The World of Languages · Indo-European
Dutch · Nederlands
The language between English and German: spoken in the Netherlands, Flanders and Suriname, and the parent of Afrikaans.
- 25 million native speakers
- 30 million speakers in total
- Latin script
- FSI Category I · 24 weeks
- Official in 7 countries
Where Dutch is spoken
Tap or hover over a country. Colours show the language's status, based on Unicode CLDR territory data (population estimates mix sources and years).
Top countries by speakers
- Netherlands · NederlandOfficial language · 18M (100%)
- Germany · DuitslandWidely spoken · 7.6M (9%)
- Belgium · BelgiëOfficial language · 6.6M (55%)
- SurinameOfficial language · 582k (90%)
- ArubaOfficial language · 121k (97%)
- CuraçaoOfficial language · 12k (8%)
- Caribbean Netherlands · Caribisch NederlandOfficial language · 2k (8%)
- Sint Maarten · Sint-MaartenOfficial language · 2k (3.4%)
Key numbers
- Native (L1) speakers
- 25 million
- Total speakers
- 30 million
- Source
- Ethnologue (L1) and Eurobarometer/University of Leicester (total), via Wikipedia · 2021–2022
Dutch at a glance
Dutch (Endonym: Nederlands [ˈneːdərlɑnts] , Nederlandse taal) is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the native language of most of the population of the Netherlands and Flanders (which includes 60% of the population of Belgium). Dutch was one of the official languages of South Africa until 1925, when it was replaced by Afrikaans, a separate but partially mutually intelligible daughter language of Dutch. Afrikaans, depending on the definition used, may be considered a sister language, spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, and evolving from Cape Dutch dialects.
From the Wikipedia article Dutch language (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Name in Dutch
- Nederlands
- Family
- Indo-EuropeanClassical Indo-EuropeanGermanicNorthwest GermanicWest GermanicMacro-DutchMiddle-Modern DutchModern DutchGlobal Dutch
- Writing system
- Latin alphabet (with the ij digraph)
- Direction
- Left to right
- Official in
- Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao, Caribbean Netherlands, Sint Maarten
- Codes
- ISO 639-3
nld· Glottologdutc1256· Q7411 - Writing sample
Alle mensen worden vrij en gelijk in waardigheid en rechten geboren. Zij zijn begiftigd met verstand en geweten, en behoren zich jegens elkander in een geest van broederschap te gedragen.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…”
Linguistic profile
How hard is Dutch for English speakers?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Dutch in Category I: about 24 weeks (600 class hours) of full-time study to reach professional working proficiency.
Source: FSI language learning timelines. See all languages ranked: hardest · easiest.
Feature values from the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS Online, CC BY 4.0).
The Dutch script
Latin alphabet (with the ij digraph). Tap a character to hear it (your device reads the letter name or sound).
Standard letters from Unicode CLDR exemplar characters.
Useful Dutch phrases with pronunciation
Numbers 1–10
- één
- twee
- drie
- vier
- vijf
- zes
- zeven
- acht
- negen
- tien
Days of the week
- Mon maandag
- Tue dinsdag
- Wed woensdag
- Thu donderdag
- Fri vrijdag
- Sat zaterdag
- Sun zondag
Everyday words
- water water
- cat huiskat
- dog hond
- coffee koffie
- beer bier
- bread brood
- book boek
Phrases and words checked against Wiktionary; days and months from Unicode CLDR. Audio uses your browser's built-in Dutch voice when available.
Dialects and varieties
Netherlandic Dutch
The Netherlands
Hard, throaty g (like the ch in Scottish “loch”), especially in the north.
Flemish (Belgian Dutch)
Flanders, Belgium
Soft g; “gij/ge” for you in speech; “goesting” (desire) and “amai!” (wow!).
Surinamese Dutch
Suriname
Influenced by Sranan Tongo and other languages of Suriname, with its own vocabulary and accent.
Afrikaans
South Africa, Namibia
Grew out of 17th-century Dutch into a separate language and remains largely intelligible to Dutch speakers.
Hear the dialects
Fun words, untranslatables and false friends
gezellig
Cosy, convivial, friendly: the warm feeling of good company.
uitwaaien
Going for a walk in the wind to clear your head.
lekker
Tasty, but also nice, comfortable, or “well done!”
pannenkoek
Pancake, and also a friendly insult: “you pancake!” = you idiot.
False friends for English speakers
| Dutch | Looks like | Actually means |
|---|---|---|
| brutaal | brutal | cheeky |
| slim | slim | clever |
| eventueel | eventually | possibly |
Curious facts
- Dutch gave English words such as cookie (koekje), yacht, boss (baas), skate and landscape.
- New York was once New Amsterdam: Brooklyn (Breukelen), Harlem (Haarlem) and Wall Street have Dutch roots.
- The digraph ij is treated almost like a single letter and capitalised together: IJsselmeer.
- The Dutch Language Union (Taalunie) sets spelling for the Netherlands, Flanders and Suriname.
- Like German, Dutch sends the verb to the end of subordinate clauses: “…omdat ik geen tijd heb” (…because I no time have).
Famous Dutch-speaking voices
Singers & musicians
Writers & poets
Film & TV
Other famous figures
Descriptions from Wikidata; photos from Wikimedia Commons under the licences shown.
Dutch culture now
Miffy
Fictional rabbit in books by Dick Bruna
The Diary of a Young Girl
Diary by Anne Frank
Soldier of Orange
1977 Dutch film by Paul Verhoeven
Turkish Delight (1973 film)
1973 film by Paul Verhoeven
Sinterklaas
Legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas
Undercover (2019 TV series)
Belgian-Dutch Dutch-language crime drama TV series on Netflix
Learn Dutch on YouTube
Free lessons from teachers and channels with Dutch courses. Videos load only when you press play.
The story of the language
Quick quiz: how well do you know Dutch?
Where to learn Dutch
The Endless Book
Read text you can understand, in the style of your favourite author and genre. About 30 languages.
LangMagicLangMagic Speak
Speaking lessons built around your topics, from materials you choose.
LangMagicLangMagic Meet
A virtual meeting platform built for language lessons, with follow-up exercises.
FreeWikivoyage Dutch phrasebook
Free travel phrasebook with pronunciation guide
FreeWikibooks: Dutch
Free, open textbook
FreeOmniglot: Dutch
Script, pronunciation and useful phrases
FreeWiktionary: Dutch dictionary
Free multilingual dictionary
Sources
- Speaker numbers: Ethnologue (L1) and Eurobarometer/University of Leicester (total), via Wikipedia, 2021–2022.
- Countries, populations, alphabets, days and months: Unicode CLDR 46.
- Classification: Glottolog 5.3. Grammar features: WALS Online.
- Introduction: Wikipedia, Dutch language (CC BY-SA 4.0). People and culture: Wikipedia and Wikidata. Images: Wikimedia Commons.
- Writing sample: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1, from the Unicode UDHR collection. Phrases and words: Wiktionary. Difficulty: US Foreign Service Institute.
- Map: Natural Earth via world-atlas (public domain).