This is episode one of Diane's Inburgering Dutch. Listen to this conversation.
Goedemorgen. Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
Voor wanneer?
Voor maandag, alstublieft.
Hoe laat?
Om tien uur.
Goed. Tot maandag.
In the next twenty minutes you'll learn to take part in that conversation yourself. The scene is the front desk of a Dutch
gemeente
- the local city office where you go for every piece of paper that matters in this country. Your BSN, your paspoort, your marriage, your address change - they all start with making an appointment, een afspraak.
First word. Appointment. Listen, then repeat.
Afspraak.
Afspraak.
Again. How do you say, appointment?
Afspraak.
The verb, to make. Listen, then repeat.
Maken.
Maken.
How would you say, an appointment to make?
Een afspraak maken.
Now the important move. In Dutch, when you want something from an official, you don't say 'I want' - that sounds blunt. You say 'I would like' - softer, more polite. It's exactly the same shift English makes.
The first piece. The polite, conditional, I would. Listen, then repeat.
Ik zou.
Ik zou.
Next piece. The word, gladly. Listen, then repeat.
Graag.
Graag.
Put it together. I would gladly. The softener.
Ik zou graag.
And the verb, to want, in its long form. Listen, then repeat.
Willen.
Willen.
Here's the construction. In Dutch, willen - to want - and maken - to make - both go at the end. You'd literally say, 'I would gladly an appointment want to make'. Listen.
Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
Try it. I would like to make an appointment.
Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
Again.
Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
How do you greet someone politely in the morning?
Goedemorgen.
Now greet the clerk, then tell her you would like to make an appointment.
Goedemorgen. Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
The clerk asks, for when? How does she ask, for when?
Voor wanneer? — Note the small word voor - meaning for.
Dutch uses it the same way English does for time targets - for Monday, for ten o'clock.
Now you answer. Tell her, for Monday.
Voor maandag.
When you're asking a clerk for something, soften it with please. Say, for Monday, please.
Voor maandag, alstublieft.
Now she asks what time. How does she ask, what time?
Hoe laat? — You want a ten o'clock appointment.
How do you tell her, at ten o'clock?
Om tien uur.
Drill both sides. You'll say BOTH parts.
You greet and politely ask for an appointment.
Goedemorgen. Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
She asks, for when?
Voor wanneer? — You answer, for Monday, please.
Voor maandag, alstublieft.
She asks, what time?
Hoe laat? — You answer, at ten o'clock.
Om tien uur.
Listen to the conversation again. You should understand all of it now.
Goedemorgen. Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
Voor wanneer?
Voor maandag, alstublieft.
Hoe laat?
Om tien uur.
Goed. Tot maandag. — The clerk closes the booking with, good, until Monday.
How does she say that?
Goed. Tot maandag. — How do you thank her formally?.
Dank u wel.
One more time. The full exchange. You say every line, both yours and the clerk's. Greet her.
Goedemorgen.
Tell her you would like to make an appointment.
Ik zou graag een afspraak willen maken.
Now the clerk's line - ask, for when?
Voor wanneer? — Your turn - for Monday, please.
Voor maandag, alstublieft.
Clerk - what time?
Hoe laat? — You - at ten o'clock.
Om tien uur.
Clerk closes - good, until Monday.
Goed. Tot maandag. — Thank her.
Dank u wel.
On Monday you'll walk in for that appointment and meet meneer de Vries at the desk. In episode two you'll learn how to tell him your name, your address, and your BSN.
That's the end of episode one. Listen daily, speak aloud, don't memorize. If you got eighty percent of the responses right, move on to episode two tomorrow.
Tot morgen.
Download anki.tsv and import into Anki (File → Import). Tab-separated Front/Back/Tags.