Dutch
Nederlands
Dutch sits between German and English, and that is exactly how it looks on the page. It kept German word order but dropped most of the case endings, as English did. The cluster ij is treated almost as a single letter. Afrikaans, in South Africa, descends directly from it and is its closest relative outside Europe.
- Family
- West Germanic
- Script
- Latin
- Speakers
- ≈ 24 million
- Where
- Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders)
- In the game
- Common language
How to spot it
The clusters ij, oe, ui and sch jump out. Looks like German without the capitals or the ß.
A few sentences
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Ik fiets elke dag naar mijn werk in de stad.
I cycle to work in the city every day.
-
Zij werkt als verpleegkundige in het ziekenhuis.
She works as a nurse at the hospital.
-
De winkel is vandaag gesloten wegens vakantie.
The shop is closed today for the holidays.
-
Het begint al vroeg donker te worden.
It is already getting dark early.
-
Hij werkt al tien jaar bij hetzelfde bedrijf.
He has worked at the same company for ten years.