Nederlands ~ Engels

Dutch ~ English

Welcome to the Dutch language course. Notice the arrows under the images of a number of cities where Dutch is spoken? Click on the arrow to hear how their names are pronounced in Dutch. There may be some surprises!

If you want more information on the course, here are a few pages that may give you that.

If you want to jump right in and start learning: there are three types of lessons:

1. Main lessons concentrate mostly on conversations to introduce grammar
2. Practice lessons concentrate mostly on practicing grammar, vocabulary building, listening, quizzes
3. Cultural lessons teach language the fun way. Songs, stories, poems, videos etc.

There are three levels, each consisting of two cycles of four lessons each.

At the end of this level learners should be able to form simple sentences in the basic tenses and possess a vocabulary of just over 1000 terms.

At the end of this level learners should be able to deal with complex sentences with complex verbal expressions and have a reasonable grasp of syntax.

At the end of this level learners should have full command over Dutch grammar and syntax, including a number of special topics.

This course is mostly based on (northern) standard Dutch, but it will at times go into the differences with other varieties. There are two special lessons that consider the relationship of northern standard Dutch with Afrikaans and Flemish

• Afrikaans — Comparison with Afrikaans, the language of South Africa and Namibia, and derived from Dutch.

Until 1928 it was seen as the same language as Dutch. Then both Dutch and Afrikaans became official languages of South Africa. Dutch ceased to have that role in 1961.

Afrikaans has its own wikibook, if you wish to learn it.

• Vlaams — Flemish is a special case, not a language and not a dialect. It is commonly spoken in Flanders but has no official status or anything comparable.

Dutch edition of Wikibooks.

• Een — Het alfabet ~ Dutch alphabet and Pronunciation Guide
• Twee – Zinnenboek ~ Common phrases in Dutch (Book of Sentences)
• Drie – Pronouns
• Vier – Websites
• Vijf – Hoe laat is het? ~ Asking the time
• Zes – Handig - Handy links - Newspapers in Dutch (& Afrikaans)

For children