Number. The main way of forming the plural is the ending -(e)n (in colloquial speech it is pronounced [-(e)]): boek “book” -> boeken, mens “man” -> mensen, linde “linden tree” -> linden. In this case, spelling alternations take place: oor “ear” -> oren, mol “mole” -> mollen, reus “giant” -> reuzen, duif “dove” -> duiven.
Using the ending -s, plural forms are formed. from two- or polysyllabic nouns, mainly ending in a sonant (l, m, n, r) or vowel: generaal "general" -> generaals, film "film" -> films, molen "mill" -> molens, leger "army" " -> legers, ra "rea" -> raas. This also includes derived nouns with the suffixes -aar, -aard, -el, -em, -en, -er, -erd, -eur, -ie, -je, -kje, -ler, -pje, -sel, - ster, -tje, for example: deksel "lid" -> deksels, brigadier "foreman" -> brigadiers, ingenieur "engineer" -> ingenieurs, bloempje "flower" -> bloempjes, zangster "singer" -> zangsters, balletje "ball " -> balletjes.
The most important exceptions: engel "angel" -> engelen; christen "Christian" -> christenen; lauwer "laurel" -> lauweren; middel "means" -> middelen; wonder "miracle" -> wonderen.
There are variations: amandel "almond" -> amandelen/amandels; eigenaar "owner" -> eigenaren/eigenaars; premie "premium" -> premien/premies; natie "nation" -> natien/naties.
Differentiation of meanings is possible: vaders “fathers”/vaderen “ancestors”, letters “letters”/letteren “literature”, redens “relationships”/redenen “reasons”.
A number of nouns s.r. form plural ending -eren: kind "child" - kinderen, ei "egg" - eieren, kalf "calf" -> kalveren, lam "lamb" -> lammeren, goed "goods" -> goederen.
There are irregular formations with vowel alternation: dag "day" -> dagen, pad "path" -> paden, stad "city" -> steden, schip "ship" -> schepen, lid "member" -> leden...
Case. The noun declension system is represented by nominative and possessive cases. The latter is formed by the ending -s: ("s) vaders huis "father's house" (literally "father's house").
In high style, it is possible to use genitive case forms for nouns that were historically feminine and/or used in the plural, for example de geschiedenis der Nederlandse taal "history of the Dutch language", where der is the book form of the gender. opr.art. w.r. and plural, along with the usual de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse taal; compare the so-called "biblical genitive" case in combination de dag der dagen (literally "day of days", i.e. "the most significant day"). The main way of expressing the relationship of a noun to other words is word order and prepositions: zij vertelde de leraar de hele geschiedenis “she told the teacher the whole story.”
Article
Indefinite article all genders (exists only in singular) - een. Definite article general gender - de, middle gender - het ("t").Book form of the genitive case of the definite article zh.r. and plural - der (see examples above). Archaic form of gender. definite article m. and sr.r. - des; it is presented in frozen combinations such as een steen des aanstoots "stumbling block".
Adjective
Adjectives in modern Dutch don't bow. The agreement in gender and number is preserved only in sr.r. The adjective comes in two main forms: short (hoog "high", nieuw "new") and full with the ending -e (hoge, nieuwe). The first is typical primarily for the predicative (de huizen zijn hoog “high houses”) or with a noun w.r. without an article (op hoog bevel "by order from above") or with an indefinite article (een hoog huis "high house"), the second - in other positions.There are, however, several types of deviations: ons telefonisch onderhoud “our conversation on the phone”, een Nederlands schrijver “Dutch writer”, het Nationaal Ballet “National Ballet”, etc. In some cases, these forms differentiate the meaning: een groot schilder “great artist " - een grote schilder "high artist", een goed leraar "good teacher" - een goede leraar "good teacher"; however, these differences are not absolute. Of the substantivized forms, we note the form with -s (partitive genitive in origin): daar is wat schoonste zien “you can see something beautiful there”, niets bijzonders “nothing special”.
Degrees of comparison. The comparative degree is usually formed by adding the suffix -er, the superlative - -st: groot "big" - groter - grootst. Adjectives starting with -r are given in comparative form. additional consonant -d-: duur “dear” - duurder. There are a number of irregular and suppletive forms: na “close” - nader - naast; goed "good" - beter - best... The superlative adjective is usually used with the definite article. When comparing different states or parts of the same object, a special construction is used: "te Antwerpen is de Schelde het breedst" in Antwerp the Scheldt is the widest. Elative is common: met het beste genoegen "with the greatest pleasure"; liefste moeder "dear mother" .
Verb
Dutch verbs have 2 simple and 6 complex tense forms, 2 voices (active and passive), 3 moods (indicative, imperative and subjunctive). Verbs are divided into strong, weak and various types of irregular.The main types of strong verbs (we give a series of infinitives - preterite - second participle): grijpen “grab” - greep - gegrepen; kiezen "to choose" - koos - gekozen; vinden "to find" - vond - gevonden; lezen "read" - las - gelezen; spreken "to speak" - sprak - gesproken; dragen "to carry" - droeg - gedragen; hangen "to hang" - hing - gehangen. In the course of historical development, the initial alternations of high-frequency verbs are obscured: gaan “to go” - ging - gegaan; zien "to see" - zag - gezien; slaan "to beat" - sloeg - geslagen.
Weak verbs have the suffix -t-, -d- or zero in the preterite and second participle, depending on the outcome of the stem: maken “to do” - maakte - gemaakt; wonen "to live" - woonde - gewoond; zetten "to plant" - zette - gezet; schudden "to shake" - schudde - geschud. There are a number of irregular weak verbs: brengen "to bring" - bracht - gebracht; denken "to think" - dacht - gedacht; kopen "buy" - kocht - gekocht; zoeken "to search" - zocht - gezocht...
