100 Essential Dutch Words for Beginners (with English Translations)

Greetings & basics

16 words

English	Dutch	Type
hello	hallo	interjection
goodbye	tot ziens	interjection
yes	ja	interjection
no	nee	interjection
please	alsjeblieft	interjection
thank you	dank je	interjection
sorry	sorry	interjection
and	en	conjunction
but	maar	conjunction
or	of	conjunction
because	omdat	conjunction
here	hier	adverb
there	daar	adverb
always	altijd	adverb
never	nooit	adverb
together	samen	adverb

People & family

14 words

English	Dutch	Type
man	man	noun
woman	vrouw	noun
boy	jongen	noun
girl	meisje	noun
friend	vriend	noun
mother	moeder	noun
father	vader	noun
brother	broer	noun
sister	zus	noun
son	zoon	noun
daughter	dochter	noun
child	kind	noun
husband	echtgenoot	noun
parent	ouder	noun

Everyday verbs

16 words

English	Dutch	Type
to be	zijn	verb
to have	hebben	verb
to do	doen	verb
to go	gaan	verb
to come	komen	verb
to eat	eten	verb
to drink	drinken	verb
to want	willen	verb
to need	nodig hebben	verb
to know	weten	verb
to speak	spreken	verb
to read	lezen	verb
to write	schrijven	verb
to listen	luisteren	verb
to work	werken	verb
to buy	kopen	verb

Describing words

10 words

English	Dutch	Type
good	goed	adjective
bad	slecht	adjective
new	nieuw	adjective
old	oud	adjective
young	jong	adjective
tall	lang	adjective
short	klein	adjective
nice	leuk	adjective
kind	aardig	adjective
shy	verlegen	adjective

Colors

8 words

English	Dutch	Type
red	rood	adjective
blue	blauw	adjective
green	groen	adjective
yellow	geel	adjective
black	zwart	adjective
white	wit	adjective
orange	oranje	adjective
purple	paars	adjective

Numbers

12 words

English	Dutch	Type
one	één	number
two	twee	number
three	drie	number
four	vier	number
five	vijf	number
six	zes	number
seven	zeven	number
eight	acht	number
nine	negen	number
ten	tien	number
zero	nul	number
twenty	twintig	number

Time

10 words

English	Dutch	Type
today	vandaag	adverb
tomorrow	morgen	adverb
yesterday	gisteren	adverb
morning	ochtend	noun
afternoon	middag	noun
evening	avond	noun
night	nacht	noun
day	dag	noun
week	week	noun
month	maand	noun

Food & drink

10 words

English	Dutch	Type
water	water	noun
coffee	koffie	noun
tea	thee	noun
milk	melk	noun
bread	brood	noun
cheese	kaas	noun
fruit	fruit	noun
apple	appel	noun
egg	ei	noun
rice	rijst	noun

Home

4 words

English	Dutch	Type
house	huis	noun
door	deur	noun
window	raam	noun
bed	bed	noun

Emoji: Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0

Learn these Dutch words for good

Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch

A list is where learning starts, not where it ends. Watch Your Language puts Dutch words like these on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, so you see a few every time you check the time, and it schedules the repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.

You can add your own words too, from a photo, a page of notes or a spreadsheet.

Keep going with Dutch

Dutch vocabulary by topicLonger word lists, one topic at a time Dutch quizTest yourself on what you have learned Dutch vocabulary testFind your level How long does Dutch take to learn?A realistic plan

Dutch for beginners questions

What are the first Dutch words to learn?

Start with the words you use every day: greetings, numbers, the days and times, food, family and a handful of verbs. For Dutch that means words like hallo (hello), dank je (thank you), water (water) and eten (to eat). The list above groups 100 of them by topic.

How is Dutch written?

Dutch uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read the words above without learning a new script. 1 of the 100 words contain a letter or mark outside plain a–z, so learn those alongside the spelling.

Is 100 words enough to speak Dutch?

No. This is a starting set: enough to greet people, count, talk about time, name food and family, and say what you want or need. Conversation needs more words, and above all hearing and using them. Treat the list as the first step, then add words from topics you care about.

How do I remember these Dutch words?

Read a few at a time, say them out loud, and come back to them on a schedule rather than once. Watch Your Language puts words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting more often.