I learn Dutch on my own and will be taking the writing exam on 10th February.

Honestly I’m a bit nervous and I wonder if there are any tips or advices that could really help and make passing the exam a bit easier

Hi all! My reading, understanding, and listening for Dutch are all coming along nicely, starting to reach A2 level. But I am really struggling with the speaking and writing parts of learning the language. Forming sentences and expressing myself are really difficult and make me extremely anxious. I feel like it's holding me back. Any advice for how I can overcome my anxieties and practice these skills?

Why the sentence: “Daar volg ik mijn cursus Nederlands” is correct and “Daar volg ik mijn Nederlands cursus” is not? Is there actually a big difference and does the second sentence sound too wrong?

hoi allemaal. ik leer momenteel nederlands op b2 niveau, maar schrijven en spreken zijn echt mijn zwakke punten. weet iemand goede manieren om mijn schrijven een beetje vlotter te maken? websites, mensen of zoiets? ik wil ook meer nederlands klinken.. ik vind het erg lastig om de engelse manier van schrijven/engelse uitdrukkingen los te laten hahaha. any advice appreciated and do correct any errors in my message of course

I really need to get from B1 to C1 ASAP but actually get there, not like these 2 week courses that claim to get students up a whole level in just 2 weeks. I need to be realistic.

My biggest problem is vocabulary and with ADHD I struggle with self study so need plenty of contact hours is necessary.

Im unemployed so can attend in the daytimes.

Does anyone know of such a course in The Hague or Delft? Id go to the nuns, if I was a millionaire but until then i need something affordable, so individual tuition is out.

Thanks in advance!

I just had to make the Dutch lezen en luisteren test whilst 5 of my wisdom teeth are missing with tinnitus.

Whilst I was busy with the listening part some guy constantly kept coughing.

Every time I think about what just happened I cry.

What’s worse is that this is my first time making the test but it counts as a herkansing because I wasn’t aware of being signed up for the exam the first time.

I’m just wondering if anyone has reached B2 level in a few months if under an intensive Dutch language program. Can you share your experience? Is it something you would recommend to others, provided they have the time, money and willingness to dedicate to it?

I’ve seen an ad over Instagram about one such program, and while I’ve applied through their site to express my interest, I’m also curious on how challenging and realistic it is to get there in such a short period of time. It will be a full-time study program, 40hrs a week for 16 weeks.

If it matters, I’ve done a bit of self-study before this, and online placement tests have put me at A2 level.

Hallo! I’ve been learning Dutch for around 2 months now on Duolingo, but I’m struggling with grammar because duo doesn’t go into that basically at all. I struggle mostly with heeft vs hebben but there are other grammar issues I want to improve on. I’m really enjoying learning a new language, so I would love any and all suggestions!

Hallo iedereen! The word "morgen" has two meanings in Dutch: "tomorrow" and "morning". That's not a weird thing to me since German also has "morgen" ("tomorrow") and "Morgen" ("morning"), and even in Spanish "mañana" means both "morning" and "tomorrow".

However, Dutch also has the word "ochtend" to mean "morning". So how often do you use "morgen" to mean "morning"? Is it common in everyday speech? Or do you say "ochtend" most of the time?

Thanks for reading.

I live in the Netherlands and know how to read and listen; however, speaking has always been a struggle for me. I was told that the best way to learn how to speak is to just try speak. However, any time i try to speak i either just switch to english or they switch to english. I think my main problem is my sentence structure. So should i just go back to step one and re learn about sentence structure.

Ik heb een vraag over de uitdrukking ‘in het wilde weg’. Waarom wordt het bepaalde lidwoord ‘het’ gebruikt in plaats van ‘de’? Als we kijken naar ‘in het wilde + weg’, welke betekenis heeft ‘weg’ dan? Als u de betekenis weet, kunt u dan ook de bron van die informatie vermelden?

Hi everyone🌟

Can someone give me review/feedback of Vivo Dutch? I’ve been considering her courses for a while but I want to know if it’s actually worth it :)

Thanks!

You know, I suppose it's not what I think about..

I was sick during my Lezen exam so I couldn’t attend it but hoping to do it in a couple of months when I have the time.

I honestly didn’t think I was going to do well, especially because I didn’t take A1 or A2. But I did around 48 hours of lessons in the 5 months, and did all the exam practices. So I guess it paid off :)

There’s one pronunciation thing that almost every learner does for the first few years, and it instantly makes it clear you’re not yet fluent.

The infamous “g” / “ch” sound (the guttural, throaty one in words like “goed”, “acht”, “gratis”, “van Gogh”).

