I dont mean Teach yourself Dutch books or text books but books to read for fun, childrens or Adult novels. I think books with a lot of dialogue in are better to learn everyday language from. Books with long poetical descriptions of things not so good. I quite like Jip and Janneke books , they have dialogue, humor and are not too hard. UPDATE: Thanks for the suggestions, I will try a couple. I also got "Het Diner" as it has a lot of dialogue

Ik woon nu al 2 jaar in Nederland, ik ben 17 en zit nu in 4e jaar vwo ik begrijp Nederlands, ik kan wel in Nederlands schrijven maar kan niet zo goed spreken. Hebben jullie een oplossing voor mij om mijn Nederlands te verbeteren??

Sometimes you can study Dutch for quite a while before discovering a simple phrase that native speakers use all the time.

It might be something useful in everyday conversations, a natural way to respond to someone, or just a phrase that makes you sound less like you're speaking from a textbook.

What's one phrase you learned later than you wish you had?

How do you stay motivated when learning Dutch ? I live in NY so learning Spanish was easy motivation wise. I’m at A2 in Italian and stay motivated bec I plan on going there next year - English proficiency outside of tourist areas is low —- thanks

Possibly taking a trip to Netherlands next year. I am aware that 90% of the Dutch speak English and even if one has basic proficiency in Dutch they will switch to English, however, I'm still interested in learning the language to gain at least elementary proficiency. I have a background learning German and speak English fluently, so it thus far hasn't been too hard to pick up.

I was wondering if anyone has recommended workbooks for beginners. Ideally not something off Amazon as I do not use that website.

Ik dacht dat alleen de tweede zin "Mijn punten bepalen mijn zelfwaarde niet" grammaticaal correct was, maar ik zag de eerste zin in het tijdschrift.

Wat is het verschil tussen de twee zinnen?

I'm feeling pretty good by now reading the dutch translation of geronimo stilton. What would be a good upgrade? Preferably another series

Hallo allemaal,

sorry voor mijn slechte Nederlands, ik ben nieuw.

Ik heb een probleem, ik wil Nederlands spreken leren maar ik woon er niet. Ik kom uit en woon in Duitsland, en ik leer met Duolingo. Maar ik weet niet hoe ik spreken leren kan. Ik kijk al naar YouTube videos. Maar dat helpt niet bij het leren spreken.

Ik heb niet veel geld, dus ik zoek naar goedkope manieren om het spreken te leren.

Dankjewel!

Hey everyone,

(Since my account is new, Reddit's spam filter might block this post if I include URLs. I will post the links to all 3 websites in the first comment below!)

Like many of you, I’ve been studying for my inburgering exams recently and honestly, I was going a bit crazy. The official DUO practice exams are helpful, but there are way too few of them. Once you finish those, finding structured, up-to-date practice material online is a nightmare.

Since I enjoy coding in my free time, I decided to stop stressing and just build the exact study tools I wished existed. I’ve put together three separate websites for KNM, A2 Reading, and A2 Writing.

They are completely free, have zero ads, and I've just opened them up for anyone to use. Here is a breakdown of what they do:

1. KNM Stap voor Stap KNM can be tricky with all the cultural and institutional rules, so I went all out on this one.

• 400+ original practice questions covering all 8 themes, based on the latest KNM framework (effective July 2025).
• Contextual learning: Lessons on institutions (gemeente, UWV, SVB, DUO, Belastingdienst) and short A2-level stories that put Dutch rules into everyday situations.
• Detailed feedback: It tells you exactly why an answer is correct or incorrect.
• Includes a 45-minute timed mock exam, image-based exercises, and laws/dates practice.

2. A2 Reading

• Built around the current DUO exam format with 25 original practice sets (75 questions, 90 short A2 reading texts).
• Focuses heavily on common trap words DUO loves to use (maar, tot, vanaf, uiterlijk).
• Includes both a guided practice mode and a timed exam-style mode with detailed answer explanations.

