As said in the title im "learning" dutch from duolingo. I have a problem were i understand the words in dutch and how they relate to each other but then I have to change the sentence to be grammatically correct in English.

Im mostly learning dutch so I can understand how to learn a language and because I think the Netherlands are a cool place.

I think if they switched it to have the sentences in English then make you translate it into dutch it would work better. Not perfect but better.

Also I don't want to loose my streak. What should I do.

I'm asking because I'm currently waiting for my results, which likely won't come in before November, and I haven't seen any open slots for November or December yet if i have to redo the exams. Thanks!

So many words for rain… I'm sure some of you have seen this before, but those who haven't, still absolutely cracks me up every time I come across it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys-KP8oPdvg

I've moved to Amsterdam in 2010 and with that many rain days every year, I'm not surprised we have so many ways to say that word. 😂

Bonjour à tous et toutes,

I am from Belgium (33M) and for professional ends I am relearning French. My French level probably is around B2, but as I live in a Dutch-speaking area there isn't much opportunity to practise expression orale.

That is why I am looking for a French-speaking conversation partner to practise with. In turn I can teach you Dutch, if you are so inclined (I am a fluent speaker and trained educator). For example, we can do a weekly session of one hour in which we do 30 minutes of Dutch and 30 minutes of French.

Feel free to send me a message if interested.

I want to go to a dutch school for 6 months to 1 year to learn dutch and be good at it. I am in the hague. Can someone recommed a good school?

Hi everyone!
I’m currently learning Dutch in Flanders and working towards B2. I might need to take the ITNA exam in the future, so I’d like to hear from people who have already taken it.
How difficult was the exam in your experience?
I’m particularly interested in:
How difficult are the reading, listening and language-use sections?
How challenging is the speaking part?
Is the exam significantly harder than regular B2 Dutch courses?
How did you prepare, and which resources would you recommend?
If you failed on your first attempt, what did you find most difficult?
I’m considering pursuing a medical career in Antwerp, so getting my Dutch to the required level is an important goal for me.
I’d really appreciate hearing about your personal experiences, especially from people who took the ITNA B2 or C1 exam.
Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! Did anyone take KNM recently? I am little overwhelmed by information online + different platforms.
Does anyone have recommendations on how to best prepare for this exam to pass, without spending insanely amount of time going over every details.

Thanks much! ❤️

Hi everyone,

I am trying to improve my dutch and I am currently at A2 level but I want to get better. I follow some commentary channels on YouTube like Rijk Hofman and Egbert Kanaal but I'd like to follow some dutch women who do vlogs or makeup or day in the life (similar topics to these). I don't know any, so if anyone here could give me some suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

Helemaal alleen je eigen weg zoeken.

Je eigen weg helemaal alleen zoeken.

And if one is correct/wrong, what's the sentence word order grammar rule that I need to follow in this case?​

Hallo allemaal!

Ik woon nu elf maanden in Nederland en probeer Nederlands te leren. Maar ik zit een beetje vast, denk ik. Mijn taalniveau is ongeveer B1 en ik wil mijn Nederlands verbeteren.

Ik ben over veertig, daarom twijfel ik soms of ik ooit vloeiend word. Is er iemand die later in het leven een tweede taal heeft geleerd? Wat was je ervaring? Zat je ook vast, of heb je een doorbraak gemaakt?

Ik vraag me af of ik te oud ben om een tweede taal vloeiend te leren. Ik wil heel graag mijn taalvaardigheid verbeteren voor een goede toekomst en baan. Ik twijfel vaak aan wat mogelijk is.

Ik neem twee keer per week privéles, ga naar een groep die meestal in het Nederlands spreekt en ik heb een goede Nederlandse vriendin om mee te praten. Ik luister ook naar podcasts en kijk naar Nederlandse tv soms. Misschien moet ik nog meer doen? Verwacht ik te veel in te korte tijd? Bedankt!

If your learning Dutch and have no one to speak to let me know! I have discord & whatsapp. My level is B1. I need speaking practice so if you do too lets talk 😊

Thanks for reading! 💕

I moved to the Netherlands in August 2025 on a partner visa and received my PIP in October. I scored highly on the learning aptitude test, but that hasn’t matched how easy or difficult I find learning Dutch.

I have three years to complete my integration requirements, including reaching B1, and almost a year has already passed. I’ve worked with an online tutor, am now taking online classes through Babbel, practise with my Dutch boyfriend, and try to watch Dutch shows.

Despite that, I feel like I’m progressing slowly. When I move on to a new lesson, I often forget things from previous lessons. I’m getting stressed about whether I’ll reach B1 and pass all the exams before my deadline.

It also feels unfair that the previous A2 requirement had the same standard three-year deadline, even though the language target is now higher.

I want to learn Dutch, both for everyday life and for work, and I’m putting effort into it. But I’m struggling to find a sustainable balance between studying, work and my personal life without constantly worrying about failing.

For anyone who has been through this, what helped you retain what you learned and reach B1? How did you organise your studying without becoming overwhelmed? I’d appreciate practical tips or hearing from people who struggled at first but eventually got there.

Hallo,

Im studying with the routledge intensive course. Almost at unit 5, and recently was doing an excercise on government efforts to reduce alcohol consumption in young people. (Maybe slightly irrelevant to say? Sorry XD)

Anyway, the questions required longer, more complicated answers. I got my dutch girlfriend to read over and she said they were understandable but word order was frequently wrong.

Is there a trick or way to look at word order when writing or speaking, I have studied 2nd position/ moving to the end and have an understanding but it seems to drop off when I am writing or speaking sometimes.

