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Questions & Answers about Hallo, meneer!
Does meneer mean "sir" or "Mr."?
It can mean both! In this sentence, it is used by itself to mean "sir". However, you also use it in front of a last name to mean "Mr.", as in meneer Jansen (Mr. Jansen).
Is hallo polite enough to use when addressing someone as "sir"?
Yes! Hallo is a safe, neutral greeting in Dutch that works well in both casual and formal situations. If you want to be even more formal, you can use time-specific greetings like goedemorgen (good morning) or goedemiddag (good afternoon).
How do you pronounce the double 'e' in meneer?
The double 'e' makes a long sound, similar to the vowel sound in the English word "play" or "late". It is a very common mistake for English speakers to pronounce it like the "ee" in "meet", so watch out for that!
What word would I use here if I were greeting a woman?
You would use mevrouw, which translates to "ma'am", "Mrs.", or "Ms.". The greeting would simply be: Hallo, mevrouw!