Impressing other people with your Dutch can often be ridiculously easy. Don’t look for complicated grammar constructions and difficult words. A simple Dutch word like gras can already do the trick.
So here is the first sentence that you can use: gras is groen. Once you know how to say this, you have already taken the most difficult hurdle of Dutch pronunciation. Producing that harsh g sound already feels like a big achievement. But… it does not end here…
By the way, have you already decoded the English translation of gras is groen? It should not be difficult to find the right translation, right? It just means grass is green. So far so good…. now it is time to play with it!
Wow! Grass really shows that you grasp it!
Yes, gras is groen does mean grass is green. But… it is also a kind of expression. For example… was it really new information for you to hear that grass is green? Probably not. Therefore it also means… look what you say is something that everyone knows already…. don’t even mention it! Quite often you can use it in sarcastic ways. For example: hij komt altijd te laat (he slways comes late). Now you could also say: ja en gras is groen. It means something like: what is the news here? Here is another example: de reden voor het nieuwe plan is geld (the reason of this new plan is money). Once you can say ja en gras is groen… Bingo!
It might be hard for you that with this tiny little sentence you can impress Dutch people. It is not that far away from English, right? But… here comes the fun thing: Dutch people could never expect that such a sentence could come out of your mouth. It belongs to Dutch sayings and expressions, and once you use them, Dutch people will automatically assume that you have a much deeper knowledge of the language.
Last but not least…. some disappointing news for English speaking people. Gras is gras in Dutch, nothing else. It is not something that you would smoke for example. On the other hand, who cares? You have already started to impress Dutch people. Doesn’t that feel good already?
George Bekoe
on 28 Aug 2014