Separable (always stressed) prefixes in the main clause are torn off from the verb and placed at the end of the sentence: opstaan “get up” - zij staat vroeg op “she gets up early”; in the imperative: sta op! In subordinate clauses the prefix does not come off: ...dat zij vroeg opstaat "...that she gets up early." In the second participle the prefix comes before ge-: opgestaan. The particle te comes between the prefix and the root: om op te staan "to stand up." Verbs with inseparable prefixes of the element ge- in the second participle do not have: vertalen “to translate” - vertaald.
The verb is conjugated by persons and numbers, although the inventory of personal endings is scarce: -(e)n, -(e)t and zero. Examples of present and preterite forms using the verb noemen “to call” as an example. Present tense (present): singular - I person noem, II l. noemt, III l. noemt; plural - I and III persons noemen, II l. noemt (noemen). Simple past (preterite): singular. - all persons noemde, plural - all faces are noemden.
The analytical forms of the verb are formed using the auxiliary verbs hebben (the main lexical meaning is “to have”), zijn (“to be”), zullen (“to have”) and worden (“to become”). Paradigms of these verbs. Present: singular - I person heb, ben, zal, word, II l. hebt, bent, zult, wordt, III l. heeft, is, zal, wordt; plural - I and III persons hebben, zijn, zullen, worden, II l. hebt, bent, zult, wordt. Preterite: singular - all faces had, was, zou, werd; I and III faces - all faces hadden, waren, zouden, werden, II l. had, was, zou, werd.
The analytical forms of the active voice are as follows. Perfect (present of hebben + II participle): ik heb genoemd. Plusquaperfect (preterite of hebben + II participle): ik had genoemd. The perfect and plusquaperfect of verbs of change of state and some others are formed using the verb zijn: het weer is veranderd “the weather has changed”, ik ben gebleven “I stayed”. Some verbs have different auxiliary verbs with different shades of meaning: hij heeft vergeten de briefte posten "he forgot to send the letter", but hij is het gedicht vergeten "he forgot (can't remember) the poem."
Future tense futurum I (present of zullen + infinitive I): ik zal noemen. Futurum II (present of zullen + infinitive II): ik zal genoemd hebben. Future I in the past (preterite of zullen + infinitive I): ik zou noemen. Future II in the past (preterite of zullen + infinitive II): ik zou genoemd hebben. The agreement of tenses is characteristic: hij zei, dat hij blij was “he said he was glad.”
In the use of verb tenses, we note a purely Dutch feature - the so-called. historical perfect, used in a preterital context as a means of highlighting a particularly important event and as a way of enlivening the narrative.
The passive action is formed by the verb worden and the second participle: het boek werd gelezen “the book was read.” The passive state is formed by the verb zijn + II parable: het boek is gelezen “the book has been read.” The indefinite-personal construction coincides in form with the passive of action; it also uses intransitive verbs: es werd veel over hem gepraat “they talked a lot about him.”
The reflexive construction is formed in the 1st and 2nd persons singular. and plural using the objective case of the personal pronoun, and in III l. units and plural - through the reflexive pronoun: zich wassen “to wash” - je was je “you wash”, hij heeft zich gewassen “he washed”.
The imperative form coincides with the verb base and is the same for units. and plural: lees! "read (those)!". Polite encouragement to eat. and plural has the form: leest u! The verb zijn has the form wees in the imperative.
There is also an analytical procedural construction: hij is aan het lezen “he is reading” (at the moment).
Various shades of inconsistency between the statement and reality are expressed by forms homonymous to the forms of the indicative mood, or by various analytical constructions ik wil, dat hij komt “I want him to come”; hij doet het, opdat hi zijn vriend zou kunnen helpen "he does this in order to be able to help his friend"; had ik gelegenheid gehad, dan was ik stellig naar u toe gekomen "if I had the opportunity, I would certainly come to you." In the book style, present forms of the subjunctive mood are also used, mainly with the meaning of recommendation, encouragement, etc.: men bedenke, dat het niet zo eenvoudig js “it should be borne in mind that this is not so simple”; men neme een lepelvol boter... "take a spoonful of butter..."; a number of such forms are actually lexicalized: het ga je goed “good luck to you, all the best to you”; dat ware te wensen "it would be desirable" etc.
Pronoun
Personal pronouns have forms of the nominative and objective cases, abbreviated IP and OP (III literal plural has special forms for the dative and accusative), and many of them have stressed and unstressed forms (the latter are given below in parentheses).Forms of personal pronouns: singular - I l. IP ik ("k), OP mij (me); II l. - IP jij (je), OP jou (je); polite form (you) - IP + OP u; III l. m.r. - IP hij , OP hem("m); III l. w.r. - IP zij (ze), OP haar ("r, d"r) (only about persons!) or ze (also about persons); III l. s.r. IP+OP het ("t); plural of all genders - I l. IP wij (we), OP ons, II l. IP+OP jullie, polite form IP+OP u, III l. IP zij (ze ), DP hun, VP hen (both last forms are only about persons) or OP ze (also about persons).
Reflexive pronoun: zich.
Possessive pronouns They all have the same form, with the exception of I l. plural (unstressed options are given in brackets): singular. - I l. mijn (m"n), II l. jouw (je), polite form uw, III l. m.+sr.r. zijn (z"n), f.r. haar("r, d"r); plural - I l. onze (with noun sr. ons), II l. jullie, polite form uw, III l. hun or haar ("r, d"r). They can be used substantively - with the definite article and -e, for example. elk het zijne “to each his own,” and about persons - with the article and indicator -en, for example de onzen heb ik niet gezien “I haven’t seen ours.”
