How to expand your Dutch vocabulary with some fun

How to expand your Dutch vocabulary with some fun

This time I wanted to share a very simple trick so that you can speak much  more Dutch with far more ease. The trick is ridiculously simple...

In Dutch there are many words that are very similar to  English and... if you use them, it would be the easiest way to expand your vocabulary like crazy.

Take lol for example. This is a typical Dutch word that has been there for many centuries already. Contrary to what you may think, it does not come from the English LOL... The fact that de lol and LOL mean exactly the same, could be a happy coincidence :)

The good thing is that  it is very easy to remember it. The only weird thing is that not so many of my students would use this word lol, but if you do, it would have a great impact on your Dutch :)

Once again, de lol has been there for centuries. It means outrageous fun and yes, if often means that you are laughing out loud.

A long long time ago, lol used to have another meaning... First it meant to sing, some time later loud noise and now it stands for outrageous pleasure and fun.

Here are some ways how you could use it...
Ik heb  lol in mijn werk = I love my job, I have a great time at work
Doe me een lol en open de deur = Do me a favor and open the door.

If you like, you can make lol smaller and then it changes into lolletje...
Een lolletje could stand for a little joke now and then or some humor sometimes.
Here is another great example: een hernia is geen lolletje... Literally it means that it is not fun to have a hernia... It actually means that it is pretty awful.... You can see here that Dutch people often like the understatement ;)

Here is another great word that you could use far more often: het plezier
Plezier is like pleasure and it also fun.
Plezier is something that you can have and make... Ik heb plezier & ik maak plezier both mean: ik heb plezier...

By the way, how would you translate this one? Doe me een plezier, alsjeblieft....
If you translate it as: please do me pleasure, then it might sound strange :)
Doe me een plezier however can be quite innocent... It could mean: please do me a favor... open de deur or geef me koffie :)

Lol & plezier are only 2 simple words that you could use far more often.... Hundreds of words are waiting for you and the sooner you use them, the faster you'll achieve Dutch fluency! :)

About the author
Steve Haywood
By

Steve Haywood

on 15 Jan 2023

Zijn er meer Engelse vriendenwoorden in Nederland? Doe ons een plezier en schrijf een lijst.

Albert Both
By

Albert Both

on 15 Jan 2023

Dat is een goed idee!

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