The Little Words That Make Dutch Sound Dutch
Dutch conversation runs on small words. They rarely translate one-to-one, but they appear in nearly every spoken sentence. This lesson collects the most important ones.
Still and More: nog and meer
Nog means "still" or "yet" — it says that something continues.
| I am still at home. | Ik ben nog thuis. |
| It is still warm. | Het is nog warm. |
Meer means "more". Use it before a noun, just like in English.
| Do you want more water? | Wil je meer water? |
The Positive wel
You know niet (not). Wel is its positive mirror: it stresses that something IS the case. English does this with stress — "I DO want water" — Dutch simply says wel.
| I do want water. | Ik wil wel water. |
| He is not coming, but she is. | Hij komt niet, maar zij komt wel. |
Softeners: toch, eens, nou
These three particles change the tone of a sentence, not its facts:
| particle | flavor |
|---|---|
| toch | "...right?" — asks for agreement, or insists |
| eens | softens a command to a friendly request |
| nou | "well..." — buys a moment to think |
| You are coming too, right? | Jij komt toch ook? |
| Come here, would you! | Kom eens hier! |
| Well, I don't know. | Nou, ik weet het niet. |
Drawing Conclusions: dus
Dus means "so" or "therefore". It connects a reason to its result, and the word order after it stays normal.
| I am tired, so I am going home. | Ik ben moe, dus ik ga naar huis. |
| So this is your house? | Dus dit is jouw huis? |
Really: echt
Echt intensifies whatever follows it — "really" or "genuinely".
| This cake is really sweet. | Deze taart is echt zoet. |
Alone, Everything, Gone: alleen, alles, weg
Alleen means "alone" — and also "only", depending on context:
| I am home alone. | Ik ben alleen thuis. |
| I only have water. | Ik heb alleen water. |
Alles is "everything", and when something has disappeared, it is weg (gone).
| Everything is fine. | Alles is goed. |
| The cat is gone. | De kat is weg. |
