How to Say Hi in Dutch
If you want to say hi in Dutch, you would simply say “hoi“. The more formal hello is “hallo“. Regional varieties of “hi” include “heuj“, “alo” and “huijj” but sticking to “hoi” or “hallo” is generally all you need.
If you’re considering studying Dutch, know that you’ll benefit from learning one of the major European languages—belonging to a culture with a long history of both travel and trade, plus an attitude of openness to the broader world. This is fitting, given that Dutch is the official language in so many far-reaching countries—from the Netherlands and Belgium, to Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba.
Because the Dutch are particularly famous for their focus on tolerance and acceptance, Dutch is a wonderful second or even third language to pick up. At any given moment in the Dutch capital, around 30% of Amsterdam’s population is comprised of out-of-town visitors and tourists. You can definitely use this to your advantage to help you feel more confident diving into the Dutch culture and practicing speaking Dutch. Unlike many other cultures, the Dutch are far less likely to be offended if you make a small grammatical mistake (or a few big ones) when learning to speak the language. Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion® methodology teaches you to speak the language, not just memorize the words. What makes this approach effective is that we prepare you to use your new language in your everyday life. So, it’s not just about the features, but what you’re able to do because of them. It helps you get ready to handle situations with confidence.
Learn Dutch Words and Phrases
Our first stop on the language-learning journey is the Dutch alphabet. The official form of Dutch is known as Algemeen Beschaafd (ABN), or General Civilized Dutch—Standard Dutch, in English. Standard Dutch has the same 26 letters as the English alphabet. In addition, there is ij (lange ij), which was once written as y. The letter y is also the only letter in the Dutch alphabet that is called by its name: Griekse y (Greek y) or ypsilon (after the Greek letter).
Most consonants in Dutch are pronounced roughly the same as English with a few deviations. The letter d is pronounced as you would in English, unless it appears at the end of a word, where it is pronounced as a t, as in hound (dog).
If you find g at the start of a word, you will need to make the famous Dutch guttural sound— technically called a uvular fricative. It is similar to the sound you might make clearing your throat.
Try your hand (or tongue) with these:
- geinig = funny
- grap = joke
Some people find it hard to distinguish between the soft g and the h. Practice speaking the following pairs aloud and see if you can hear the difference:
- gaan = to go
- haan = rooster
- goed = good
- hoed = hat
- gier = vulture
- hier = here
- gek = crazy
- hek = fence
- gang = corridor
- hang = tendency
Now that you’ve got the hang of it, try this tongue twister: Het gaat heel goed (It is going really well).
If you come across an r before the letter g, it usually is silent. Elsewhere in the word it is pronounced as you would in English, as in regendruppel (rain drop).
Additionally, the Dutch have three consonant combinations where the separate consonants are merged to create a new sound: ch, sch, and ng. When we combine ch in Dutch, we get a sound that is the same as the letter g, such as licht (light). You pronounce the sch combination similarly, but with an s before, as in schip (ship). And, pronounce ng as you would in the English words king, long, or string, as in zingen (to sing).
Improving and refining your pronunciation requires that you receive real-time and accurate feedback. Rosetta Stone embeds our patented TruAccent™ speech-recognition engine into every Dutch language lesson. It provides precise and instant feedback to help you match your pronunciation and accent with that of fluent Dutch speakers. Such feedback will allow you to make any needed corrections to your Italian pronunciation. From there, you will want to practice until you get a feel for how to shape the sounds of the Italian language.
After you have acquired the basics of speaking the language, you will be ready to move onto learning the longer phrases that so often come into play in everyday conversation. Rosetta Stone’s 10-minute language lessons are designed to lead you along the path of learning to understand and speak Dutch with confidence. Rosetta Stone lessons will help you acquire vocabulary and proper pronunciation for real-world situations.
Try Our Award-Winning App
Surround yourself with Dutch whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app.
Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up. And explore dynamic features, like Seek and Speak, where you can point at an object in the real world and get a translation.
The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.
