Ask a stranger for directions in the Netherlands and you will get a fast, compact answer built from a small set of fixed phrases: rechtdoor, de eerste straat links, de hoek om. None of these translate word-for-word from English, and two of them — the separable verb afslaan ("to turn off") and the idiom de weg kwijt zijn ("to be lost") — break in ways that trip up English speakers for months. This page gives you the everyday direction-and-location vocabulary, the spatial prepositions that go with it, and the handful of genuine idioms a Dutch speaker actually uses when they tell you where something is.
The four basic direction words
The skeleton of any set of directions is just four words: keep going straight, turn left, turn right, and go round the corner.
| Dutch | Literal | English |
|---|---|---|
| rechtdoor | straight-through | straight on / straight ahead |
| linksaf (slaan) | left-off (to strike) | (to turn) left |
| rechtsaf (slaan) | right-off (to strike) | (to turn) right |
| de hoek om | the corner around | round the corner |
Note the trap in rechtdoor versus rechtsaf. Dutch rechts means "right" (the direction), but rechtdoor means "straight on" — the recht there is "straight," not "right." So rechtdoor and rechtsaf are two completely different instructions that an English ear can blur together. Listen for the -door (through) versus the -af (off).
Ga hier rechtdoor en dan is het station aan je linkerhand.
Go straight on here and then the station is on your left. (rechtdoor = straight ahead, NOT 'to the right')
Bij de stoplichten moet je rechtsaf.
At the traffic lights you have to go right. (rechtsaf = turn right)
Loop de hoek om, daar zit de bakker.
Go round the corner, the baker's is there. (de hoek om = round the corner)
Slaan and afslaan: the separable turning verb
The full verb for "to turn" (a corner, at a junction) is afslaan — a separable verb. In a main clause the particle af jumps to the end, which is why links and rechts fuse with it into linksaf and rechtsaf, landing at the very end of the sentence:
Je slaat bij de kerk linksaf en dan ben je er bijna.
You turn left at the church and then you're almost there. (separable: 'slaat ... linksaf' — particle at the end)
Sla de tweede straat rechtsaf, niet de eerste.
Turn down the second street on the right, not the first. (imperative 'sla ... rechtsaf')
In an instruction you can also just drop the verb entirely — de eerste straat links, bij de brug rechts — exactly as English drops "turn." Both registers are everyday and natural.
De eerste straat rechts, en dan is het het derde huis.
First street on the right, and then it's the third house. (verb dropped — perfectly natural)
Spatial prepositions: where something is
Once you have found the place, you describe its position with a set of spatial prepositions. These are the workhorses, and most have a clean English match — except tegenover, which English splits into "opposite/across from."
| Dutch | English | Example phrase |
|---|---|---|
| naast | next to / beside | naast de supermarkt |
| tegenover | opposite / across from | tegenover het station |
| tussen | between | tussen de bank en de apotheek |
| achter | behind | achter de kerk |
| voor | in front of | voor het gemeentehuis |
| bij | by / at / near | bij de ingang |
De fietsenstalling is naast het station, tegenover de bushalte.
The bike storage is next to the station, opposite the bus stop. (naast = next to; tegenover = opposite)
De pinautomaat zit tussen de bakker en de drogist.
The cash machine is between the baker's and the chemist's. (tussen ... en ... = between ... and ...)
Parkeren kan achter het gebouw, niet ervoor.
You can park behind the building, not in front of it. (achter = behind; ervoor = in front of it)
Watch voor: it means both "in front of" (spatial) and "for" (purpose). Context disambiguates, but when you specifically mean physical position, voor het gebouw is "in front of the building," never "for the building."
Going there versus being there: naar vs in/op
Here is the structural split that catches English speakers. Dutch sharply distinguishes motion toward a place from being at a place, and uses different prepositions. English "to" covers both ("I'm going to school" / "I am at school" uses different prepositions but you rarely think about it); Dutch forces the choice every time.
- naar = motion toward a destination: Ik ga *naar het centrum* ("I'm going to the centre").
- in / op / bij = static location: Ik ben *in het centrum* ("I'm in the centre").
Ik loop nu naar de markt; ben je daar al?
I'm walking to the market now; are you already there? (naar = motion toward)
We zijn op het plein, bij de fontein.
We're at the square, by the fountain. (op het plein = at the square — static; NOT 'naar')
Hoe kom ik vanaf hier naar het ziekenhuis?
How do I get from here to the hospital? (vanaf = from; naar = to)
You will also hear ergens naartoe ("(to) somewhere") and ergens naartoe gaan / moeten — a fixed way to talk about going somewhere unspecified. The naartoe can split off and land at the end.
Moet je nog ergens naartoe vanmiddag?