Demonstrative pronouns. General gender (OR) deze, s.r. dit "this". OR die, s.r. dat "that one". OR zo"n, zulke, sr. zulk "such". OR Dezelfde, sr. hetzelfde "same". Instead of combining the preposition with dat, dit in substantive use, as well as with personal pronouns of the third letter, replacing noun - non-person or sr. noun, pronominal adverbs with contact or distant elements hier- or daar- are used: hierdoor kwam hij te laat “because of this he was late”; ik ben daar niet tevreden over/ik ben daarover niet tevreden “I am dissatisfied with this.” Some of these pronominal adverbs coincide in meaning with adverbs with the element er-, but they are always stressed, unlike the latter, which are always unstressed.
Interrogative pronouns. Wie "who". Wat "what"; with prepositions is replaced by pronominal adverbs: op wat -> waarop, met wat -> waarmee... Compare: waaraan dacht je?/waar dacht je aan? "what were you thinking?". OR welke, sr. welk "what". Wat voor ("n) "what the".
Indefinite pronouns. Iemand "someone". Iets "something". Een of ander "some kind". Een, ene "one, certain".
Negative pronouns. Niemand "nobody", niets "nothing". Geen "no".
Relative pronouns. OR die, s.r. dat "which": de man, die ik ken "the person I know"; in the complement function, wie and wat are used respectively (the latter forms a pronominal adverb with the preposition): de man, met wie ik werk “the person with whom I work”; alles, wat hij zegt "everything he says"; de hond, waarmee het kind speelt "a dog with which a child plays"; de man, van wie hij de vriend is "a person whose friend he is", de mannen, wier vrienden... "people whose friends...". The pronoun welk(e) "which" is used in bookish style.
Indefinite personal pronoun. Men: men zegt "they speak".
Impersonal pronoun. Het: het wordt donker "it gets dark"; het is tijd "it's time". Er is used in an indefinite-personal construction as an imaginary subject: er stond een huis op de hoek van de straat “there was a house on the corner of the street.”
Determinative pronouns. Elk, ieder "each", iedereen "each (as a noun)", alle "all", enkele, enige "some", zelf "himself" (used postpositively, without inflection).
Reciprocal pronoun. Elkaar (elkander and other book variants).
Although the Dutch are often quite proficient in foreign languages (English, German and French), learning to speak Dutch will open you up to the hearts, minds and culture of native speakers in the Netherlands and elsewhere on the planet. Dutch is not one of the simplest languages, since this language contains many sounds and grammatical structures that are alien to the Russian language. However, these difficulties will only help you feel the taste of victory when learning this language. Feel free to read Step 1, which will become the starting point on your linguistic journey.
Steps
Some information about Dutch
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Let's take a look at how the Dutch language developed. In the classification of languages, Dutch ranks in the West Germanic group and ranks closely with other languages of this branch, including German, English and West Frisian.
- The Dutch language developed from the Low Franconian dialect of Low German. But although Dutch began its development from German roots, it did not undergo the High German consonant shift, which means it does not have such a grammatical marker as the umlaut.
- In addition, Dutch eventually abolished the original case system and the language underwent morphological flattening.
- On the other hand, the vocabulary of the Dutch language has largely retained its Germanic roots (although it contains more borrowings from Romance languages). The word order also remained in its original form (subject - predicate - object in main clauses and subject - object - predicate - in subordinate clauses).
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Know where in the world Dutch is spoken. Dutch is spoken by approximately 20 million people, mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium. Dutch is used as a second language by approximately 5 million people.
- In addition to the Netherlands and Belgium, Dutch is also spoken in northern France, Germany, the Republic of Suriname and Indonesia. It is also the official language of the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean.
- The dialects of Dutch spoken in Belgium are collectively known as Flemish. Flemish differs from Dutch in several ways, including pronunciation, vocabulary, and intonation.
- The Afrikaans language, spoken by about 10 million people in South Africa and Namibia, has roots in Dutch. It is believed that speakers of these languages can understand each other quite well.
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Start with the alphabet and pronunciation. When learning any language, it's always good to start with the alphabet.
- A(A) B(be) C(se) D(de) E(uh) F(ef) G(heh) H(gha) I(And) J(yeah) K(ka) L(el) M(Em) N(en) O(O) P(ne) Q(kyu) R(er) S(es) T(those) U(Yu) V(ve) W(yeah) X(X) Y(i-Greek) Z(zet).
- However, there are many more sounds in Dutch than letters, and their pronunciation does not always coincide with Russian.
- The best way to learn the pronunciation of unusual consonants and vowels is to listen and repeat them. The following summary is not exhaustive, but will help you get started:
- Vowels: " a(as in the word "cancer"), e(as in the word "it"), i(as in the word "beat"), o(as in the word "cat"), oe(like the "u" in the word "fog"), u(like the "a" in "acrylic") and y(like the “and” in the word “world”).
- Consonants: Some consonants have a completely different pronunciation from Russian. Sounds ch, sch and g are deep laryngeal. The Dutch "r" can be either rolling or guttural. But the Dutch one j similar to the Russian ""y"".
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Learn about gender divisions in language. In Dutch there are two genders: general (words in de) and middle (words in het). This is much simpler than in German, where there are 3 genders.
- It can be difficult to tell which gender it belongs to by looking at a word. Therefore, it is better to memorize the gender division separately for each word.
- The common gender is a combined form of the masculine and feminine genders, which are no longer used. As a result, about 2/3 of all nouns are generic.
- Therefore, the best method would be to learn all neuter nouns. Then you will be sure that most of the nouns you have not learned belong to the general gender.
- You can also identify neuter nouns by learning a number of rules. For example, all diminutive nouns (ending in je), as well as all infinitives used as nouns, belong to the neuter gender. The neuter gender also includes words in -um, -aat, -sel and -isme, as well as most words starting with ge-, be- and ver-. Words denoting colors, cardinal directions and metals are also neuter.
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Learn a few commonly used verbs in the present tense. As you progress in learning Dutch, it will be useful to learn some common verbs in the present tense. You will need them to construct sentences.
- Zijn: The present tense of the verb "to be" is pronounced "zane".
