[The Face of Dutch]

Names of Some Foreign Lands, as Said in Dutch

On this page, you can hear how the names of some foreign countries are said in Dutch. It's often somewhat different from how people of those countries say it themselves. It is of course not possible to put the names of all countries of the world together on this page, and many countries don't have a Dutchified name.
On this page, you'll come across a few E's with two dots on top: ë - the dots (called trema click to hear in Dutch) indicate that the vowel is to be pronounced separately from the prededing vowel(s), that it is not part of a diphthong or long vowel: Azië click to hear - zie click to hear. It looks a bit like the German Umlaut, but that indicates a vowel sound change, a completely different function.

Speaking Dutch, we call Holland Nederland click to hear and Belgium we call België click to hear 2.
Ik ben in Nederland geboren. click to hear I was born in Holland.
Ik ben in Nederland geboren en opgegroeid. click to hear I was born and grew up in Holland.
Ik heb tot m'n zevenendertigste (37ste) in Nederland gewoond. click to hear 2 I have lived in Holland till age 37.
En toen ben ik naar Amerika gegaan. click to hear Then I went/moved to the US.
('Amerika' is of course the whole New World, but it often means 'the US.')

Nederlander click to hear 2 ('Dutchman') - landgenoot click to hear ('fellow countryman')
De wereld click to hear ('the world') - het buitenland click to hear 2 ('the world outside Holland and Belgium,' "Abroad") - buitenlander click to hear 2 ('foreigner')
Afrikaans, a language of South Africa with roots in Dutch, has the nice word uitlander click to hear 2 for 'foreigner.'

Ik ben een Amerikaan. click to hear I'm an American.
Ik ben een Engelsman. click to hear I'm an Englishman.
Hij is een Belg. click to hear He is Belgian
Hij is een Fransman click to hear He is a Frenchman.
Ze is een Française. click to hear 2 She is a Frenchwoman
Zijn tweede vrouw was een Belgische. click to hear His second wife was Belgian.
Hij is een Ier. click to hear He is an Irishman.
Hij is een Spanjaard click to hear He is [a Spaniard] from Spain.
As you see, the words for foreign nationals are a bit complicated. It is much easier to say: Ik kom uit ... click to hear ('I'm from ...')
Ik kom uit Amerika. click to hear I'm from the US.
Ik kom uit Engeland. click to hear I'm from England.
Or (depending on circumstances) you could say something like:
Ik woon in Amerika. click to hear I live in the US.

The Netherlands in The World - The Netherlands in Europe - Maps of The Netherlands ('Holland')

Engeland click to hear England
Schotland click to hear Scotland
Ierland click to hear Ireland, Eire
Amerika click to hear America, the U.S.
De Verenigde Staten click to hear 2 The United States
Californië click to hear California
Canada click to hear Canada
Australië click to hear Australia
Nieuw Zeeland click to hear New Zealand
Zuid-Afrika click to hear South Africa
Europa click to hear Europe
Finland click to hear Finland
Noorwegen click to hear Norway
Zweden click to hear Sweden
Denemarken click to hear Denmark
IJsland click to hear Iceland
Rusland click to hear Russia
De Sovjetunie click to hear The Soviet Union
Estland click to hear Estonia
Letland click to hear Latvia
Litouwen click to hear Lithuania
Polen click to hear Poland
Oekraïne click to hear Ukraine
Duitsland click to hear Germany
Frankrijk click to hear France
Zwitserland click to hear Switzerland
Oostenrijk click to hear Austria
Tsjechië click to hear The Czech Republic
Slowakije click to hear Slovakia
Tsjechoslowakije click to hear Czechoslovakia
Hongarije click to hear Hungary
Roemenië click to hear Rumania
Bulgarije click to hear Bulgaria
Griekenland click to hear Greece
Macedonië click to hear Macedonia
Servië click to hear Serbia
Kroatië click to hear Croatia
Slovenië click to hear Slovenia
Joegoslavië click to hear Yugoslavia
Italië click to hear Italy
Spanje click to hear Spain
Portugal click to hear Portugal
Afrika click to hear Africa
Azië click to hear Asia
China click to hear China
Korea click to hear Korea
Japan click to hear Japan
Thailand click to hear Thailand
Vietnam click to hear Vietnam
India click to hear 2 India
Indonesië click to hear Indonesia
Nederlands-Indië click to hear 2 The Dutch Indies
'Ons Indië' click to hear 'Our Indies'
Nieuw Guinea click to hear 2 New Guinea
De Filippijnen click to hear The Philippines
Israël click to hear Israel
Zuid-Amerika click to hear South America
Brazilië click to hear Brazil
Suriname click to hear Surinam(e)
Curaçao click to hear Curaçao
De Noordzee click to hear 2 The North Sea
De Atlantische Oceaan click to hear 2 The Atlantic Ocean
De Oostzee click to hear 2 The Baltic Sea
Het Kanaal click to hear 2 The English Channel
Het Nauw van Calais click to hear 2 The Narrows of Calais, The Straits of Dover
De Golf van Biskaje click to hear 2 The Gulf of Biscay
De Straat van Gibraltar click to hear 2 The Straits of Gibraltar
De Middellandse Zee click to hear The Mediterranean Sea
De Indische Oceaan click to hear The Indian Ocean
De Grote Oceaan click to hear The Pacific
De Stille Oceaan click to hear The Pacific

The adjective Indisch click to hear usually refers to the old Dutch Indies, though you would expect it to mean 'Indian' - the subcontinent. There is the adjective Indiaas click to hear for things Indian, but it doesn't sound like good Dutch. You could say uit India click to hear ('from India.') The people of India are called Indiërs click to hear in Dutch; the Dutch word for Native Americans is Indianen click to hear and the adjective is Indiaans click to hear 2.

Words and Phrases for Travelers and Visitors

This page was made because of a question from Malcolm Hatfield of London.

email - Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2009. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed, or hotlinked to.
Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2