Basic Dutch vocabulary
Dutch vocabulary is remarkably similar to English – in fact, if you speak English, you already know a vast amount of Dutch vocabulary! The simple Dutch sentence “De kat zat op de mat” highlights this shared vocabulary. What do you think words like discriminatie, extrapolatie, unificatie, publicatie, and complicatie mean? This shared vocabulary between English and Dutch puts English-speaking learners at a great advantage, and you'll find picking up vocabulary is astoundingly easy.
Below, we introduce some simple Dutch vocabulary covering a variety of topics.
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Contents
Numbers
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| Zero | nul |
| One | een |
| Two | twee |
| Three | drie |
| Four | vier |
| Five | vijf |
| Six | zes |
| Seven | zeven |
| Eight | acht |
| Nine | negen |
| Ten | tien |
| Eleven | elf |
| Twelve | twaalf |
| Thirteen | dertien |
| Fourteen | veertien |
| Fifteen | vijftien |
| Sixteen | zestien |
| Seventeen | zeventien |
| Eighteen | achttien |
| Nineteen | negentien |
| Twenty | twintig |
| Twenty-two | tweeëntwintig |
| Hundred | honderd |
| Two hundred | tweehonderd |
| Five-hundred and seventy-eight | vijfhonderd achtenzeventig |
| Thousand | duizend |
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Animals
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| The animal | Het dier |
| The cat | De kat |
| The dog | De hond |
| The spider | De spin |
| The human | De mens |
| The bear | De beer |
| The bird | De vogel |
| The lion | De leeuw |
| The snake | De slang |
| The mouse | De muis |
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Food
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| Food | Eten |
| Drinks | Drinken |
| The fruit | Het fruit |
| The bread | Het brood |
| The sandwhich | De boterham |
| The cheese | De kaas |
| The milk | De melk |
| The coffee | De koffie |
| The tea | De thee |
| The potato | De aardappel |
| The apple | De appel |
| The strawberry | De aardbei |
| The water | Het water |
| The meat | Het vlees |
| The chicken | De kip |
| The chips (fries) | De friet |
| The wine | De wijn |
| The peanut butter | De pindakaas |
| The sweets (candy) | De/Het snoep |
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Health
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| The body | Het lichaam |
| The eye | Het oog |
| The head | Het hoofd |
| The leg | Het been |
| The arm | De arm |
| The hand | De hand |
| The medicine | Het medicijn |
| The sickness / disease | De ziekte |
| The insulin | De insuline |
| The morphine | De morfine |
| The paracetamol | De paracetamol |
| The codeine | De codeïne |
| The ambulance | De ambulance |
| The hospital | Het ziekenhuis |
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Computer parts
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| The computer | De computer |
| The computer parts | De computeronderdelen |
| The monitor | De monitor |
| The CPU | De CPU |
| The motherboard | Het moederbord |
| The GPU | De GPU |
| The fans | De computerfans |
| The mouse | De muis |
| The keyboard | Het toetsenbord |
| The speakers | De speakers |
| The cable / wire | De kabel |
| The computer case | De computerbehuizing / behuizing |
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Weather
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| The weather | Het weer |
| The weather forecast | Het weerbericht |
| The temperature | De temperatuur |
| The rain | De regen |
| The sun | De zon |
| The moon | De maan |
| The snow | De sneeuw |
| The storm | De storm |
| The snowstorm | De sneeuwstorm |
| The wind | De wind |
| The thunder | De donder |
| The lightning | De bliksem |
| The cloud | De wolk |
| The ice | Het ijs |
| The pollen | Het stuifmeel |
| Pollen allergy | Pollenallergie |