Kleine Woorden, episode 2: groeten
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EN: 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.
EN: Formal hellos, by time of day. Before noon:
NL: Goedemorgen.
EN: Good morning. Use this in shops, with older people, at the doctor, with anyone you don't know.
EN: Noon to roughly six in the evening:
NL: Goedemiddag.
EN: Good afternoon.
EN: After six:
NL: Goedenavond.
EN: Good evening.
EN: Universal, slightly less formal, always safe:
NL: Hallo.
EN: Hello. Works in any context, any time. The safest pick when you're not sure.
EN: Informal hellos. With friends, family, peers, classmates - anyone you'd call by first name:
NL: Hoi.
EN: Hi. By far the most common informal greeting in Dutch.
EN: Or just:
NL: Hé.
EN: Hey. Same as English. Casual.
EN: And for two friends catching up:
NL: Hoi, hoe gaat het?
EN: Hi, how's it going.
EN: Formal goodbyes. The standard:
NL: Tot ziens.
EN: Literally 'until seeing'. Use this with anyone you'd address with the formal pronoun 'u'.
EN: In shops, what you'll usually hear from staff:
NL: Prettige dag verder!
EN: Have a pleasant day further. Or:
NL: Fijne dag nog!
EN: Have a nice rest of the day. In the evening:
NL: Fijne avond nog!
EN: Have a nice evening still.
EN: Informal goodbyes. With friends and family, the standard:
NL: Doei!
EN: Bye. Often doubled for warmth:
NL: Doei doei!
EN: Bye-bye. Very common in Amsterdam.
EN: If you'll see them again later that day:
NL: Tot straks.
EN: See you in a bit.
EN: If tomorrow:
NL: Tot morgen.
EN: Until tomorrow.
EN: And one Amsterdam quirk - in the south of the Netherlands, especially Brabant, you'll hear:
NL: Houdoe!
EN: Bye in Brabantse. Don't use it in Amsterdam unless you want to be teased.
EN: 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.
EN: One more useful one. When passing strangers on a hiking trail or quiet street, a short:
NL: Hallo.
EN: Hallo - is the polite default. Not weird, expected even.
EN: Today's Brueghel proverb.
NL: Met de hoed in de hand komt men door het hele land.
NL: Met de hoed in de hand komt men door het hele land.
EN: Literally: with hat in hand, one passes through the whole country. Meaning: politeness opens doors. Example:
NL: Hij krijgt alles voor elkaar bij de gemeente - met de hoed in de hand komt men door het hele land.
EN: He gets everything sorted with the city council - politeness opens doors.
NL: Doei doei!