Dutch Intro

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 Introduction to Dutch

Dutch is classified as a West Germanic language which is closely related to other languages in this branch, including German, English and West Frisian. Dutch is spoken as a first language by approximately 20 million people, mostly in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is spoken as a second language by approximately another 5 million. In addition to The Netherlands and Belgium, Dutch is also used in parts of Northern France, Germany, Suriname and Indonesia and is an official language on the Caribbean islands of The Netherland Antilles. Learning Dutch might not be the easiest thing in the world, it’s also certainly not the toughest thing: grammar and spelling are tied to strict rules that usually can be explained in a few lines. Dutch Nouns The Dutch language classifies all of its nouns into one of two genders — common (de words) or neuter (het words). This is much less complicated than German , which has three.
  • It can be difficult to guess which gender a word is based on how it looks. Therefore, it’s better to just memorize the gender of specific words as you learn them.
  • The common gender is actually a combined form of the masculine and feminine genders, which are no longer used. As a result, about 2/3 of all nouns belong to the common gender.
Dutch Verbs As you progress on your journey towards learning Dutch, it is a good idea to memorize some of the most commonly used present tense verbs as they are necessary to start forming sentences. Zijn: Present tense of “to be”, pronounced “zayn”. Ik ben:      I am (“ik ben”) Jij/u bent:   You are ( “yay / ew bent”) Hij/zij / het is:   He/she/it is ( “hay/zay/ut is) Wij zijn:   We are ( “vay zayn”) Jullie zijn:   You are ( “yew-lee zayn”) Zij zijn:    They are ( “zay zayn”) Hebben: Present tense of “to have”, pronounced “heh-buhn”. Ik heb:   I have ( “ik hep”) Jij/u hebt:   You have ( “yay/ew hept”) Hij/zij/het heeft:  He/she/it has ( “hay/zay/ut hayft”) Wij hebben:   We have ( “vay heh-buhn) Jullie hebben:   You have (“yew-lee heh-buhn”) Zij hebben:  They have ( “zay heh-buhn”) Days of the week in Dutch:
  • Monday = Maandag (pronounced “mahn-dahg”)
  • Tuesday = Dinsdag (“dinss-dahg”)
  • Wednesday = Woensdag (“woons-dahg”)
  • Thursday = Donderdag ( “don-duhr-dahg”)
  • Friday = Vrijdag (p “vray-dahg”)
  • Saturday = Zaterdag ( “zah-tuhr-dahg”)
  • Sunday = Zondag ( “zon-dahg”)
   Months of the year:
  • January = Januari (pronounced “jahn-uu-ar-ree”),
  • February = Februari (“fay-bruu-ah-ree”),
  • March = Maart ( “mahrt”),
  • April = April (“ah-pril”),
  • May = Mei ( “may”),
  • June = Juni ( “yuu-nee”),
  • July = Juli ( “yuu-lee”),
  • August = Augustus ( “ow-ghus-tus”),
  • September = September ( “sep-tem-buhr”),
  • October = Oktober ( “ock-tow-buhr”),
  • November = November ( “no-vem-buhr”),
  • December = December ( “day-sem-buhr”).

 Dutch Genders:

About de en het One of the most frustrating things for those who learn Dutch as a foreign language is to identify which is a het word and which is a de word. Let me give you a few hints that should make it a bit easier. To begin with the reason for all this: there are masculine words, feminine words and neuter words. All masculine and feminine words get de while all neuter words get het. The Dutch language classifies all of its nouns into one of two genders — common (de words) or neuter (het words). The common gender is actually a combined form of the masculine and feminine genders.
  • It can be difficult to guess which gender a word is based on how it looks. Therefore, it’s better to just memorize the gender of specific words as you learn them.
  • About 2/3 of all nouns belong to the common gender.
Counting is an important skill in any language, so start by learning the numbers one through twenty in Dutch.
    • Een: One (pronounced “ain”)
    • Twee: Two ( “tway”)
    • Drie: Three ( “dree”)
    • Vier: Four ( “veer”)
    • Vijf: Five ( “vayf”)
    • Zes: Six ( “zehs”)
    • Zeven: Seven (“zay-vuhn”)
    • Acht: Eight ( “ahgt”)
    • Negen: Nine ( “nay-guhn”)
    • Tien: Ten ( “teen”)
    • Elf: Eleven (  “elf”)
    • Twaalf: Twelve ( “twahlf”)
    • Dertien: Thirteen ( “dehr-teen”)
    • Veertien: Fourteen ( “vayr-teen”)
    • Vijftien: Fifteen (“vayf-teen”)
    • Zestien: Sixteen ( “zehs-teen”)
    • Zeventien: Seventeen (“zay-vuhn-teen”)
    • Achttien: Eighteen ( “ahgt-teen”)
    • Negentien: Nineteen ( “nay-guhn-teen”)
    • Twintig: Twenty (“twin-tuhg”)
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