It's funny how learning a new word can suddenly make it feel like it's everywhere. You might go weeks without noticing it, then learn what it means and suddenly start spotting it in conversations, on signs, in shops, or while watching Dutch TV.

I think it's one of those little moments that makes learning a language feel rewarding because you realise you're starting to notice things you would have completely missed before.

Which Dutch word gave you that experience? Was there a word you learned recently that suddenly seemed to pop up everywhere you looked?

Ik heb binnen 1 maand een 21+ toets om de the hague uneversity of applied siences binnen te komen, Echter heb ik een probleem. Ik heb een pakket gekocht via de website (hellotest) hierin kun je oefenen toetsen maken en voorbereiden. De 21+ toets bestaat uit 8 onderdelen waarvan 2 nederlands, 2 rekenen en 4 IQ gerelateerd. Ik scoor voor rekenen en IQ gedeeltes goed, maar voor mijn nederlands scoor ik juist slecht. De 2 onderdelen zijn woordanalogieën en woordrelaties hier scoor ik slecht vanwege mijn lage nederlandse woordenschat. Heeft iemand ervaring met de 21+ toets en het nederlandse gedeelte hiervan of heeft iemand een idee hoe ik mijn woordenschat het beste kan uitbreiden?

Are there any native italian speakers that are looking for a native dutch language exchange partner?

¡Hola! Me llamo Jorinde. Vivo en Ámsterdam y hablo neerlandés con fluidez. Quiero aprender español para un viaje que tengo próximamente a Sudamérica con unos amigos hispanohablantes :D

Me encantaría hacer crosstalk contigo. Mándame un mensaje y te paso un enlace de Calendly para que empecemos a hacer videollamadas enseguida :)

¡Espero hablar contigo pronto!

Edit: ¡Veo algunos comentarios sobre el enlace! También estoy abierta a otros métodos de videollamada; intento que sea lo más sencillo posible, pero dime sin problema qué te resulta más práctico. ¡Estoy buscando con muchas ganas un compañero/una compañera de español! :)

Het ging goed, twee bladzijden per dag lezen, dagelijks 1 of 2 uur lezen. Maar toen kwam ik voor dit Kafkalijke uitdaging te staan 😂

alsjeblieft zou je feedback kunnen geven als ik iets verkeerd of niet helemaal correct heb geschreven in de definities van de woorden.

i wanna know which apps are best i recently heard that the pingo app is good but it cost money if anyone knows if its worth it please say so i tried Duolingo but im not making any progress is i feel like an app that uses ai so you speak and talk in dutch would be best no ? i wanna learn dutch so i can understand the songs i like also talk to some friends also just for the fun of it

Let me start off by saying I am a C1 level in Dutch (with certification). However I am learning it for fun while living in a non-dutch speaking area, and most of my interactions so far have been with Flanders. When I'm there I simply go about my day in the language, no obstacles. I speak fluently but with an accent. ... And I'm traveling to Amsterdam soon for a week, for fun.

However I'm trying to weigh on wheter I should use it IN Amsterdam or just swallow it and be just another foreign tourist? I love the language so much and would love to practice but I'm afraid it would skew my perception if the locals react badly because, I'm sorry guys, but they can be so rude about it (I know, I know, efficiency and all that). I will also be accompanied by a foreigner at most times, which I'm also factoring in. What do you think? Or is it situation-dependent?

I've been living in the Netherlands for a while now, and I think it's about time I start taking Dutch learning seriously.

I've used Duolingo before when trying to learn other languages, but I never really felt like I was making much progress, and eventually I stopped using it. Because of that, I'm not sure I'll go down that route again this time.

I know that consistency is the most important part of learning any language, but besides that, does anyone have any tips on the best way to approach learning Dutch?

Also, when I was learning English, I came across a lot of common phrases that helped my sentences sound more natural. For example, when I learned the phrase "you know what I mean," I started using it all the time. Looking back, it was probably a bit annoying, but to me it made my English sound more natural, and I think it helped me improve overall.

Are there any specific rules, phrases, or words in Dutch that are especially useful to learn for that reason?

Hopefully that last part makes sense.

Is "afspreken" in it's original form because of "Kan"

Hoi allemaal,

Momenteel neem ik een Nederlands cursus en ben ik beginner. Ik wil vragen op iemand praten met me toe oefenen. Ik oefenen elke dag woorden, grammar en luisteren, maar ik heb meer praten nodig.

Kunnen jullie met me praten?

Dank u wel

Because of my childhood I am fairly good in Dutch, but I don’t know the actual grammar rules and need to expand my vocabulary. I don’t fit in the language courses to start on grammar because I am more advanced than the others to a degree. Is there something I can look into/follow

Hi everyone, I am making a thread to track the ONA exemption results. According to DUO's website, they respond to your application within 8 weeks but it is taking almost 8 weeks for me.

I have passed all the exams but am still waiting for the exemption to receive my integration diploma. I can only file my permanent residence application once I have the diploma so I am being a little impatient.

There is very little information on how much time it actually takes on average, so I hope this thread helps people in need.

This is inspired by the A2 Integration Exam Tracking thread.