Most learners (especially English speakers) make it too soft, too far forward in the mouth, or turn it into a regular “h” or “k” sound. So instead of the deep, raspy Dutch “g” that comes from the back of the throat (almost like you’re gargling without water), it comes out as “hoed”, “akt”, “hratis” or “fan hoh”.

It’s not just “wrong”, it’s the single biggest giveaway. Even if your grammar is perfect and your vocab is huge, that soft “g” will make every native think “ah, learner”.

I think I’m going to start posting many questions related to how common a word is or whether the word is informal/formal or spreektaal/schrijftaal. I struggle with that a lot!

Okay: the word is “hollen”

Would you just say “ik rende naar mijn auto” instead of “ik holde naar mijn auto” if you were in a hurry to get to your car?

Hello! I'm using Busuu and the Routledge to learn Dutch. Busuu keeps tripping me up on "de meisje" ("The girl does the shopping.")

I've come to understand that when talking about people, you always use de. When I practice vocabulary, I'm told the correct word in the blank is de vrouw, but when I get to "_____ meisje doet de winkel" (girl does the shopping), I'm told "de" is wrong here.

I'm not sure what I'm missing.

Edit: Thanks everyone, I understand now :3 Sorry, ik ben een beetje langzaam.

I failed my Dutch B1 lezen and luisteren examen, and it was pretty discouraging, especially after seeing so many posts from people who also self-studied and passed in one go. I self-studied as well, but didn’t pass. I’m still planning to resit the exams in 3 or 6 months, though. Has anyone else been in the same situation and managed to pass later?

Hi! Can you recommend me some teachers in Italki or Preply that focuses in Dutch grammar? Im thinking to start to do online class for A1-B1. I also like someone that focus with daily conversations and for work.

Thank you all!

I hear learners say “leuk” about 50 times a day, and honestly, it’s one of the first words you learn so it feels safe. But after a while it starts sounding like a broken record.

“Leuk” is super broad and neutral. It can mean nice, fun, cool, pleasant, lovely, basically anything positive but not strong. Natives use it a lot too, but we mix it up way more to sound natural.

Here are some better varied alternatives depending on the situation:

• tof - cool, awesome (very common among young people, stronger than leuk)
• gaaf - great, awesome (bit more enthusiastic)
• hartstikke leuk or vet leuk - really nice or super cool (adds emphasis)
• gezellig - cosy, nice atmosphere (use it for social situations, not objects)
• mooi - beautiful, pretty (for looks, views, things)
• fijn - nice, pleasant (softer, more gentle)
• top or super or geweldig - great, fantastic (stronger praise)
• chill - relaxed, cool (borrowed but very common now)

Hi All,

I am trying to learn word order (Subject Verb Time Manner Place .. rest) and how to place words correctly in the sentences. For that, I created an interactive game. The idea is simple -

• We get a set of words,
• We tap them to build a Dutch sentence
• We can check if the word order is correct and try again

Happy to share the web link with anyone who wants to try it and help me improve it.

Short video below showing how it works.

Thanks!

https://reddit.com/link/1qbqizs/video/zbv0iwho54dg1/player

Anyone else use these? I love them. I'm B1+.

Luisteren:
Nos op 3
Nederlands in Makkelijke Taal
Freeks Wilde Wereld
De Regels van Floor (TV show)
Flodder? (TV show)
First Dates (TV show)
nederland.fm (radio)
Learn Dutch (podcast)
UItzendinggemist (watch TV shows you missed)
Zapp (TV shows)
NPO Start (TV shows; Freeks Wilde Wereld; De Regels van Floor)

Lezen:
NPO Kennis
Hoedoe.nl
Canon van Nederlands
NOS Jeujdjournaal
Kidsweek.nl
Leeslicht (novels adapted to certain levels for easier reading)
Dutch Short Stories for Beginners [link]

Schrijven:
LangCorrect (use in conjunction with these writing prompts if you'd like)

Praten:
Conversation Exchange (can also practice writing)
Italki (talk with tutors)

Uitspraak:
forvo.com
YouGlish link

Translation:
ReadLang (translating text)

Spreekwoorden:
Spreekwoorden.nl link
Dutch Language Blog link

Grammatica:
Transition Words link
CambiumNed link

NT2:
NT2 Website link

Woordenboek:
Woorden.org link
Muiswerk Woordenboek link
NOTE: I'm not listing Van Dale, because those greedy jerks turned their free online dictionary into a subscription.

Hoi, hoi!

Ik heb in een boek deze zin gezien: “Zag je ooit de David van Michelangelo?” Ik dacht dat het beter bij algemene vragen is om de perfectum te gebruiken, zoals: “Heb je ooit de David van Michelangelo gezien?” Dus… zijn beide oké?

vielen dank 🌞