[A Dutch flag on the edge of a puddle of water]
colors, materials 		[A plate of fava beans, with bacon and potatoes]
meals 		[a handful of Brussels sprouts]
food 		[small saucepan: lidded pot with a stick handle]
kitchen		 [Me riding a bicycle]
bicycles 		[Cows in a meadow]
animals 		[a variety of items]
more
[The Face of Dutch]

Conversation Subjects: What to Talk about in Dutch (In Development)

Weather

't weer
weerbericht,
weersverwachting
hear 		the weather
weather report,
weather forecast

regen
wind
hagel
sneeuw
hear 		rain
wind
hail
snow
bliksem
donder
onweer
storm
hear 		lightning
thunder
thunderstorm
gale, high winds
regen
regendruppel
regenbui
hear - 2 		rain
raindrop
rain shower
regenpijp
regenton
regenwater
hear 		rain pipe
rain barrel
rain water
regenjas
regenpak
laarzen
zuidwester
hear - 2 		raincoat
'waterproof gear,' jacket & pants
boots
southwester (headgear)
plas
modder
nat
hear - 2 		puddle
mud
wet
onweer
bliksem
donder
hear - 2 		thunderstorm
lightning
thunder
dakgoot
bliksemafleider
hear - 2 		(roof-) gutter
lightning rod
motregen
mist
wolk
hear 		drizzle
fog
cloud
zonnig
helder
bewolkt
regenachtig
hear 		sunny
clear
cloudy
rainy
regenboog
zonneschijn
schemering
hear 		rainbow
sunshine
twilight
De zon schijnt
't Regent
't Vriest
Nachtvorst
't Dooit
hear 		The sun is shining
It is raining
It is freezing
Frost at night
[It is thawing] It stopped freezing
[golden raindrops: the Goudenregen Laburnum in bloom]
Goudenregen "Golden Rain" (Cytisus Laburnum)
Weather Expressions
't Is ... mooi weer ... warm ... koud - hear - 2 - It's ... nice weather ... warm ... cold
't Trekt dicht - hear - [It's pulling shut] - Clouds are forming
't Miezert - hear - 2 - [There is a drizzle] - It's miserable weather
't Kan vriezen en 't kan dooien - hear - [It may freeze or it may thaw] - Things can go either way
Geen wolkje aan de lucht - hear - 2 - [Not a cloud in the sky] - No problems are expected
Na regen komt zonneschijn - hear - 2 - 3 - 4 - [After rain the sun will come out] - Bad things don't last
De morgenstond heeft goud in de mond - hear - 2 - [The morning hour has gold in its mouth] - The early bird gets the worm
Als de dagen lengen, gaan de nachten strengen - hear - As the days get longer, the nights will get more severe (i.e. colder)
De stilte voor de storm - hear - The quiet before the storm (also figuratively)
't Regent pijpenstelen - hear - [The rain is like pipe stems] Very heavy rain
Wat een hondeweer! - hear - Such miserable [dog's] weather!
[a rainy day]
regen click to hear - 2 		[misty street]
mist click to hear		 [snow in trees]
sneeuw click to hear		 []
ijspegels click to hear
[a rainbow]
regenboog click to hear

Grammar

Dutchmen love to talk about (Dutch) grammar. Many drinking and eating establishments carry a copy of Maf van Waen's Standaard Grammatika (van Het Nederlands) - hear - 2 - to settle disputes among clients about fine points of grammar. (No need to look for it in a bookshop or on eBay, it's not for sale to the public.)
Like our present-day restaurant critics, Van Waen never had his portrait published. He wanted to mingle among the people anonymously to hear them speak freely, collecting material and continuously updating his Grammatika. Always deferring to the speech of the common people, treasuring and polishing the rough gems found in the street.
grammatica
regels
klemtoon
hear 		grammar
rules
stress
onderwerp
gezegde
meewerkend voorwerp
lijdend voorwerp
hear - 2 		subject (nominative)
complete predicate (the verbs)
indirect object (dative - "cooperating item/object")
object (accusative - "suffering item/object")
verbuiging
voorvoegsel
achtervoegsel
uitgang
hear 		conjugation, declination
prefix
suffix
ending
letter
lettergreep
woord
hear - 2 		letter, character
syllable
word
regel
zin
paragraaf,
alinea
hoofdstuk
hear 		line
sentence
paragraph
paragraph
chapter
komma
punt
puntkomma
dubbelepunt
hear 		comma
period, point
semicolon
colon
vraagteken
uitroepteken
haakjes
aanhalingstekens
hear 		question mark
exclamation mark
parentheses
quote marks
hoofdletter
kleine letter
streepje
apostrof
hear 		capital letter
undercase letter
hyphen
apostrophe
zelfstandig naamwoord
bijvoeglijk naamwoord
bijwoord
hear - 2 		noun ("independent name-word")
adjective ("adding-to name-word")
adverb ("secondary, help-word")
lidwoord
bepaald
onbepaald
hear 		article
definite ('the')
indefinite ('a')
tijd
enkelvoud
meervoud
hear 		tense
singular
plural
werkwoord
sterk
zwak
onregelmatig
hear 		verb ("work-word")
strong
weak
irregular
tegenwoordige tijd
vereden tijd
onvoltooid
voltooid
hear 		present (time)
past (time)
imperfect ('unfinished')
perfect ('finished')
onbepaalde wijs
voltooid deelwoord
lijdende vorm
hear - 2 		the infinitive
past participle
the passive ("suffering mode")
voorzetsel
persoonlijk voornaamwoord
bezittelijk voornaamwoord
hear 		preposition
personal pronoun
possessive pronoun
geslacht
mannelijk
vrouwelijk
onzijdig
hear - 2 		gender
male
female
neutral
'de'-woorden
'het'-woorden
hear 		nouns with 'de'
nouns with 'het'
vergrotende trap
overtreffende trap
hear 		comparative degree
superlative