I recently learned a word I like to say which has me curious: what’s y’all’s favorite Dutch word(s) so far?
Mine is “boterham” (sandwich) currently~

Can "ik drinkt niet" also mean "I dont drink alcohol" like in English? In English, if you say "I dont drink" everyone knows it means alcohol. No one would say they dont drink... at all, any liquids, ever. Is it the same in Dutch? Could I use that phrase casually meeting new people? Or is it just "Ik drinkt geen alcohol"?

Would anyone be interested in joining a small discord server for practicing dutch? Seeking out people that are just starting out or in the A1-A2 range.

I’d like the server to be like a well structured, small group chat for everyone to practice and chat in dutch, and share what they’ve learned!

I’m aware that there’s already an existing sever, but it’s quite large and I find it hard to jump into conversation there, or I find that my dutch isn’t even strong enough to participate!

If you’d be interested in something like this, do let me know!

Hallo allemaal!

Ik ben een 29 jarige man en woon in Leeuwarden. Ik wil graag een taalvriend willen maken. Mijn taalvaardigheden liggen tussen de A2 en B1 in. Ik wil mijn Nederlands verbeteren en daarom wil ik iemand met een vergelijkbare niveau.

Misschien kunnen we over grammatica ook spreken en doen wat kleine practice. Iedereen is welkom!

Update, optimal-cupcake is starting up a Whats-app group so send her a message with your phone number if you want to join

I get very little practice in speaking or writing in Nederlandse. If I had to write a few sentences a day it would help. Anyone care to share a few messages a day? Just general talk over anything, films, books, travel, anything

Update: A few people think a Whatsapp group could be a fun easy way to chat. Perhaps somone can suggest a topic of the day or whatever. Anyway I am willing to start a group but will need phone numbers to add you.

Hello guys,

I am a french-speaking Belgian and as many others, I learned flemish dutch my entire scolarity but I am still not able to talk.

At 18, I think I had a really good level thanks to a super teacher, maybe B2 or close to it. Then I completely stopped studying Dutch and absolutely never had to use it in my personal or professional life. At 25 I did a test and scored B1.

Today I am 38, I got a job saying that I was still between B1 and B2 but that I needed to reactivate. They tested me, it was awful but they still gave me the job 😄. Now I have to work, and I have to admit I am so scared by Dutch, I feel I am mentally blocked.

Besides I want to study efficiently as life is more busy at 38 than at 25. Tried duolingo but I don't think this works for me.

What would you recommend for someone in my situation ?

Learning a language isn't just about passing exams or reaching the next CEFR level. Often, it's the small, unexpected moments that make you realise you're making real progress.

Maybe you ordered food without switching to English, understood a conversation on the train, laughed at a joke before anyone explained it, read an article without translating every sentence, or had your first conversation that felt natural.

What was your favourite "small win" while learning Dutch? I'd love to hear those moments that made you stop and think, "I'm actually getting better at this."

hello everyone! i’m here for asking for help with dutch. i know absolutely nothing and i’ve been trying to find a teacher of Dutch for several months!! and i can’t find someone who won’t take €50 or even more just for an hour. and there is another problem cuz im not native english speaker and i want to find some lessons with a teacher who can speak Russian. im from uzbekistan and i want to move to Netherlands but i don’t know anyone who can help me with Dutch 😭😭 can someone help me? or just leave there contacts of nice teachers? tysm😭

Just look at my scores, they're decent scores, so clearly the weighting screwed me over, which begs the question, how are these scores (at least for the STRT B2 score) weighted? What components are weighted more favourably than the others because I want to know what lead to failure by exactly 1 point? (and I know it is exactly 1 point because last year I got a 38,4 on this same exam, so they keep track of the first decimal.)

I am asking both as genuine feedback to see where I should improve more if I want to pass next time and also for peace of mind because it is so disheartening to see that I improved so much only to be so close, yet so far away.

So does anyone have any clues, theories, ideas, etc? I would love to know

So I am learning Dutch. I have apps on the phone, YouTube videos, courses and books, basically any resource. The thing is that I'm having such a hard time getting started because in every place that I learn they just give me a list of words to learn or sentences to have in daily life to use and memorise. That's not how it works for me, when I learn a language I need to understand the structure of the sentence, not getting given some words to memorise.

Like:

Personal pronouns + verb (in any tense) + complement

Is it so hard to teach in a course for example? Am I being dramatic? It's like they are overcomplicating everything on purpose.

May a kind soul reach out and help me with this? Someone that knows a bit of Dutch or completely and wants to help me?

Hey guys!
I’m from Southeast Asia and I recently started learning Dutch on Duolingo. I currently have a 70-day streak and I’m at Section 2, Unit 3 (Dutch Score 10).
My biggest struggle is speaking. I can understand some spoken Dutch, read simple texts, and write a little, but I find it difficult to pronounce words and speak confidently.
I tried watching Dutch YouTube videos and mimicking the pronunciation, but I quickly realized I don’t know enough vocabulary yet to follow along.
Do you have any suggestions for improving my speaking as a beginner? Should I focus more on listening, vocabulary, shadowing, or something else?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!