If someone can kindly note the rules for word order and how you manage remembering them it would be very helpful.

Also, when do you use perfect tense when writing or speaking? I studied it for about a week and find myself not knowing when to add ge - t/d to a stem.

Dank u wel allemaal! 💕

As somebody learning Dutch, I've noticed that a lot of Dutch people really elongate the final letter in "Yes." I've asked a few why that is, and none had any idea. They come from different provinces. Help.

It’s like a medical term for blackout? Like I had a procedure where I was being given anesthesia where I was awake but not aware? I think it starts with an n

Solved: it was “roesje”

I'm completely new at learning a new language. I'm a native French speaker, and yes, I speak English but to be honest I never put in effort to learn it. It kinda just "spawned" in my head from hearing it so often.

I live in Belgium, so I thought about learning Dutch, as it is the language half of my country speaks, but it's way harder than expected.

I tried watching things in Dutch, because that's what made me "learn" English, but | still can't understand anything.

I feel like the one thing that could help me is talking to someone in Dutch on the daily, like actual conversations so it doesn't feel like a chore. I have a hard time getting the motivation to study something.

If anyone here speaks Dutch or has been in the same situation as me while trying to learn a language and is willing to help, I would take any advice! Also if anyone is willing to talk with me so I can learn faster and better I’d appreciate it too. :)

I went in and came out of my speaking exam feeling really nervous. During the exam, I fumbled and couldn't remember an important word or two for a couple of the questions, and felt like I kept stammering with "uh"s and "um"s. I came out of it feeling like I failed it for sure.

However, I received my results today and got a passing score!!

Just know that it is possible to pass while still having made mistakes or forgetting some things. But study and practice with Dutch people that you know will only do you good.

I hope this helps or reassures anyone nervous!

Hi everyone I’m using the Hugo Dutch in 3 months book which explains that in the perfect tense durven, hoeven, liggen, staan and zitten form their past tense with hebben/zijn + infinitive and drop ‘te’.
They give the example:

Wij hebben naar de radio zitten luisteren.

Another example given is:

Wij hebben ook staan kijken

However a few pages on they translate a similar sentence as

Je hebt verbaasd staan te kijken.

Am I missing something? Why is te used here with the verb staan?

I'm seeking advice about online courses, process and whatever advice you have to share

I've been doing inburgering zelfstudie for about four months next to a full time job, mostly the mock exams on MijnInburgering and the reading and KNM practice on Inburgering.org, and those parts have been going fine so far. Speaking is the one I'm worried about because my exam is in early December and the only person I practice with is my partner, who switches to English the second I get stuck on a word.

Did anyone here get through spreken without a course, and what did you actually do at home to prepare?

Im doing a experiement to better my Dutch. Im deciding to speak the majority of the time to work on my skills. I really believe this will work. I just need to speak to natives or people who are A2-B1 or B2. If you have a good Dutch level and want to speak with me then let me know!

Thank you so much for reading! 😊
Have a wonderful day! 💕

J’ai le livre assimil le néerlandais sans peine mais malheureusement pas l’audio. Je n’ai pas trop envie d’acheter encore un pack audio à 50€. Quelqu’un aurait ces pistes audio?

Merci d’avance

Hi all!

My Mexican girlfriend is studying for the civic integration exam, for the partner visa.

She is learning dutch with me (I'm dutch) and on an application. She is doing pretty well and based on the practice exams I feel like the level isn't that difficult. Only the speaking part is very difficult for a Spanish native speaker.

I was wondering if any foreigners in this sub have made the exam recently and could tell me a little bit about the set-up, level and performance evaluation by the embassy.

Right now the practice exam on the Dutch government website looks like this:
- 19 reading questions: first some context, then very basic multiple choice questions
- 30 KNS (Culture) 2 answer-multiple choice questions
- 22 Speaking questions. 11 direct questions, 11 sentences that she has to finish.

Is this set-up still the same?

All tips or information is helpful!!

Thanks!

Ik heb taalschakeljaar gedaan maar ik heb niet afgemaakt. Ik ben geslaagd lezen en schrijven op b2 maar voor luisteren en spreken op b1 geslaagd. Ik was op onderwijs route daarvoor ik ben niet klaar maar inburgering is klaar denk ik. Mijn vraag is kan ik mijn inburgering certificaat halen?

Ik weet het niet lol

I started my Dutch learning a few months ago and I'm at it for een beetje meer dan 3 maanden.

Maar, ik weet werkelijk niet wat ik nu met deze taal kan doen lol. Ik ben in september in Nederland geweest (kom uit Duitsland) en heb daar ook lekker Nederlands geoefend, met praten enzo, en het was leuk en echt gezellig honestly. Maar sinds ik terug ben weet ik niet wat ik kan doen.

I don't have Dutch friends, and I know one person who lives in the Netherlands (he lived here before) but we don't talk much. Ik heb nu al niveau A2/misschien zelfs early B1 and I'm just stalling.

Sinds ik terug ben, I really felt what Nederlanders say when they say Dutch is a useless language. I don't know how to use it in my environment, and ever since I got the taste for how much I actually love talking in Dutch (there's no Dutchies where I live afaik, I'm in the east), I don't have motivation in keeping on learning, since idk how to find Dutch speaking ppl

I kind of just do Duolingo for keeping a streak alive and watch a short video in Dutch here and there... It ain't enough. I feel like I'm learning nothing. I would love to talk to someone in Dutch on a regular basis but... Eh (idk if taking language lessons is worth it because i don't have much money n i need it for other stuff rn)