Do you have to go anywhere this afternoon? (ergens naartoe = (to) somewhere — the 'naartoe' lands at the end)
Location idioms a native speaker actually uses
These are the genuine fixed expressions you will hear constantly. They do not translate literally.
| Dutch | Literal | Idiomatic meaning |
|---|---|---|
| in de buurt | in the neighbourhood | nearby / close by |
| om de hoek | around the corner | very close, just round the corner |
| de weg kwijt zijn | to be the way lost | to be lost (also: confused) |
| verdwalen | to mis-wander | to get lost |
| de weg wijzen | to point the way | to give someone directions |
| op de kaart staan | to stand on the map | to be on the map / be marked |
De weg kwijt zijn is the everyday way to say "to be lost." Literally it is "to be the way lost" — kwijt means "having lost / mislaid," so you "have the way mislaid." It is one fixed unit: Ik ben de weg kwijt ("I'm lost"). The verb for the event of getting lost is verdwalen ("Ik ben verdwaald" — "I got lost").
Sorry, ik ben helemaal de weg kwijt — waar is de Albert Heijn?
Sorry, I'm completely lost — where is the Albert Heijn? (de weg kwijt zijn = to be lost; one fixed phrase)
We zijn in het bos verdwaald en kwamen pas na een uur weer op het pad.
We got lost in the woods and only found the path again after an hour. (verdwalen = to get lost — the event)
De supermarkt is hier vlakbij, gewoon om de hoek.
The supermarket is right near here, just round the corner. (om de hoek = just round the corner)
Woon je in de buurt, of moet je nog ver?
Do you live nearby, or do you still have a long way to go? (in de buurt = nearby)
Kun je mij de weg wijzen naar het centrum?
Can you give me directions to the centre? (de weg wijzen = to point out the way)
Common Mistakes
❌ Je slaat af links bij de kerk.
Incorrect word order — 'links' fuses with the particle and goes to the end: 'links af' becomes 'linksaf'.
✅ Je slaat bij de kerk linksaf.
You turn left at the church. (separable 'afslaan'; 'linksaf' lands at the end)
❌ Ga rechtdoor om naar rechts te gaan.
Incorrect — 'rechtdoor' means STRAIGHT ON, not 'to the right'. For 'right' use 'rechts/rechtsaf'.
✅ Ga rechtdoor en sla dan rechtsaf.
Go straight on and then turn right.
❌ Ik ben verloren.
Understandable but unidiomatic for 'I'm lost' (sounds like 'I am ruined/done for'). Use the fixed phrase.
✅ Ik ben de weg kwijt.
I'm lost.
❌ Ik ga in het centrum.
Incorrect — motion toward a place needs 'naar', not 'in'. 'In het centrum' is static (being there).
✅ Ik ga naar het centrum.
I'm going to the centre.
❌ De winkel is naast aan de bakker.
Incorrect — 'naast' alone means 'next to'; don't add 'aan'.
✅ De winkel is naast de bakker.
The shop is next to the baker's.
Key Takeaways
- The four basics: rechtdoor (straight on), linksaf/rechtsaf (left/right), de hoek om (round the corner). Keep rechtdoor (straight) apart from rechtsaf (right).
- Afslaan is separable: links/rechts fuse with af and land at the end — slaat ... linksaf. You can also drop the verb: de eerste straat links.
- Spatial prepositions: naast (next to), tegenover (opposite), tussen ... en (between), achter (behind), voor (in front of).
- Motion uses naar; static position uses in / op / bij. Dutch forces this choice that English hides.
- Real idioms: in de buurt (nearby), om de hoek (just round the corner), de weg kwijt zijn (to be lost, a state), verdwalen (to get lost, the event), de weg wijzen (to give directions).
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Dutch Expressions and Idioms: OverviewA2 — An orientation to Dutch fixed expressions: uitdrukkingen (idioms), gezegden and spreekwoorden (sayings and proverbs), and vaste verbindingen (fixed collocations). Why they don't translate word for word, the recurring themes Dutch idioms draw on (body parts, animals, food, weather, water and the sea), why their form is frozen and can't be altered, how register varies, and a preview of the idiom pages in this group.
- Naar vs In/Op — Direction vs LocationA2 — The split English doesn't make: naar marks motion toward a goal (Ik ga naar school / naar huis / naar Amsterdam), while in, op and bij mark static location (Ik ben op school). Plus the special pairs naar huis vs thuis (going home vs being at home) and naar buiten vs buiten (outward vs outside), and how naar fuses with er into ernaartoe / naartoe.
- Spatial Relations: Boven, Onder, Naast, Tussen, TegenoverA2 — The Dutch location grid — boven (above), onder (under), voor/achter (in front of/behind), naast (next to), tussen (between/among), tegenover (opposite), binnen/buiten (inside/outside) — with the two traps for English speakers: tussen covers both 'between' and 'among', and boven is not the same as over.
- Small-Talk Phrases and Social FormulasA2 — The fixed social phrases that keep everyday Dutch interactions running: greeting and answering 'Hoe gaat het?', 'Lang niet gezien!', passing on regards with 'Doe de groeten aan…', and the cluster of one-word well-wishes that English splits differently — 'Sterkte!' (strength/good luck through hardship), 'Succes!' (good luck for a challenge), 'Beterschap!' (get well), 'Gefeliciteerd!' and 'Gecondoleerd'.