Dutch is a difficult language to learn, and most of the words my Dutch boyfriend has taught me I can read, but definitely not pronounce. He has said himself Dutch is a difficult and ugly language and sounds like gargling marbles. However, some of the stuff he has taught me I have found very interesting from an English speaker's perspective. So, here is some Dutch according to my boyfriend from The Netherlands.
Parts of the Day
The orange lion of the Netherlands
Morgen (morning): sunrise - noon
Middag (mid day): noon - 6pm
Avond (evening): 6pm - midnight
Nacht (night): midnight to sunrise
Throw a 'goede' in before any of these and suddenly you can greet people in Amsterdam.
Rooibos
Rooibus tea's etymology is borrowed from Afrikaans rooibos, but originally from Dutch roots.
rooi = rood = red
bos = bosch = bush/woods
Redwood tea
It makes sense as to why the tea looks like chipped pieces of redwood bark.
When English = Dutch
Flag of the Netherlands
Here are the few Dutch words I have found that sound the same in both English and Dutch:
Smoothie
Bitch
You can call your American friend and your Dutch friend bitch. No worries about language barriers.
Hello is also fairly close to it's Dutch counterpart, which is hallo.
Phrases I Know
Ik ben lief: I am sweet
Ik ben een aardappel: I am a potato
Ik wil eten: I want food
I'm still working on how to say my coffee order because it has a lot of 'k' sounds in it...
Dutch is basically a lot of spit and sounds in the back of your throat. This is the easiest you'll get with the language. My boyfriend tried to make me pronounce some of their islands that they learn in school the acronym TVTAS for. They are Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, and Schiermonnikoog.
Don't try to pronounce Schiermonnikoog.
Instead, spend a day greeting your friends in Dutch and telling them you are a potato. I'm learning a few words and phrases, but there's no way I'm becoming fluent in Dutch any time soon. Thank goodness my boyfriend is fluent in English instead.
