Dutch shares more vocabulary and grammar with English than almost any other language. You will recognize words like "water," "appel," and "boek" on day one.
While most Dutch people speak English, employers and social circles strongly prefer people who speak Dutch. Learning even basic Dutch changes how locals treat you entirely.
Dutch is also the official language of Flanders in Belgium and Suriname. That gives you access to a wider cultural world, from Flemish comedy to Surinamese literature.
Learn Dutch from 15,000+ clips from movies and shows you actually want to watch.
Hear something new? You'll never miss a word again.
Quick challenges using the scenes you just watched.
Every clip is a mini lesson. The more you watch, the more you know.
8 Best Movies and TV Shows to Learn Dutch
Read our movie and TV guide →
Hundreds of Dutch words look and sound like English words. When you encounter a new word in a Wordy clip, tap it for an instant translation and check if it resembles an English word. Words like "beginnen," "drinken," and "probleem" are exactly what they look like.
The guttural Dutch "g" is the biggest pronunciation hurdle for English speakers. Listen carefully to how actors produce it and practice mimicking the throat position. Getting this right early makes everything else easier.
Dutch has a verb-second rule in main clauses and verb-final order in subclauses. This feels backwards at first. Watching how characters build their sentences in Wordy clips helps you internalize the pattern much faster than textbook drills.
Dutch has a unique letter combination, "ij," that is sometimes treated as a single letter. When capitalizing a word that starts with "ij," both letters get capitalized, like "IJsselmeer" (Taalunie, Dutch Language Union).
The Dutch word "gezellig" has no direct English translation. It roughly means a warm, cozy, convivial atmosphere, and the Dutch consider it central to their culture (BBC Culture).
Afrikaans, spoken by about 7 million people in South Africa, evolved directly from 17th-century Dutch. Dutch speakers can often understand Afrikaans with minimal effort (Ethnologue).