- Ik ben: I am (pronounced "ik ben")
- Jij/u bent: You Are (pronounced "yey/wee bent")
- Hij/zij/het is: He/she/it is (pronounced hey/zay/at from)
- Wij zijn: We are (pronounced "way zane")
- Julie Zijn: You Are (pronounced "yulee zane")
- Zij zijn: They are (pronounced "zay zane")
- Hebben: The present tense of the verb "to have" is pronounced "heh-ban".
- Ik heb: I have (pronounced "eek hap")
- Jij/u hebt: You've got (pronounced yee/yu hept)
- Hij/zij/het heeft: He/she/it (an inanimate object) has (pronounced hey/zay/at heift)
- Wij hebben: We have (pronounced wey heh-ban )
- Julie Hebben: You have (pronounced "yoo-lee heh-ban")
- Zij hebben: They have (pronounced "zay heh-ban")
Learn basic words and expressions
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- En: one (pronounced "ein")
- Twee: two (pronounced "tway")
- Drie: three (pronounced "dree")
- Vier: Four (pronounced "vir")
- Vijf: Five (pronounced "wayf")
- Zes: Six (pronounced "zes")
- Zeven: Seven (pronounced "zhey-wen")
- Acht: Eight (pronounced "aht")
- Negen: Nine (pronounced nay-hen)
- Tien: Ten (pronounced "ting")
- Elf: Eleven (pronounced "elf")
- Twaalf: Twelve (pronounced twalf)
- Dertien: Thirteen (pronounced der-teen)
- Veertien: Fourteen (pronounced weir-teen)
- Vijftien: Fifteen (pronounced "veif-teen")
- Zestien: Sixteen (pronounced "zes-teen")
- Zeventien: Seventeen (pronounced "zhey-weh-teen")
- Achttienne: Eighteen (pronounced "ah-teen")
- Negentien: Nineteen (pronounced nay-hen-ting)
- Twintig: Twenty (pronounced twin-tah)
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Learn the days of the week and months. Other useful vocabulary includes the names of the days of the week and months.
- Days of the week:
- Monday = Maandag(pronounced man-dah)
- Tuesday = Dinsdag(pronounced "dins-dah")
- Wednesday = Woensdag(pronounced "uns-dah")
- Thursday = Donderdag(pronounced don-dar-dah)
- Friday = Vrijdag(pronounced vray-dah)
- Saturday = Zaterdag(pronounced zah-tur-dah)
- Sunday = Zondag(pronounced "zon-dah")
- Months
- January = January(pronounced "jen-yu-ah-ree")
- February = February(pronounced fey-broo-ari)
- March = Maart(pronounced "March")
- April = April(pronounced April)
- May = Mei(pronounced "may")
- June = Juni(pronounced "June")
- July = Julie(pronounced "July")
- August = Augustus(pronounced "oh-gus-tus")
- September = September(pronounced sep-teem-ber)
- October = October(pronounced "ok-toe-ber")
- November = November(pronounced "no-weh-ber")
- December = December(pronounced day-sem-ber).
- Days of the week:
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Learn the names of the flowers. By learning the names of colors in Dutch, you can greatly expand your descriptive vocabulary.
- Red = rod(pronounced "mouth")
- Orange = oranje(pronounced "o-ran-yu")
- Yellow = geel(pronounced "gayle")
- Green = groen(pronounced "gron")
- Blue = blauw(pronounced "blow")
- Purple = paars(pronounced "pars") or purper(pronounced "pur-par")
- Pink = rose(pronounced "roe-za")
- White = wit(pronounced "whit")
- Black = zwart(pronounced "zwart")
- Brown = bruin(pronounced "brueen")
- Gray = grijs(pronounced "grace")
- Silver = zilver(pronounced zil-fer)
- Golden = goud(pronounced "hout")
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Learn other useful words. By adding some words to your Dutch vocabulary, you can greatly improve your speaking.
- Hello = Hallo(pronounced "ha-lo")
- Goodbye = Tot ziens(pronounced "that sins")
- Please = Alstublieft(pronounced al-stu-blift)
- Thank you = Dank u well(formal, pronounced "dank-yu-vel") or dank je wel(colloquial, pronounced "dank-e-vel")
- Yes = Ja(pronounced "ya")
- No = Nee(pronounced "nay")
- Help = Help(pronounced "help")
- Now = Nu(pronounced "nu")
- Later = Later(pronounced la-tar)
- Today = Vandaag(pronounced van-dag)
- Tomorrow = Morgen(pronounced "mor-gan")
- Left = Links(pronounced "lynx")
- Right = Rechts(pronounced "rehts")
- Straight = Rechtdoor(pronounced "rah-dor")
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Learn some useful expressions. Now let's move on to something more practical and learn a few phrases that will help you in daily communication.
- How are you? = Hoe maakt u het?(formal, pronounced "hu makt u khat") or Hoe gaat het?(informal, pronounced "hu gat hut?")
- Okay, thanks = Goed, dank u(formal, pronounced "got dank yu") or Goed, dank je(pronounced "got dank e")
- Nice to meet you = Aangenaam kennis te maken(pronounced "an-ga-nam ke-nis tha ma-kan")
- I don't speak Dutch well = Ik spreek niet goed Nederlands(pronounced "ik spreik nit gut tay-dar-lants")
- Do you speak English? = Spreekt u Engels?(pronounced "spraykt yu engals")
- I don't understand = Ik begrijp het niet(pronounced "ik bah-grape hut nit")
- You're welcome = Graag gedaan(pronounced "grag ga-dan")
- How much does it cost? = Hoeveel cost dit?(pronounced "hoo-veil cost deet")
We speak fluently
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Get materials for learning the language. Visit your local library or online bookstore. You will find a range of publications for learning foreign languages, as well as computer programs such as Rosetta Stone.
- To study, you will also need a good bilingual dictionary. Start looking for a Russian-Dutch dictionary.
