Essential Dutch travel phrases
You do not need fluent Dutch to travel comfortably in the Netherlands, just these phrases said with confidence. Locals notice and appreciate the effort, even when they reply in English.
Greetings and politeness
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hallo |
| Good morning | Goedemorgen |
| Please | Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft |
| Thank you | Dank je / Dank u wel |
| Yes, please / gladly | Graag |
| Excuse me / sorry | Sorry / pardon |
| Do you speak English? | Spreekt u Engels? |
Getting around
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| Where is...? | Waar is...? |
| The train station | Het station |
| Left / right / straight ahead | Links / rechts / rechtdoor |
| One ticket to..., please | Een kaartje naar..., alstublieft |
Ordering food and drink
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| The bill, please | De rekening, alstublieft |
| I would like... | Ik wil graag... |
| A coffee, please | Een koffie, alstublieft |
| Enjoy your meal | Eet smakelijk |
A pronunciation tip
The Dutch "g" (as in "graag") is a scratchy sound made at the back of the throat, not the soft English "g". It feels strange at first, most learners get comfortable with it within a few weeks of regular listening practice.
u or jij: which one to use
Dutch has a formal u and an informal jij, and travellers worry about this more than they need to. The safe default with a stranger, someone older, or anyone behind a counter is u. With people your own age in a shop or cafe, jij is normal and u can sound oddly stiff. If you get it wrong nobody will mind in the slightest - you are visibly a visitor, and the effort registers long before the pronoun does. The Netherlands is informal by European standards, and the line has moved a long way towards jij in the last twenty years.
Paying: the thing that surprises visitors
The Netherlands runs on pinnen - paying by debit card - and this catches people out more than any phrase does. Plenty of cafes, market stalls and even some supermarkets are cash-free, and a great many places do not accept credit cards at all, only Maestro or V Pay debit. Contactless is universal. The practical advice is to carry a debit card rather than relying on cash or on a credit card, and to recognise the two signs you will see on the door: alleen pinnen, or contant, meaning cash.
When they answer in English
They will, almost every time, and it is not a verdict on your Dutch. Service staff switch to English reflexively the moment they hear an accent, because they are being efficient and helpful. You have two reasonable options. Take the English and get on with your day, which is perfectly fine on a short trip. Or say one line - mag ik het in het Nederlands proberen - which almost always gets a friendly yes and a slightly slower reply. What does not work is continuing in Dutch while they continue in English; somebody has to name it.
The numbers worth knowing
112 is the emergency number for police, fire and ambulance, and it works from any phone. For something that is not an emergency, 0900-8844 reaches the police. A pharmacy is an apotheek and a family doctor a huisarts, both worth recognising on a sign. Beyond that, the numbers you will actually use daily are prices and platform announcements, and Dutch numbers follow the same pattern as German: the units come before the tens, so 24 is vierentwintig, literally four-and-twenty. That inversion is worth ten minutes of practice before a trip.