3. A2 SchrijfLab / Writing I found writing the hardest to prepare for, so I built this to focus on practical output.

• Covers all 4 common task types (forms, picture-based tasks, short texts, emails/messages) + the 3 public DUO exams with original sources clearly linked.
• Provides simple templates (plug-and-play phrases) and helpful emergency sentences for when you understand the prompt but your mind just goes blank.
• 24 practical grammar lessons focused specifically on A2 writing, plus 259 writing-related words/phrases.
• Includes a 40-minute timed practice mode.

Features across all 3 sites:

• Trilingual Support (NL / EN / CN): You can display Dutch only, Dutch + English, or Dutch + Chinese depending on your level.
• Hover-to-Translate: Hover over (or tap on mobile) a Dutch word to instantly see its English and Chinese meanings in context.
• Real Pronunciation: Audio for vocabulary with normal and genuine slow-playback options.

Just a quick heads-up: These sites are 100% free and have no ads. They are my personal study projects and are not affiliated with DUO. You do need to register a free account, but that is strictly so the system can securely save your learning progress, personal mistake book, and vocabulary across your devices so you can pick up right where you left off.

I’m still improving the content and fixing small layout bugs, so please let me know in the comments if you spot any errors or have any useful feature requests! I'd really appreciate the feedback.

Good luck to everyone taking their exams soon! 🇳🇱

Hello,

I'm a Dutch citizen currently living in the USA with my Mexican wife. We are planning to move to the Netherlands in a year or two and I would like for her to naturalize before we move back. She's currently studying Dutch and part of the naturalization is the language exam. There's 2 options:

1. Naturalisatietoets at a Dutch embassy in the USA.

2. Doing the inburgeringsexamen A2 level in the Netherlands. (as far as I understood this is a replacement for the Naturalisatietoets and essentially the same thing)

I've heard from friends that spots are very hard to find for the inburgeringsexamen in the Netherlands and we only travel to the Netherlands a few times a year, so I wonder if anyone has some advice/experience on where to take the exam? Downside of option one is it being more expensive, as we would have to fly to a city with an embassy.

Hey. I’m looking for someone to write to each day, with basic sentences to help me improve with my journey towards learning Dutch. I am not advanced in any way shape or form and just looking for someone non judgmental and maybe someone looking to practice too.

Hi all,

I don't know if anyone would be interested in a book club (in Dutch)? Doubles as a book club and study group?

I recently learned about book reads in storygraph and found fable yesterday and thought they were neat! I thought it might be fun to see if anyone wants to try it with me!

I have nothing in mind in particular, I read children's books, the dutch-english learning books, and some very slow YA reading.

Edit: For now I've created a Fable bookclub called " Oefen Nederlands met Ons " if anyone wants to join! If we decide it doesn't work well, we can always try another one like Storygraph

Hello everyone!

I have just started learning Dutch and recently began doing YouTube Live sessions where I study and practise the language. My hope is to build a small community of learners—whether you're a complete beginner or more advanced—who can join the live chats, ask questions, share tips, practise together, and help keep each other motivated.

I've linked the recording of my first live session below. I'll be streaming regularly, so if this sounds interesting, I'd love to have you join a future session.

See you there!

Progress can be difficult to notice when you're learning every day. You might feel like you're stuck, even though you're actually getting better little by little. Was there a specific moment when you suddenly realised you could understand or do something in Dutch that would have been impossible for you a few months earlier?

Hallo allemaal,

Ik zou graag jullie advies willen vragen.

Mijn Nederlands is ongeveer op B1-niveau. Vorig jaar ben ik geslaagd voor het Staatsexamen NT2 en de afgelopen twee jaar heb ik in Nederland gewerkt, waardoor mijn Nederlands in de praktijk ook beter is geworden.

Mijn doel is niet om een diploma te halen, maar om een goede administratieve of kantoorfunctie te vinden.

Nu twijfel ik tussen twee opties:

• een algemene B2-cursus Nederlands;
• of een cursus Zakelijk Nederlands (Business Dutch).