- As you learn, you will gradually want to expand your library of books in Dutch. You can start with children's books, small puzzle books, and gradually move on to novels, poetry, magazines, etc. Reading is an inevitable source of language knowledge that will help you improve your language abilities and also make you encounter real natural Dutch. When you reach this stage in your learning, you will also need to purchase a Dutch dictionary.
- Flemish is a special offshoot of Dutch spoken in Flanders, but it is not a separate language from Dutch. Both Dutch and Flemings speak, read and write the same language, with only slight differences in vocabulary, slang, grammar and pronunciation.
- When your Dutch reaches a good enough level, you will be able to watch a famous TV show Tien voor Taal, in which Dutch and Flemish native speakers compete in Dutch language competitions, solving various puzzles and cryptograms.
- One very famous Dutch speaker was actress Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993). She grew up in the Netherlands during World War II and made her first film appearance in a Dutch TV series called Nederlands in Zeven Lessen (Dutch in Seven Lessons), which was released in 1948.
- Dutch (Netherlands) is the official language of the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders), Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, as well as institutions such as the European Union, Benelux and the Union of South American Nations. It is also the language of territorial minorities in northwestern France (French Flanders).
- Dutch is a West Germanic language and is very close to Afrikaans and Low German, and is also slightly further away from Frisian, English, High German and Yiddish.
Warnings
- Don't be offended if native Dutch speakers initially respond to you in English when you try to speak Dutch to them. They just want to avoid the language barrier and make you understand them better. Don't forget that in any case they deeply appreciate your efforts and attempts to speak Dutch.
- Remember that polite forms of address are most common in Flanders, while in the Netherlands they are used only to address older people. However, while you're still learning the language, to be on the safe side, it's best to always stick to polite forms of address so that you don't risk offending anyone.
- Zijn: The present tense of the verb "to be" is pronounced "zane".
Not only is the Dutch language, but also Frisian, and the majority of the country’s residents speak English quite fluently, additionally speaking one or two more foreign languages (mainly German and French), as I have already said. It is for this reason that a trip to the city does not require additional effort to study, since you can easily communicate with local residents without knowing a single thing.
But, oh, these ubiquitous “buts”, on the other hand, in order not to get into an awkward situation, like, say, breaking into the closed doors of a store or restaurant, when “Closed” is written on them in black and white, I also don’t seem to want to.
Today I have for you a small educational program of useful words, the knowledge of which can be useful when traveling.
Useful Dutch words:
Closed - Gesloten
Open – Open or Geopend
Opens to self - Trekken
Opens up from oneself - Duwen
Outside - Buiten
Inside – Binnen
Busy – Bezet
Available – Vrij
Login - Ingang
Exit - Uitgang
Ticket - Kaart
On the cabin monitor the inscription “buiten dienst” means our Russian “to the park” and, therefore, it will not be possible to get inside. The same inscription on the ATM monitor means that it is out of order or has temporarily run out of bills.
Doesn't work - Werk niet
No smoking – Verboden te roken
No entry - Verboden doorgang
Private territory – Prive gebied
For those travelers who prefer to go on their travels having learned a few words or phrases to communicate with the people of a country in their own language, you will find below a small dictionary of useful phrases.
Useful Dutch phrases:
Hello - Hallo [halo′],
Goodbye - Dag [dah],
Do you speak English? - Spreek u Engels? [spray yu enels],
Sorry - Pardon [pardo′n],
Please - Alstublieft [alstublieft],
Yes - Ja [i]
No – Nee [ney],
Delicious - Lekker [lekker],
Beautiful - Mooi [my]
[heze′lh] is a rather important word for, which they use everywhere, giving different meanings, which can be translated as cool, cozy, great.
, you need to remember words that are pleasing to the eye and wallet:
Discount - Korting,
Free - Gratis
It is advisable to use the formal version of the word “Thank you” with people you do not know, while the informal version is more suitable for friends and acquaintances.
Thank you! (formal version) - Dank u! [dank yu′],
Thank you! (informal version) - Dank je! [dank yo],
If you add the word “wel”, then the expression of gratitude will sound like “Thank you very much.” In , the words “thank you” and “please” are used regularly in everyday conversations and interactions, in different forms. As a polite visitor, you can follow this example (in any language, by the way ;)).
Holland, the country of tulips and good mood. Here, every street smiles at its guest and joyfully welcomes tourists into its arms. Having decided to travel to the Netherlands, you are most likely counting on a real vacation that will bring you many unforgettable impressions and put you in a good mood for the whole year. And you will certainly get such a rest. In the Netherlands you can get everything a person can dream of from their holiday. But in order to feel truly comfortable in this wonderful country, you will need to learn at least a little Dutch. To save your time, we have compiled a Russian-Dutch phrasebook that is ideal for a tourist trip.
