘ik heb grote boodschappen gedaan’. Which means literally ‘I have done a big shopping.’ I started laughing.
Why? Literally, it was a good guess – it was a good student. But figuratively, it means going to the ‘big’ bathroom in Dutch… So I taught her the expression and we both laughed.
Humor is one of the reasons students forget they’re in a classroom. Which is why as a student, I also use it when I’m following classes. It’s so much more fun!
Even as a teacher, it’s important to laugh during classes. It makes it so much more fun! You’ll look forward to your next class, time will fly and you’ll enjoy your lessons.
How to laugh more in class There are some jokes that always work. For example, if the teacher is asking for a volunteer, just say the name of another student. Or when your teachers asks you a difficult question, say ‘too difficult. Next question please.’
Another riskier one, is to give the wrong answer to a question that’s too simple. Make sure to smile at your teacher when he/she looks at you. Or when the teacher gives you the solution to a question, and you reply ‘correct!’
Humor outside of class Don’t limit yourself to your lessons. When a native speaker gives you a compliment about your language skills, reply their skills are also good. Laughter guaranteed!
A trickier one is to tell something very rude, and say someone taught you it was something very nice to say… Beware to choose the right context for this…
And one last trick: don’t overdo it. Lessons are meant to be nice, but don’t think everyone should laugh all the time, it’s a language lesson, not a comedy lesson.
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