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Common Dutch Words

A list of the most common Dutch words ordered by their frequency of use. You can use this list to learn words efficiently, ensuring you cover the basic vocabulary of Dutch.



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1 de  ©
     1. art. the (definite article, masculine and feminine singular, plural)
           De man - The man (masculine singular)
           De vrouw - The woman (feminine singular)
           Het boek - The book (neuter singular)
           De boeken - The books (neuter plural)
2 van  ©
     1. prep. of (possession, property)
           de hoed van het meisje - the hat of the girl
           het gewicht van een olifant - the weight of an elephant
     2. prep. of (general association)
           Zij was van adel. - She was of noble stock.
3 een  ©
     1. art. (indefinite article) Placed before a singular noun, indicating a general case of a person or thing: a, an. Compare with de and het.
4 het  ©
     1. art. the (the neuter definite article)
           het boek
             the book
           het meisje
             the girl
5 en  ©
     1. conj. and
           De oude man en de zee. - The Old Man and the Sea.
     2. conj. well, so
           En, hoe gaat het ermee? - Well, how're you doing?
           En? - Well?
6 in  ©
     1. adv. in, inside
     2. adv. (postpositional) into
           De jongen rende het huis in. - The boy ran into the house.
     3. prep. in (expressing containment)
           De geest in de fles - the genie in the bottle
7 is
     1. v. third-person singular present indicative of zijn; is, equals
           Twaalf min drie is negen — twelve minus three equals nine
     2. adv. (informal, dialect) misspelling of 's
8 dat  ©
     1. det. that (neuter); referring to a thing or a person further away.
           dat huis - that house
           dat kind - that child
     2. pron. (demonstrative) that, that there
           Wat is dat? - What is that?
9 op
     1. adv. up
           De bal stuiterde op en neer. - The ball bounced up and down.
     2. adv. (postpositional) onto, up onto
           De kat klom gisteren het dak op. - The cat climbed onto the roof yesterday.
     3. adv. Used in separative verbs meaning “to go away” with rude connotations.
10 te  ©
     1. adv. too (indicating excess)
           Te veel is nooit goed! - Too much is never good!
           Te gek! - Too crazy!
     2. prep. (modifying an infinitive verb) to
           Er is iets te eten - there is something to eat
11 zijn  ©
     1. v. To be, to exist.
           Zijn of niet zijn, dat is de vraag. - To be or not to be, that is the question.
           Was je er afgelopen zaterdag ook? - Were you there too last Saturday?
     2. v. Used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes it.
           De bal is rond. - The ball is round.
12 voor  ©
     1. prep. for
     2. prep. before
     3. prep. in front of
     4. n-n. pro, advantage, upside, positive
           Hij overwoog het voor en tegen. - He considered the pros and cons.
13 met  ©
     1. prep. with, along with (another person)
     2. prep. with, using (a tool, instrument or other means)
     3. prep. at, for, during (a holiday/festivity)
           Heb je zin om met kerst bij ons langs te komen? - Do you fancy visiting us for Christmas?
     4. prep. (telephone) (Used to answer a telephone call, followed by one's name, shortened from "u spreekt met...")
14 die  ©
     1. det. that (masculine, feminine); referring to a thing or a person further away.
           die boom
             that tree
           die vrouw
             that woman
15 niet  ©
     1. adv. Not, no: used to express negation.
           Niet storen! - Do not disturb!
           Dat is niet waar. - That is not true.
     2. n-f. staple
     3. v. first-person singular present indicative of nieten
16 aan
     1. prep. on
     2. prep. to
     3. adv. on, (of a device) being operative
     4. adv. on, (of clothing) being worn
     5. adv. In compounds with verbs:
17 er
     1. adv. there (unspecific to distance)
     2. adv. (with a preposition) it; him, her, them.
           Ik heb ermee gewerkt. - I have worked with it/them.
           Je kunt er de bergen boven zien. - You can see the mountains above it/them.
     3. adv. (partitive pronoun) of them, of those (often not translated in English)
18 om  ©
     1. prep. around, about
     2. prep. at (a time)
     3. adv. around, about
     4. adv. around, over (to another state)
           Hij zette de schakelaar om. - He turned the switch over.
19 ook  ©
     1. adv. also, too, moreover
           Dat kan ik ook. - I can do that too.
           Mentale gezondheid is ook gezondheid. - Mental health is also health.
     2. adv. (in negative sentences) either
           Ik kan dat ook niet. - I can't do that either.
20 als  ©
     1. conj. (subordinating) if, when
           Als je die knop indrukt, gaat de computer uit. - If you push that button, the computer will turn off.
     2. conj. when, as soon as
           Als het regent worden alle daken nat. - When it rains all the roofs get wet.
     3. conj. (Suriname) if, whether
Dictionary entries from Wiktionary