Appeals
Standard phrases
| Phrase in Russian | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Ja | I |
| No | Nee | Nah |
| Thank you | Dank u | Dunk at |
| Thank you very much | Dank u wel | Dunk at the lead |
| Please | Niets te danken, geen dank | Niets te dunken |
| Please | Alstublieft | Alstublieft |
| Sorry | Excuseert u mij | Excuseert at mii |
| I don't understand | Ik begrijp u niet. Ik weet het niet. | Ik begrape yu nit. Ik vet het nit. |
| How do you say this by […]? | Hoe zeg je dit in het? | Hoe zez e dit in hat... |
| Do you speak-… | Spreekt u… | Spreecht u... |
| English | Engels | Angles |
| French | Frans | France |
| German | Duits | Duits |
| Spanish | Spaans | Spaans |
| Chinese | Chinees | Chines |
| I | Ik | Ik |
| We | Wij | Viy |
| You | Jij | Yiy |
| You | U | U |
| They | Zij | Ziy |
| What is your name? | Hoe heet je? | Hoe heet ye? |
| Very nice | Leuk je te ontmoeten. | Lek e te ontmuten |
| How are you? | Hoe gaat het ermee? | Hu gat het erme? |
| Fine | Goed | Goed |
| Badly | Slecht | Slecht |
| So-so | Gaat wel | Gaat led |
| Wife | Vrouw | Wrove |
| Husband | Echtgenoot, man | Echtgenut, man |
| Daughter | Dochter | Dokhte |
| Son | Zoon | Zun |
| Mother | Moeder | Moder |
| Father | Vader | Vader |
| Friend | Vriend (m), vriendin (f) | Vriend (m), Vriendin (w) |
| Where is the toilet here? | Waar is het toilet? | Vaar is het toilet? |
| Where …? | Waar is...? | Vaar is...? |
In public places
| Phrase in Russian | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Postkantoor | Postcantor | |
| Museum | Museum | Museum |
| Bank | Bank | Bank |
| Police | Politiebureau | Politiebureau |
| Hospital | Ziekenhuis | Ziekenhuis |
| Pharmacy | Apotheek | Apotek |
| Shop | Winkel | Winkel |
| Restaurant | Restaurant | Restaurant owner |
| School | School | Skol |
| Church | Kerk | Kirk |
| Toilet | Toiletten | Toiletten |
| Street | Straat | Straat |
| Square | Plein | Plein |
| Mountain | Berg | Berg |
| Hill | Heuvel | Heuvel |
| Valley | Valley | Valley |
| Ocean | Ocean | Ocean |
| Lake | Meer | World |
| River | Rivier | Rivier |
| Pool | Zwembad | Zvembad |
| Tower | Toren | Toren |
| Bridge | Brug | Brug |
At the station
Walking around the city
In transport
| Phrase in Russian | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| How much does the ticket cost? | Wat kost een kaartje? | Wat kos et kaarthe? |
| Ticket | Kaartje | Kaarthe |
| One ticket to... | Een kaartje naar…, alstublieft. | En cartier nar..., alstublift. |
| Where are you going? | Waar ga je heen? | Var ga e hen? |
| Where do you live? | Waar woon je? | Var out there? |
| Train | Trein | Train |
| Bus | Bus | Bass |
| Metro | Metro | Metro |
| Airport | Vliegveld | Vliegveld |
| Car rental | Huurauto's | Hyurauto's |
| Parking | Parkeerplaats | Parkerplats |
| Hotel, hotel | Hotel | wanted |
| Room | Kamer | Cameras |
| Reservation | Reservering | Reserving |
| Are there any free places for today? | Is er nog een kamer vrij? | Is er nog en kamer vrei? |
| There are no seats | Vol | Ox |
| Passport | Passport | Passport |
Seasons of the day and year
| Phrase in Russian | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| What time is it now? | Hoe laat is het? | Hu lat is het? |
| 7:13, seven thirteen | Dertien over zeven | Durtin over zeven |
| 3:15, three fifteen | Vijftien over drie | Wayftin over dr |
| 3:15, fifteen minutes past four | Kwart over drink | Quarter over draw |
| 11:30, eleven thirty | Dertig over elf, elf uur dertig | Dertig over elf, elf uyur dertig |
| 11:30, half past eleven | Half twaalf | Half twalf |
| 1:45, one forty-five | Een uur vijfenveertig | En yuur weifenwertig |
| 1:45, fifteen minutes to two | Kwart voor twee | Kvart vor tve |
| Day | Dag | Doug |
| A week | Week | Vic |
| Month | Maand | Maand |
| Year | Jaar | Yaar |
| Monday | Maandag | Maandag |
| Tuesday | Dinsdag | Dinsdag |
| Wednesday | Woensdag | Voensdag |
| Thursday | Donderdag | Donderdag |
| Friday | Vrijdag | Vrijdag |
| Saturday | Zaterdag | Zaterdag |
| Sunday | Zondag | Zondag |
| January | January | January |
| February | February | February |
| March | Maart | March |
| April | April | April |
| May | Mei | May |
| June | Juni | Uni |
| July | Julie | Yuli |
| August | Augustus | Augustus |
| September | September | September |
| October | October | October |
| November | November | November |
| December | December | Desember |
| Spring | Lente | Lente |
| Summer | Zomer | Zomer |
| Autumn | Herfst | Herfst |
| Winter | Winter | Winter |
| Today | Vandaag | Vandag |
| Yesterday | Gisteren | Hysterene |
| Tomorrow | Morgen | Morgen |
| Birthday | Verjaardag | Veryardag |
| Happy birthday! | Gefeliciteerd! | Gefelisiterd! |
Numerals
| Phrase in Russian | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 Zero | Nul | Null |
| 1 One | En | Een |
| 2 Two | Twee | Twee |
| 3 Three | Drie | Drieux |
| 4 Four | Vier | Vier |
| 5 Five | Vijf | Wiif |
| 6 Six | Zes | Wiif |
| 7 Seven | Zeven | Zeven |
| 8 Eight | Acht | Aht |
| 9 Nine | Negen | Nagen |
| 10 Ten | Tien | Tien |
| 20 Twenty | Twintig | Twintig |
| 30 Thirty | Dertig | Dertig |
| 40 Forty | Veertig | Weertig |
| 50 Fifty | Vijftig | Vijftig |
| 100 Hundred | Honderd | Hondard |
| 1 000 thousand | Duizend | Duisend |
| 1,000,000 Million | Miljoen | Mil'yoen |
In the shop
| Phrase in Russian | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| How much does it cost? | What cost? Hoeveel cost dit? | Wat cost dit? Hoeveel cost dit? |
| What it is? | What is it? | Wat is dat? |
| I will buy it. | Ik koop het. | Ik coupe hat |
| I would like to buy… | Ik zou graag...Kopen. | Ik zu drag...kopen |
| You have?.. | Hebt u… | Hebt u...? |
| Do you accept credit cards? | Accepteert u kredietkaarten? Mag ik betalen met een creditcard? | Accepter yu creditkarten? Mag ik betalen met en credit card? |
| Open | Open | Open |
| Closed | Gesloten | Gesloten |
| Postcard | Briefkaart | Briefcard |
| Stamps | Postzegels | Postzegels |
| A little, a little | Weinig | Weinig |
