Greetings and Leave-Taking

Hellos and goodbyes are the first Dutch you will ever use and among the last you will master, because the words are easy but the choices are loaded: every greeting quietly signals how formal you are being, what time of day it is, and how close you are to the person. Pick the wrong one and you are not wrong so much as slightly off — saying goedemiddag at nine in the morning, or breezing doei at a job interview. This page sorts the openers and closers by register and by time of day, untangles the fact that dag means both "hello" and "goodbye", and adds the social choreography — the handshake, the three kisses — that English speakers find genuinely unfamiliar.

Casual openers: hallo, hoi, hé

For everyday, informal greetings, three words cover almost everything. Hallo is the neutral all-purpose "hello", fine with almost anyone. Hoi is lighter and friendlier — the texting, friends-and-family "hi". Hé (with the accent — without it, he is a different word) is a casual "hey" that signals you already know the person or are pleasantly surprised to see them.

Time-of-day greetings

The more formal — and very common — greetings are tied to the clock. These are what you say to a shopkeeper, a colleague in the morning, a stranger, or anyone you address with u. The set:

The key timing fact English speakers get wrong: goedemiddag starts at noon, not after lunch in some vaguer sense. Before 12:00 it is goedemorgen; the moment the clock passes twelve it becomes goedemiddag. And goedenavond kicks in early by English standards — around six in the evening, not late at night.

"Dag": the two-faced word

Dag is the word that confuses every beginner, because it works as both a greeting and a farewell. Said when you arrive, it is a slightly formal "hello"; said when you leave, it is "goodbye". Context and intonation tell the two apart — and a leave-taking dag is often lengthened and sung: daháág! It is neutral-to-mildly-formal, safe with almost anyone, and the default polite goodbye if you are unsure.

Casual goodbyes: doei, doeg

Among friends and in relaxed settings, the everyday goodbye is doei (sometimes spelled doeg, and you'll hear doeidoei doubled up for extra friendliness). It is cheerful and light — perfect for friends, family, and casual shop interactions, but too casual for a formal meeting or a first impression with someone you address as u.

Formal goodbyes: tot ziens

The formal, safe goodbye is tot ziens (literally "until [we] see [each other]"). Use it with strangers, in shops, in any u-setting, and whenever doei would feel too casual. It carries no warmth or coldness — it is the neutral professional sign-off.

The "tot …" family: see you soon

A whole set of goodbyes built on tot ("until") specify when you'll next meet. They double as a warm, forward-looking farewell.

Good wishes as goodbyes

Dutch loves to round off a parting with a wish, and it is genuinely warm rather than formulaic. Fijne dag! ("have a nice day"), fijne avond, fijn weekend or prettig weekend ("have a good weekend"), and the all-purpose het beste ("all the best"). Adding nog ("for the rest of…") is idiomatic: fijne dag nog = "have a nice rest of your day".

The social choreography: handshakes and three kisses

The physical greeting trips up almost every newcomer. In formal or first-time meetings — a job interview, meeting a client — the Dutch shake hands firmly and, while doing so, often say their own name. Among friends and family, especially women greeting women or men greeting women, the greeting is three kisses on alternating cheeks (right–left–right) — air kisses, really. Men greeting men usually shake hands or, if close, do nothing physical or a quick hug. The three-kiss count is the Netherlands norm and surprises people used to one or two.

Common Mistakes