In short
- You introduce yourself in Dutch with short sentences such as ‘Ik heet Amir’ (My name is Amir), ‘Ik kom uit Afghanistan’, ‘Ik woon in Utrecht’ and ‘Ik ben 32 jaar’.
- For your age, Dutch uses the verb ‘zijn’ (to be): you say ‘Ik ben 32 jaar’ (I am 32), not ‘Ik heb 32 jaar’ (I have 32 years).
- In Dutch you say ‘u’ to strangers and at official bodies, and ‘je’ or ‘jij’ to friends and often to colleagues; it is ‘u bent’ (you are), not ‘u is’.
- Questions you often hear in Dutch are ‘Hoe heet u?’, ‘Waar komt u vandaan?’, ‘Waar woont u?’, ‘Hoe oud bent u?’ and ‘Wat voor werk doet u?’.
Who are you and where are you from? People often ask this when they meet you for the first time: at the municipality, at the doctor’s, at work or at school. In this lesson you learn short Dutch sentences to introduce yourself, and the questions you will often hear.
Greeting
- Goedemorgen. Ik ben Amir. (Good morning. I’m Amir.) – Goedemorgen. Ik ben Sara.
- After introducing yourselves, people often say Aangenaam. (Pleased to meet you.) or Leuk je te ontmoeten. (Nice to meet you.)
- You say goedemorgen until 12 noon, then goedemiddag (good afternoon) and in the evening goedenavond. Hallo is always fine.
Sentences about yourself
| About | How you say it | The question |
|---|---|---|
| your name | Ik heet Amir. Mijn achternaam is Ahmadi. (My name is Amir. My surname is Ahmadi.) | Hoe heet u? Wat is uw achternaam? |
| your country | Ik kom uit Afghanistan. Ik kom uit Iran. (I am from …) | Waar komt u vandaan? |
| where you live | Ik woon in Utrecht. Ik woon in Kabul. (I live in …) | Waar woont u? |
| your age | Ik ben 32 jaar. (I am 32.) | Hoe oud bent u? |
| your languages | Ik spreek Dari en een beetje Nederlands. (I speak Dari and a little Dutch.) | Welke talen spreekt u? |
| your family | Ik ben getrouwd. Ik heb twee kinderen. (I am married. I have two children.) | Bent u getrouwd? Hebt u kinderen? |
| your work | Ik ben kok. Ik werk in een winkel. (I am a cook. I work in a shop.) | Wat voor werk doet u? |
Do you need to spell your name? The lesson The Dutch alphabet and pronunciation teaches you the names of the letters.
More about family and work
- Ik ben getrouwd. / Ik ben niet getrouwd. (I am married. / I am not married.)
- Mijn vrouw heet Maryam. / Mijn man woont in Den Haag. (My wife is called Maryam. / My husband lives in The Hague.)
- Ik heb een zoon en een dochter. / Ik heb geen kinderen. (I have a son and a daughter. / I have no children.)
- Ik ben kapper. / Ik studeer. / Ik zoek werk. / Ik werk niet. (I am a hairdresser. / I study. / I am looking for work. / I do not work.)
- Ik ben geboren in Herat. / Ik ben geboren op 3 maart 1994. (I was born in Herat. / I was born on 3 March 1994.)
With a job, Dutch usually leaves out een (a): Ik ben kok (I am a cook). How to say a date is explained in the lesson Numbers, telling the time and dates.
U or je?
- You say u to people you do not know, to older people and at official bodies such as the municipality.
- You say je or jij to friends, family and children. Many colleagues also switch to je quickly.
- Not sure? Start with u. If the other person says Zeg maar je (Just call me je), you can use je.
| ik (I) | je / jij (you, informal) | u (you, polite) |
|---|---|---|
| ik ben | je bent | u bent |
| ik heb | je hebt | u hebt (or: u heeft) |
| ik woon | je woont | u woont |
| ik kom | je komt | u komt |
It is u bent, not u is. U hebt and u heeft are both correct. When je comes after the verb, the t drops off: Waar woon je? (Where do you live?) But with u, the t stays: Waar woont u?
A short conversation
- A: Goedemorgen. Hoe heet u? (Good morning. What is your name?)
- B: Ik heet Sara Rahimi. (My name is Sara Rahimi.)
- A: Waar komt u vandaan? (Where are you from?)
- B: Ik kom uit Iran. Ik woon in Teheran. (I am from Iran. I live in Tehran.)
- A: Hoe oud bent u? (How old are you?)
- B: Ik ben 28 jaar. (I am 28.)
- A: Bent u getrouwd? (Are you married?)
- B: Ja. Mijn man woont in Rotterdam. Hij werkt in een restaurant. (Yes. My husband lives in Rotterdam. He works in a restaurant.)
Note if you speak Farsi or Dari
- Ik ben 32 jaar. In Persian you ‘have’ years. In Dutch you use zijn (to be): Ik ben 32 jaar, not Ik heb 32 jaar.
- Hij or zij. Persian has one word for he and she (او). In Dutch you say hij for a man and zij or ze for a woman: Mijn vrouw heet Maryam. Zij is 27 jaar. (My wife is called Maryam. She is 27.)
- You already know u and je. Like Persian, Dutch has a polite form (u) and an informal form (je). But in the Netherlands, people switch to je quickly, for example at work.
- The verb in second place. Not starting the sentence with ik? Then put the verb straight after the first part: Nu woon ik in Kabul. (Now I live in Kabul.) Not: Nu ik woon in Kabul.
- Pronunciation. Say Ik spreek without an e in front: not Ik espreek. And watch the w in Ik woon and Wat: it is different from the v.
Practise speaking out loud
Say your sentences out loud and record yourself on your phone. Listen back: can you hear every vowel? Do you have to take the Civic Integration Examination Abroad (the MVV exam)? On MVV exam practice you answer short questions about yourself and your daily life, such as Hoeveel mensen zijn er in uw gezin? (How many people are there in your family?)
You can also practise this in the A1 course or with the free Dutch A1 word list (topics Getting to know people and Family).