Dutch FluencyLesson 11 of 50 · A0 to A1 · Free
Describing people, objects and experiences
Without adjectives, every Dutch story is emotionally flat.
One room changes size, taste, cleanliness, light and speed. One noun can become ten different worlds.
12 minutes. No account needed for lesson 1. No rush.
11Today you will
- 1Learn the twenty adjectives that color every Dutch story
- 2Pair opposites so they stick twice as fast
- 3Use lekker for far more than food
- 4Describe your own room and city out loud
The 12 words you actually use
Dutch first, said out loud. Say each word before you flip the card, then check yourself. Every card speaks.
groot
khroht
groot
big
De stad is groot. The city is big.
klein
klayn
klein
small
Het huis is klein. The house is small.
lekker
LEK-kur
lekker
tasty, nice
De koffie is lekker. The coffee is tasty.
trap word
vies
vees
vies
dirty, disgusting
De straat is vies. The street is dirty.
schoon
skhohn
schoon
clean
Mijn kamer is schoon. My room is clean.
mooi
moy
mooi
beautiful
Amsterdam is mooi. Amsterdam is beautiful.
saai
sigh
saai
boring
De film is saai. The film is boring.
donker
DONG-kur
donker
dark
De kamer is donker. The room is dark.
licht
likht
licht
light
De lente is licht. Spring is light.
zwaar
zvahr
zwaar
heavy
De tas is zwaar. The bag is heavy.
snel
snel
snel
fast
De fiets is snel. The bike is fast.
koud
kowt
koud
cold
Het water is koud. The water is cold.
Adjectives hunt in pairs
Every adjective here has a partner. Learn them two at a time and each one carries the other for free. Read each pair out loud like a tiny argument.
- one way
- groot - big · schoon - clean · mooi - beautiful · donker - dark · rijk - rich
- the other
- klein - small · vies - dirty · lelijk - ugly · licht - light · arm - poor
lekker does everything
The Dutch use lekker far beyond food: lekker slapen (sleep well), lekker weer (nice weather), lekker bezig (nicely done). It is the most Dutch word there is; sprinkle it and you instantly sound local. And mind the trap word: vies (dirty) is one vowel from vis (fish). De vis is vies is a sentence you now understand.
One room, ten worlds
Sam moves into a new room and the adjectives do all the work. Read it once for the shape. Read it again out loud.
- 01
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 02
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 03
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 04
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 05
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 06
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 07
tap the Dutch to check yourself
- 08
tap the Dutch to check yourself
Helper words in this story
- de kamer the room
- het raam the window
- de tas the bag
- de stad the city
- alles everything
- niets nothing
- zelfs even
- de regen the rain
- dit this
- mijn my
Thirty seconds. Prove it.
Three words from this lesson. Answer before you doubt yourself.
Prove it · 1 of 3
vies
All 20 words in this lesson
groot
big
klein
small
lekker
tasty
vies
dirty, disgusting
schoon
clean
mooi
beautiful
lelijk
ugly
interessant
interesting
saai
boring
arm
poor
rijk
rich
donker
dark
licht
light
zwaar
heavy
hard
hard, fast
zacht
soft, slow
snel
fast
lief
lovely, sweet
stout
naughty
koud
cold
Hear all 20, then say them back
The interactive lesson plays every word, walks the story line by line, records your voice next to a native one, and remembers the ones you find hard. Lesson 1 needs no account.
- I can describe a room with five adjectives
- I can use lekker the Dutch way, beyond food
- I can pair eight opposites without thinking
- I can say what is boring and what is interesting
- I can describe my city in one sentence
Fifty fifty. We build it. You show up.