| A lot of | Veel | Veel |
| All | Alles | Allas |
At the restaurant
| Phrase in Russian | Translation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Ontbijt | Ontbiit |
| Dinner | Lunch | Lunch |
| Dinner | Diner | Diner |
| Vegetarian | Vegetarisch, vegetarier | Vegetaris, vegetarian |
| Kosher | Kosher | Kosger |
| To your health! | Proost! | Simple! |
| Please bring the bill | De rekening, alstublieft. | De rekening, alstublift. |
| Bread | Brood | Ford |
| Drink | Drank | Drank |
| Coffee | Koffie | Coffie |
| Tea | Thee | Tee |
| Juice | Sap | Glanders |
| Water | Water | Water |
| Beer | Bier | Bier |
| Wine | Wijn | Viin |
| Salt | Zout | Zoot |
| Pepper | Pepper | Pepper |
| Meat | Vlees | Vlis |
| Beef | Rundvlees | Rundvles |
| Pork | Varkensvlees | Varkensvles |
| Fish | Vis | Vis |
| Bird | Gevogelte | Gevogelte |
| Vegetables | Groente | Groente |
| Fruits | Fruit | Fruit |
| Potato | Aardappel | Ardappel |
| Salad | Salade | Salade |
| Dessert | Nagerecht | Nagerecht |
| Ice cream | Ijs | Ys |
The phrasebook contains only really necessary words and phrases, which are grouped into thematic sections:
Greetings— here are collected words with which you can start any conversation or get to know one of the local residents. This is an indispensable theme if you want to make new friends and just have fun.
Standard phrases- phrases and words that will be useful throughout the trip. This is a list of the most common and used phrases in conversation.
Railway station- a list of words that will help you find stations for any transport, from bus to plane.
Orientation in the city- translation of words that will help you get where you want, the main thing is to find a passerby who agrees to explain in which direction to go
Public places— here you will find translations of all municipal institutions and organizations, as well as interesting places and architectural monuments.
Dates and times— you need to find out what time it is, but you don’t know how to do it? In this topic you will find the answer to your question.
Purchases— have you decided to go shopping or go to the market? But how can you buy what you need without knowing Dutch? Don’t worry, all the words and questions that will be useful to you while shopping can be found in this topic.
Restaurant- who doesn’t like to eat deliciously, and even in a good Dutch restaurant, but how can you order a dish without knowing how to pronounce it in Dutch? By looking at this topic, you can easily order any dish.
Numbers and numbers are simply the translation and pronunciation of numbers as well as numbers.
The native language of approximately 22 million Europeans: 16 million Dutch and 6 million Belgians. Thus, the number of speakers of Dutch exceeds the number of speakers of all Scandinavian languages combined.
In Russia, the Dutch language is usually called Dutch, sometimes Flemish. But in fact, both Dutch and Flemish are variants of Dutch: Dutch is spoken in the western Netherlands, Flemish in Belgium.
The Dutch language is characterized by the existence of numerous dialects, the speakers of which do not immediately understand each other, although the differences relate mainly to the field of phonetics, in the field of vocabulary and grammar the difference is insignificant. In addition, the Dutch language also has a “younger brother” - the Afrikaans language. It is the first language of six million South African citizens (including three million people of color) and the second or third language of another nine million residents of the same country.
The following facts speak about the uniqueness of the Dutch linguistic culture (and mentality! - L.K.'s note): the Dutch have always been more willing to study foreign languages than to impose their own on other peoples. Even in their former colonial empire, the Dutch never defended their linguistic interests. The great Dutch humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote exclusively in Latin; More than half of Vincent van Gogh's letters are written in French. It is also curious that the spelling norm of the Dutch language was developed only in the 19th century. - and in 1998 the Dictionary of the Dutch Language will be completed, work on which has been going on since 1852; This will be the world's largest explanatory dictionary - 40 huge volumes (44 thousand pages in two columns)."
This quote is taken from the preface to the Dutch language textbook for Russians.
Phonetics- So, the Dutch language... Or rather the Dutch language... What can you compare its unique sound with? Can you imagine a drunk German sailor trying to speak English? If you can, you will hear all the poetry of this language! Joke!
Russians, who have a rich phonetic base thanks to their native language, nevertheless face difficulties. I mean articulation. When speaking, the Dutch use different facial muscles than Russians. And this greatly affects pronunciation. You need to get used to opening your mouth wider when speaking, otherwise you will not be understood. Why? In the Dutch language there is a difference in the pronunciation of double and single vowels. To feel the difference, I advise you to take several lessons from local speech therapists who work with foreigners. If you are interested, I suggest reading and doing the exercises I received from my speech therapist. And in the “Links”, in the “Dutch Language” section, you can read “Dutch Grammar” in Russian, phonetics is also explained there.
If you do not have a developed “musical” ear, you may also encounter another problem - the sound of many words (this is not just my opinion) is perceived the same. It is very difficult to remember and reproduce them, especially at first, when English is very difficult. And not only because everyone around can speak it. It’s just that while you painfully remember how to say it in Dutch, English words will already be on your tongue. Foreigners who find themselves surrounded by Dutch people who do not speak English at all make progress and master conversational Dutch quite quickly.
