List of Dutch Words

 

Many people choose to learn Dutch because it is widely used in music, films and other media. Some people wanted to speak Dutch fluently in order to travel or work in other countries where Dutch is the primary language.

Knowing enough Dutch words is necessary to be able to speak Dutch eloquently. Knowing the grammar alone will not teach you how to communicate with the 27 million Dutch speakers worldwide. Start off with a solid foundation by learning the basic Dutch vocabulary and common phrases. It's a good idea to first master the basics of grammar, then you can focus on further expanding your vocabulary. To improve your Dutch fluency, you will need to know more Dutch words.

There are many ways to quickly acquire Dutch vocabulary, as this article will show. With a list of Dutch words for beginners, intermediates, advanced students, or near-fluent learners, you can find a method that works for you.

How Many Words You Need To Know:

There is no way to accurately point out how many words you will need to speak Dutch fluently, like a native speaker. But there are some estimates based on research about the number of words required to speak Dutch fluently at different levels:

Without the 250 essential words, you can't make meaningful sentences. The first 250 words are the core vocabulary of any language, while the top 1000 Dutch words are required for approximately 80% of daily conversations.

Knowing the top 2,500 Dutch vocabulary words will help you communicate what you want to say in clear terms that anyone can understand. However, knowing 5,000 words will enable you to sound like someone who has completed high school and can comprehend around 90% of Dutch texts. We offer a special set of two frequency dictionaries, with the 5000 most Dutch common words.

 

With 10,000 words, you can have the active vocabulary that someone with higher education can have. You can understand 98% of all spoken Dutch language and 97% written Dutch. Additionally, it takes around 20,000 words to be able to comprehend, read, and enjoy works of literature. For those who are looking for vocabulary books at a lesser price, you can save 30% if you purchase our entire Dutch frequency dictionaries. Together, they provide the top 10,000 Dutch vocabulary words in context.

How Many Words You Should Learn Per Day:

You need to be a good learner and consider many factors before you decide on your daily vocabulary goal. You can still learn Dutch by adding at least one word each day. However, some people don't have the time to read or study. So if you are just starting out, and want to learn at least a thousand Dutch words, we suggest you learn ten new words per day. After 3 months of learning Dutch vocabulary, you will have about 900 Dutch words. That's enough to make it through your day as a tourist or if you are an expat.

Learning 20 Dutch words daily will make you reach your goal faster, as it will only take 50 days to learn 1000 words. Additionally, if you think you have enough time to learn at least 30 new words per day, you will reach 80% understanding, or enough to get by in the language, in about a month.

 

Protip:
One tip to get from successful polyglots is to focus on learning 20 new words each day. This mix of speed and time investment leads to more noticeable progress and a more successful language learning experience overall.

 

Common Dutch Words

As you probably know, most spoken communication is only made up of a handful thousand common words. Certain words are more commonly used than others, and so it is more important to know if you want a quick mastery of a language. Look at the list of Dutch words to quickly master practical Dutch vocabulary.

 

Below are the links to the paperbacks on Amazon. They are affiliate links. That means we might get a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking these links:

 

• Dutch Frequency Dictionary 1 - Beginner Vocabulary
• Dutch Frequency Dictionary 2 - Intermediate Vocabulary
• Dutch Frequency Dictionary 3 - Advanced Vocabulary
• Dutch Frequency Dictionary 4 - Master Vocabulary

 

A note on Dutch word lists divided by themes:

After you have built a solid base vocabulary, thematic vocabulary lists will help fill in the gaps. You can create or look for lists that are tailored to your specific circumstances. You are interested in nightlife work? Learn more related words. Do you plan to spend much more time at the beach than usual? The same goes here. It might seem like a good idea to learn a language and then to study vocabulary related to "the Airport". However, people are more comfortable speaking English at airports, and it doesn't seem like you will spend too much hours in them. It is better to begin with the top 1000 Dutch words. Then, you can move on to the thematic lists, such as "the supermarket" or the "restaurant", or the "shopping mall".

 

Essential Dutch Words

Start your Dutch journey by learning some basic terms. By starting with simple, common words, you can gradually build up your confidence and Dutch vocabulary:

 

Hello = “Hallo”

Goodbye = “Tot ziens”

Yes = “Ja” 

No = “Nee”

I = “ik”

He = “Hij”

She = “Zij” 

They = “ze”

Please = “Alstublieft”

Thank you = “Dank je”

Sorry = “Ik verontschuldig”

Bless you = “Zegen u”

Good morning = “Goedemorgen”

Good afternoon = “Goedemiddag”

Good evening = “Goedenavond”

To be = “Zijn”

To go = “Gaan”

To do = “Te doen”

To have = “Hebben”

To possess = “Bezitten”

To be able to/can = “In staat zijn om te” 

To say/tell = “Zeggen”

To come = “Komen”

To see = “Zien”

To give = “Geven”

To know/find out = “Weten”

To want = “Willen”

To arrive = “Aankomen”

To spend time = “Tijd doorbrengen”

To believe = “Geloven”

To put = “Om te zetten”

To name = “Benoemen”

Who? = “Wie?”

Where? = “Waar?”

What? = “Wat?”

Why? = “Waarom?”

When? = “Wanneer?”

Which? = “Welke?”

How? = “Hoe?”

List of Dutch Words

To learn a language, all you need is a word list. You will have a solid source of words to help you get started, even if you don't know where you should start. There are many word lists online and in books. Because of the different sources used, each list has different vocabularies in them. Your list should be based on both spoken and written Dutch. This is because the spoken and written languages may have different meanings. Written language is more complicated and includes a wider range of words. Spoken language is often simpler. Because they are related to spoken and written languages, we base our lists on the analysis of subtitles.

For learners looking for a practical and useful list of Dutch words, we recommend our Dutch vocabulary lists. Our dictionaries were created based on the frequency you would use a particular word. These dictionaries are designed to aid learners in expanding their vocabulary quickly. You will always be able to correctly pronounce a Dutch word, because they contain IPA phonetic transcriptions. Every entry comes with detailed grammatical details, which allow you to identify whether the word is a verb, adjective, or noun. The bilingual sample sentences accompany each entry, so you can see the word used in context. Additionally, you will get some reading practice. Once you finish the dictionary, you can read a short book in Dutch to English parallel text.

 

The books are sorted by:

1. General frequency, the most common words in Dutch in descending order.
2. Frequency as part of speech (a list of the most common Dutch nouns, verbs and adjectives), and
3. Alphabet, so you can easily look up terms.

You can get them as e-books from our website, or as paperbacks from Amazon.

 

• Dutch Frequency Dictionary - Beginner Dutch
• Dutch Frequency Dictionary - Intermediate Dutch
• Dutch Frequency Dictionary - Advanced Dutch
• Dutch Frequency Dictionary - Fluent Dutch

 

Conclusion 

It is essential to have a good knowledge of the vocabulary if you want to learn Dutch. It is crucial to learn Dutch by using the correct list of words. The books are a smarter way to learn Dutch vocabulary. It will save you a lot of time and frustration by investing in the right resources to learn words. Furthermore, it will help ease and shorten your learning process. You can find MostUsedWords Dutch Frequency Dictionary ebooks at our website or on Amazon as paperbacks.