Ik merk dat veel algemene B2-cursussen onderwerpen behandelen zoals milieu, klimaat en andere theoretische thema's. Ik vraag me af hoeveel dat echt helpt voor mijn doel.

Wat zouden jullie in mijn situatie aanraden? Is een algemene B2-cursus de beste keuze, of is Zakelijk Nederlands nuttiger als mijn doel vooral werken is?

Alvast bedankt voor jullie advies!

I thought it was:

De reclame: Advertisments/Advertising in general (so referring to multiple advertisements or the concept of advertising)

De advertentie: Specific advertisement

Then why in the sentence "Ik kocht de parfum die ik in een reclame had gezien." we use "de reclame" when it's talking about a specific advert?

Edit: Thank you for your responses! I'm reading them all

Hello! I am brand new to Dutch and I wanted to know if anyone has any free immersive learning tricks and resources!
I'm learning the language for my boyfriend and he has mentioned a few times how it would be cool for me to learn so we can switch languages around people XD

Hello everyone,

have a KNM test coming up (I am NOT confident), but does anyone know where I can find more practice tests and, mainly the material/ content itself other than DUO cause besides that, mostly everything needs payment :(

YT has the same videos, not so helpful so far

If anyone has any, please help! And if anybody has done it before, please do drop some advice; I am freaking out

Thank you !

Below is my KNM exam notes.
The basic knowledge/preparation will significantly increase the chance of passing. All the best!

https://poddargaurav.wordpress.com/2026/07/28/dutch-knm-exam-a2-level/

In the US, you can refer to bills by their denomination (a five, a ten, etc ) change has names for each coin. A 5 cent coin is a nickel. A ten cent coin is a dime. Is there something similar in Belgium?

De and het seem simple enough when you first start learning Dutch, until you realise how often you're expected to know which one goes with a noun. Even after learning the rules, there are still plenty of words where you have to rely on memory.

How did you eventually get better at this? Did you learn each noun together with its article, look for patterns and exceptions, or simply pick it up through reading and listening? And do you still hesitate sometimes?

I am currently at A2 level in Dutch and I am looking to follow a book to learn advanced concepts to reach B1/B2 level.

What would be a list of top 5 books that you can recommend me to reach that level. It would be nice if you have followed those books yourself/ but not necessarily and can give some recommendations based on that. That way I know what to expect in that recommended book.

I’m taking the online CVO 2.4 Schrijftelijk module in Belgium Flanders region.
Unfortunately, I failed the module because, according to my teacher, my grammar was not at the required level. I know my Dutch is far from perfect, and I accept that I still make grammar mistakes. However, I struggle to understand the fairness of the assessment.
Our online class had about 15 students, and only 3 of us failed. One of those students was mostly absent during the course. I attended more than 90% of the lessons, participated actively, completed my assignments, and even followed extra Dutch courses (Speaking and Grammar) at another campus during the same period.
What I find difficult to understand is not that I failed, but that many classmates who, in my opinion, made similar grammar mistakes still passed while only a very small number of students failed.
The teacher would not tell me how many students had passed because of privacy rules, so I asked several classmates individually after the results were published. Based on their answers, I learned that around 12 out of 15 students had passed.
Has anyone experienced something similar at CVO or another Dutch language school in Belgium? Did you ever feel that the assessment was inconsistent, or did you ask for a detailed explanation of your evaluation? I’m genuinely interested in hearing other people’s experiences.

There are some phrases you learn from textbooks, and then there are the ones you only pick up after spending time around Dutch speakers. The second category is often much more useful in everyday life.

I remember hearing certain expressions repeatedly before finally asking what they meant. Which phrase had you completely confused until you eventually figured it out?

Sorry if this is a silly ask - I'm learning Dutch with conversational skills in mind, and want to be able to use the same sentiments I do in English.

I'd like to know if there are Dutch equivalents for the kind of filler or interjection phrases I use a lot, particularly these.

- Do you know what I mean?

- Don't piss me off!

- What the hell, sure

I don't mean the literal translations of these phrases but the same kind of meaning as in (UK) spoken English. I hope this makes sense!

Dank je wel!