A survival phrasebook for real life in the Netherlands — the gemeente, the huisarts, the supermarket, the train. Each phrase with its English meaning and a native voice to copy.
Hallo
Hello
Hoi
Hi
Goedemorgen
Good morning
Goedemiddag
Good afternoon
Goedenavond
Good evening
Tot ziens
Goodbye · until seeing
Doei
Bye
Tot straks
See you later
Tot morgen
See you tomorrow
Fijne dag
Have a nice day
Welkom
Welcome
Prettige avond
Have a nice evening
Hello, goodbye and everything in between.
Hallo — Hello
Please, thank you, sorry — the words that open doors.
Alsjeblieft — Please; here you go
Yes, no, and 'can you say that again, slower?'
Ja — Yes
Your name, where you're from, how you're doing.
Ik heet... — My name is...
Registering, appointments and paperwork survival.
Ik heb een afspraak — I have an appointment
The huisarts, the apotheek and saying what hurts.
Ik ben ziek — I'm sick
Prices, paying by card and 'I'm just looking'.
Hoeveel kost het? — How much does it cost?
Ordering, the bill and 'proost!'
Een tafel voor twee — A table for two
Trains, directions and 'where's the toilet?'
Waar is het station? — Where is the station?
Help, 112, and the words you hope you never need.
Help! — Help!
120 phrases across 10 situations, all with native audio.
Start with the words that carry you through any interaction: hallo (hello), alstublieft (please), dank u wel (thank you), sorry, and — crucially — spreekt u Engels? (do you speak English?) and kunt u langzamer praten? (can you speak more slowly?). Those last two buy you time in every conversation. From there, learn the phrases for your next real appointment: the gemeente, the doctor, the supermarket.
Almost everyone in the Netherlands speaks good English, so you can get by from day one. But two things change when you try Dutch: officials at the gemeente and letters from authorities default to Dutch, and people warm to you noticeably when you open with a Dutch phrase. Even a shaky goedemorgen, ik heb een afspraak signals that you're making an effort — and that goes a long way.
Please is alstublieft (formal) or alsjeblieft (informal) — the same word also means 'here you go' when you hand something over. Thank you is dank u wel (formal) or dank je wel (informal), and a quick bedankt works everywhere. You're welcome is graag gedaan, literally 'gladly done'. Getting the formal/informal split right is a small thing that makes you sound polite rather than blunt.
No — the phrasebook gets you through daily life, but the exam tests reading, listening, writing and speaking at A2 across a much wider range. Think of these phrases as the confidence layer: they make real conversations possible while you build proper exam skills. When you're ready for that, the full course covers all five DUO sections in the real format.
Vocabulary, grammar and all five DUO sections — Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking and KNM — in the real exam format.