For those interested, I suggest downloading and listening to the Dutch version of the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” (MP3 file 6.21 MB). Pay attention to the manner of conversation and behavior of the Cap. If you compare a Dutch fairy tale with its Russian counterpart, you will understand the difference between Dutch and Russian women :-))
Grammar- Despite the fairly simple grammar, the Dutch language is complex. Roughly speaking, it is a mixture of English and German. Moreover, German is much closer to it. The Dutch are able to understand German speech. The Dutch language is close not only to German vocabulary, but also to phonetics. You can even make an analogy between the Russian and Ukrainian languages. I don’t know about the Germans, but Russians who know German learn Dutch more easily than English speakers. For example, the pronunciation of numerals is taken from the German language. Russians and English will say “twenty-one”, and the Dutch and Germans will say “one and twenty” :-))
Articles of nouns also pose a particular problem. The Dutch language uses the indefinite article (een), the definite article (de) for masculine-feminine nouns and (het) for the neuter gender. Depending on the articles, demonstrative pronouns and endings of adjectives change. Therefore, nouns must be memorized together with articles.
Another pearl in the Dutch language is verbs with separable prefixes. Or rather, not so much their existence as a huge number of rules, in which case where this prefix “goes”.
If you live in Holland, you can buy yourself a Dutch grammar for foreigners. Read a review of grammar textbooks here.
Vocabulary is normative- huge. An adult educated Dutchman knows 50-70 thousand words (in the passive). Children 12 years of age have 12-17 thousand words in the passive. The task of learning the language is complicated by the fact that in Dutch there are large differences between the “written” language and the spoken language. You must know the “written” language in order to read the press, popular science articles and textbooks. The spoken language is simpler, the words are not so beautiful, but more understandable. Intensive Dutch language courses for foreigners (level 5-6) give you 5-6 thousand Dutch words in the spoken part per year of study. This is the minimum you need to know to feel confident in everyday communication. But this vocabulary is not at all sufficient for training or skilled work.
The task is difficult, but it is saved by the fact that the Dutch language, like Russian, has many borrowed words from French, English and German. And of course, a deep bow to Tsar Peter for something like 1000 words that came into the Russian language from Dutch. I'll tell you a story that happened after my arrival, when I didn't know a word of Dutch. My husband and I are sitting and discussing household chores. He says that he can’t remember the name in English for the object he is referring to. I asked him, say it in Dutch. He says "mattress"! :-)) Little things like this make learning a language at least fun.
Vocabulary is obscene- is not considered such in Holland. People often in everyday speech, in the press, on TV use words completely freely and without the slightest hesitation that in Russia are considered rude, obscene and are not used in polite society. I mean, for example, the most diverse variations of the famous Russian word starting with the letter "X" :-))
Dictionaries- in Russia you can buy the following dictionaries:
- "Russian-Dutch-Russian dictionary", 65 thousand words, publishing house: "Russian Language", authors Drenyasova Shechkova, ISBN: 5-200-02997-x, the dictionary contains many inaccuracies.
Big Russian-Dutch dictionary, more than 80,000 words and phrases, publishing house: "Linguistics", authors Mironov P.M., Gesterman L., ISBN: 985-07-0486-6 (2002)
Big Dutch-Russian dictionary, about 180,000 words and phrases, authors Mironov S.A., Belousov V.O., Shechkova L.S. and others, ISBN: 5-8033-0038-1, publishing house: Living Language.
In Holland you can also buy an excellent, but expensive dictionary from the publishing house Pegasus - A.H.van den Baar "Groot Nederlands-Russisch Woordenboek". It costs 99 EUR. The same publishing house has prepared for release a reverse Russian-Dutch dictionary - Groot Russisch-Nederlands Woordenboek van Wim Honselaar for the same price.
Textbooks- there are a great many of them in the Netherlands and in language courses you will receive them for free. You can find a brief description of them in the review. Their only drawback is that they are all written in Dutch, or at least in English. If you want to have a textbook at hand in Russian, I advise you to buy “Goed Zo!” written in accessible language. The main and most important difference between this textbook and Drenyasova’s “Dutch Language” is its mixed Russian-Dutch authorship. That is, you are guaranteed a modern Dutch part and an adequate translation into Russian. "Goed Zo!" includes two books, an app and 6 audio CDs.
In Russia, the book was published by the St. Petersburg publishing house "Symposium" and can only be purchased at the Dutch Institute in St. Petersburg. In the Netherlands, this textbook (EUR 27.50) and disks (EUR 87.50) are sold in Amsterdam in the Pegasus store of Russian and Slavic literature. Information for those who want to find this book:
Goed Zo! I. Mikhailova and H. Boland,
ISBN 5-89091-027-2
de Nederlandse Taalunie Den Haag,
Symposium St. Petersburg 1997
Goed Zo! 2(EUR 27.50) ISBN 9061432863
Goed Zo! Application(EUR 22.50) ISBN 9061432871
Click on the textbook cover above to see what the rest of the books look like.
Courses- Today in Holland there are about a dozen methods of teaching Dutch as a foreign language for different educational levels, but it happens that a person with a higher education is sent to study in a course intended for people who have just learned to read and write. To understand what kind of course they offer you at college, read the review of “Methods for learning the Dutch language.”
Success- People who persistently learn a language begin to speak more or less fluently no sooner than after a year or two. This, of course, does not apply to people and children who are capable of languages. Children under 12 years old begin to speak after three months, and after a year, subject to additional classes, they speak freely and without an accent.
Exams- After completing the language courses, you can try to pass the state exam for knowledge of Dutch as a foreign language NT2 (something like TOEFL). This exam has 2 levels. The first level NT2-I is for those who have studied at ROC up to level 3 and are going to work in low- and medium-skilled jobs. The second level NT2-II is intended for those who have a higher education or are just about to receive it, or work as a highly qualified specialist. The exam consists of 4 parts - written, speaking, listening and reading. You can find information about the exam on the Informatie Beheer Groep (IBG) website.
That's probably all. Study, watch Dutch television, communicate with the Dutch. The main thing is to overcome the very first embarrassment, when for the first time in your life you need to say “Hue Morhen!” And then it will go on its own! :-))
http://www.gollandia.com/letter_18.htm
