Charmingmarie
  • Home
  • Expat life
    • How to Spend the Holidays Abroad as an Expat
    • Can you Easily Live in the Netherlands Without Speaking Dutch?
    • American Things I Miss the Most While Living Abroad
    • Here are the Best Places to Live in Europe if you want to Leave the US
    • What I Wish I knew before Moving Abroad
  • Destinations
    • Visiting the Algarve in Winter + what to see & do
    • Visiting Amsterdam For the First Time? 11 Must-Have Tips
    • What to do in Rotterdam for a Weekend Getaway
    • Off the beaten track Netherlands: Hidden Gems
    • Why You Must Visit California Now
  • Love & Dating
  • Netherlands
    • Dutch Culture
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • My videos
  • Contact
Featured posts
    • Netherlands
    • Travel
    • Video
    What to see and do in Lage Vuursche
    • Video
    7 Culture Shocks as an American in the Netherlands
  • View of Palermo Sicily from the historic Palermo Cathedral
    • Travel
    • Video
    The Best of Palermo Sicily: a vibrant & underrated city
    • Netherlands
    • Travel
    • Video
    Keukenhof – the world’s most beautiful spring garden
  • Dutch spreads
    • Dutch Cuisine
    • Video
    Dutch Sandwich Spreads
Follow Me
Instagram
Pinterest
RSS
Charmingmarie

California girl in the Netherlands

  • Home
  • Expat life
  • Destinations
  • Love & Dating
  • Netherlands
    • Dutch Culture
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • My videos
  • Contact
Things Dutch people say
  • Dutch Culture

Things Dutch People Say

  • 1 minute read
Total
3
Shares

There is no denying that the Dutch language is a hard one to crack! Even more so are the expressions Dutch people use daily. To fully understand these you will need some background into Dutch culture. Let me teach you some of the statements I have learned so far to help you better navigate Dutch day-to-day life.

This post was co-written by my very own Dutchie to provide some in-depth explanation where needed.

“Oké doei”

This infamous statement originated in 2013 as an internet meme. It can be used to abruptly end a conversation you no longer wish to take part in.

For example: when a colleague at the office makes a bad joke or comment and you no longer want to be part of the conversation, you can say “oké doei!” and take off. This also applies when you’re in a conversation with your friend and you run into an awkward silence. You can say “oké doei” and leave the premises. However, don’t do this if the other person is your boss, then it’s considered rude.

“(Dat is) gezellig“

Any foreign person will have difficulty trying to understand this word. In english it translates to “cosy” which honestly is a stretch. The best way I can explain gezellig is a particular feeling. Imagine that you are having friends over for drinks and are enjoying each other’s company. You can describe the very moment as Gezellig.

“Stuur me een tikkie”

Tikkie is a thing Dutch People say
Tikkie is a thing Dutch People say

Tikkie is a payment app used in the Netherlands and the perfect way to save the awkwardness when trying to split the bill amongst friends. “Stuur me een tikkie” basically means “Pay me back!”. Let’s say you went on a walk with friend and bought a muffin to share. You’ll most likely be receiving a tikkie for half of that muffin €2.30. I’ve heard stories from friends who have received Tikkies for 50 cents!

You may have heard of the known stereotype that the Dutch are cheap, hence the popular saying “Let’s go Dutch”. Trufully, I just think that the Dutch are very careful with their money and like to keep a tight eye on it.

“Het is (scheit)weer”

Dutch weather can be very complicated, especially when it rains. Dutch people have a lot of different ways to refer to ‘bad’ weather, depending on the type and severity. Some examples:

Scheitweer (shit weather): bad, (rainy) weather.

Hondenweer (dog weather): also rainy weather, but more often referred to pounding rain.

Zeikweer (nagging weather): when it is (softly) raining for hours on end, of the whole day.

“Dat is de leven”

A technically incorrect way of saying ‘this is the life’, made famous by Dutch rapper Sef in 2011. While the correct translation would be ‘het leven’; many Dutch people will say this instead when referring to a certain (positive/noteworthy) moment in life instead of the correct spelling.

Example: “What did you do this weekend?” “Oh it was great, I chilled on my balcony and hang out with my friends all weekend.” “Dat is de leven!”

“Doe (zelf) normaal”

There is a famous Dutch saying “Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg”. This loosely translates to: “When acting normal, you are already acting crazy enough” and Dutch people live by it. It ties into the ‘Dutch directness’ (I can write a whole separate post on this later) where Dutch people tell you something straight up, somewhat bluntly if so.

A great example is given by two Dutch politicians in the video below. Geert Wilders (Freedom Party) is provoking Mark Rutte (PM, Liberal party) he needs to “doe normaal” (act normal) but gets it right back. (Note: this was considered extremely rude, because in Dutch parliament you cannot direct someone directly, but have to address to the parliament speaker instead).

Total
3
Shares
Pin it
Share
Tweet
Save
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • Dutch Culture
Hannah Scott

You May Also Like
Life in the Netherlands
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Dutch Culture
  • Expat Life

What is Life in the Netherlands like for an American?

Funny Dutch Phrases
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Dutch Culture

10 Funny Dutch Phrases Directly Translated to English

King's Day
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Dutch Culture
  • Travel

What is King’s Day and why do the Dutch celebrate it?

Culture Shock in the Netherlands
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Dutch Culture

5 Things That Gave me Culture Shock in the Netherlands

Dutch Winter Snacks
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Dutch Culture

Delicious Dutch Winter Snacks

Learn Dutch Online
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Dutch Culture

Is it Difficult to Learn Dutch Online? – A Student’s Perspective

Speaking Dutch
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Dutch Culture

Can you Easily Live in the Netherlands Without Speaking Dutch?

Cycle in the Netherlands
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Dutch Culture
  • Expat Life

Why does Everyone Cycle in the Netherlands?

6 comments
  1. mICHAEL says:
    April 25, 2020 at 7:55 am

    i WILL TAKE NOTE OF THESE. THANKS! I know these versions in some asian countries. confusing at first really

    Reply
  2. Ben says:
    April 25, 2020 at 12:35 pm

    I learned german and thought it’s close to dutch but now i realized these words are very different

    Reply
    1. Hannah Scott says:
      April 25, 2020 at 2:40 pm

      My Dutch friends say they are able to understand German better than Germans can understand Dutch apparently. The language looks a bit similar but sound different.

      Reply
  3. Olufunke Kolapo says:
    April 25, 2020 at 1:38 pm

    It’s awesome to learn a little about some of the places or culture I.don’t know about. Thank you.

    Reply
  4. Heidi Slowinski says:
    April 28, 2020 at 12:30 pm

    This is really fun! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Rose Ann Sales says:
    April 29, 2020 at 10:38 am

    This topic is so cute!and I found it so cool when Dutch people says okie dokie.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Charmingmarie
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Managed WordPress by Digital Knowhow
California girl in the Netherlands © 2023

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Please choose your cookies 🍪
We would like to use cookies to improve your browsing experience and to show ads that support our website. When you accept, we may process your personal data. You may also choose which cookies we can use. Please be advised that denying certain cookies may adversely affect certain features and functions on our website.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Choose
{title} {title} {title}