verbs - adjectives and adverbs - the article - nouns startpage - personal pronouns - word order (sentences)

pronunciation - vowels - consonants - exercise - spelling - exceptions and irregularities

Sports

schaatsen
wielrennen
zwemmen
voetbal
hear 		skating
bicycling
swimming
soccer
 kaatsen
kegelen
korfbal
hear 		(proto-baseball)
(a kind of bowling)
(co-ed proto-basketball)
hockey
ijshockey
hear 		lawn hockey
(ice) hockey
wedstrijd
voetbalveld
bal
doel
doelpunt
hear 		game, match
soccer field
ball
goal
goal!
elftal
speler
aanvoerder
doelman
spits
hear - 2
(1 - 2) 		team (11)
player
captain
goalkeeper
forward
winnen
verliezen
aanvallen
verdedigen
hear

verbs

to win
to lose
to attack
to defend
English words like 'coach,' 'goal!' and 'keeper' are more common than the Dutch words. There is no Dutch word for 'hands!'
In my home town, some people called soccer 'sjotteren met een bledder' -hear- which must be a corruption of shoot a bladder. At my elementary school, 'bledder' was the word we used for 'soccer ball.' It's not common Dutch. I guess some Englishmen brought the game to my home town.

scheidsrechter
grensrechter
trainer
hear 		referee
side ref
coach
buiten spel
overtreding
strafschop
vrije trap
hear 		off-side
foul
penalty
free kick
schoolslag
vrije slag
vlinderslag
rugslag
hear - 2 		breaststroke
freestyle
butterfly
back stroke
[a brown and a dotted soccer ball]
't Is weer bruin of gespikkeld - hear - 2 - 3
[It's brown or dotted again] Soccer time! 		[chess pieces]
chess 		[playing cards in an antique box and a few dice]
cards and dice

Numbers and Time - Metric and Imperial Dimensions Compared
Hear Names of Dutch sportsmen and -women
De Elfstedentocht the 125-mile skating endurance event
Soccer Fields

News, Politics

nieuws
krant
tijdschrift
artikel
kop
hear 		news
newspaper
magazine
article
headline
(de) vrijheid
(de) gelijkheid
(de) broederschap
hear - 2 		(liberty)
(equality)
(brotherhood)
 (de) democratie
(de) verkiezingen
hear

(de) tolerantie
(het) respect
hear

(democracy)
(elections)


(tolerance)
(respect)
verkiezingen
stem
stemmen
partij
programma
hear 		elections
vote (also: voice)
to vote - more
political party
program
regering
kabinet
minister-president
minister
ministerie
hear - 2 		government
cabinet
prime minister
(government) minister
government department
Tweede Kamer
Eerste Kamer
Provinciale Staten
Gemeenteraad
hear - 2 		'House of Representatives'
'Senate'
Province Government
City Council
The 'Tweede Kamer' (Second Chamber) is far more important than the 'Eerste Kamer' (First Camber;) actually, the 'Eerste Kamer' is indirectly elected by the Province Governments. Because of the many political parties in Holland, cabinets are always coalitions.
meerderheid
minderheid
coalitie
hear 		majority
minority
coalition
links
rechts
progressief
conservatief
hear - 2 		left-wing
right-wing
progressive
conservative

(old-fashioned:)
vooruitstrevend
behoudend
hear

progressive
conservative
liberaal
centrum
groen
hear 		liberal, libertarian
center
'green'
Dutch Political Parties

A Few of The Dutch Newspapers online: 'AD' (Algemeen Dagblad) focus on sports, easiest to read
NRC Handelsblad leaning right
De Volkskrant leaning left
Dutchblog Israel

go to Religion

Everyday Dutch Words for basic conversation and reading
Useful Dutch Words and Phrases for Travelers
Learning Dutch? Lessons (Suggested Method)

email - Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2006. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Don't be a dief (thief) - dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2