Kleine woorden, episode two. Greetings and goodbyes. Dutch has a sharper formal-informal split than English. Pick the wrong one and you'll come across as rude or weird. Here's the working set.
Formal hellos, by time of day. Before noon:
Goedemorgen. — Good morning.
Use this in shops, with older people, at the doctor, with anyone you don't know.
Noon to roughly six in the evening:
Goedemiddag. — Good afternoon.
After six:
Goedenavond. — Good evening.
Universal, slightly less formal, always safe:
Hallo. — Hello.
Works in any context, any time. The safest pick when you're not sure.
Informal hellos. With friends, family, peers, classmates - anyone you'd call by first name:
Hoi. — Hi.
By far the most common informal greeting in Dutch.
Or just:
Hé. — Hey.
Same as English. Casual.
And for two friends catching up:
Hoi, hoe gaat het? — Hi, how's it going.
Formal goodbyes. The standard:
Tot ziens. — Literally 'until seeing'.
Use this with anyone you'd address with the formal pronoun 'u'.
In shops, what you'll usually hear from staff:
Prettige dag verder! — Have a pleasant day further.
Or:
Fijne dag nog! — Have a nice rest of the day.
In the evening:
Fijne avond nog! — Have a nice evening still.
Informal goodbyes. With friends and family, the standard:
Doei! — Bye.
Often doubled for warmth:
Doei doei! — Bye-bye.
Very common in Amsterdam.
If you'll see them again later that day:
Tot straks. — See you in a bit.
If tomorrow:
Tot morgen. — Until tomorrow.
And one Amsterdam quirk - in the south of the Netherlands, especially Brabant, you'll hear:
Houdoe! — Bye in Brabantse.
Don't use it in Amsterdam unless you want to be teased.
Quick decision guide. Shop staff, doctor, official: 'goedemorgen' or 'goedemiddag' walking in, 'fijne dag nog' or 'tot ziens' walking out. Friends, classmates, peers: 'hoi' walking in, 'doei doei' walking out. With your boss it depends on the office - tech and creative places use 'hoi' and 'doei', traditional offices stay formal. When in doubt, lean formal - it never offends, going too informal can.
One more useful one. When passing strangers on a hiking trail or quiet street, a short:
Hallo. — Hallo - is the polite default.
Not weird, expected even.
Today's Brueghel proverb.
Met de hoed in de hand komt men door het hele land.
Met de hoed in de hand komt men door het hele land.
Literally: with hat in hand, one passes through the whole country. Meaning: politeness opens doors. Example:
Hij krijgt alles voor elkaar bij de gemeente - met de hoed in de hand komt men door het hele land.
He gets everything sorted with the city council - politeness opens doors.
Doei doei!
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