de hond
Dog
Usage
"Ik ben gebeten door een hond" — a dog bit me. Dutch cafés and restaurants often allow dogs; ask "mogen honden hier naar binnen?"
de kat
Cat
Usage
The affectionate word is "de poes". Amsterdam has De Poezenboot, a cat shelter on a canal barge. If you react, say "ik ben allergisch voor katten"
de vogel
Bird
Usage
The general word. The Dutch polders and wetlands are famous for migrating birds; birdwatching is "vogels kijken"
de vis
Fish
Usage
Live fish and the dish share the word. "Ik ben allergisch voor vis" for an allergy. The street-stall raw herring, "de haring", is the national snack — held by the tail and eaten from above
het paard
Horse
Usage
The Netherlands is a horse country and they graze all over the polders. Rugged-up horses in winter fields are a familiar Dutch sight
de koe
Cow
Usage
The black-and-white Holstein is the emblem of the Dutch landscape, out on every polder pasture. Milk is "de melk" and cheese "de kaas". The plural is "de koeien"
het varken
Pig
Usage
Pork is "het varkensvlees"; "ik eet geen varkensvlees" says you avoid it. Said of a person "varken" is an insult, so keep it for the animal
de kip
Chicken
Usage
Dutch uses one word for the live bird and the meat, so "kip" on a menu is chicken
de eend
Duck
Usage
All over the canals of Amsterdam and Utrecht. Cities ask people not to feed them bread — it is bad for the water and for the birds
de geit
Goat
Usage
A fixture of the city farm, "de kinderboerderij". Goat cheese is "de geitenkaas"
het schaap
Sheep
Usage
Grazed on the dijks to keep the grass down — a very Dutch sight, and the sheep of Texel are famous. The plural is "de schapen"
de ezel
Donkey
Usage
Common at city farms. Said of a person "ezel" means stupid, so keep it for the animal
de vos
Fox
Usage
Common in the coastal dunes and nature reserves, and increasingly on the edge of towns. Usually glimpsed at dawn or dusk
de egel
Hedgehog
Usage
A nocturnal garden and park animal, and a protected species here. Gardeners cut hedgehog gaps in their fences, an "egelsnelweg" — a hedgehog motorway
het wild zwijn
Wild boar
Usage
Lives in the woods of the Veluwe. A hazard on roads at night and never to be approached — the national park has hides for watching them safely
het hert
Deer
Usage
Seen in the Hoge Veluwe national park and at the Oostvaardersplassen. In the autumn rut, "de bronst", people go out specially to hear them roar
de ooievaar
Stork
Usage
Once gone from the Netherlands and now reintroduced, nesting on poles and purpose-built platforms across the polders. Here too it is the bird that brings babies
de zwaan
Swan
Usage
On the canals and lakes all year. They are big and strong and will see you off if they have cygnets, so keep your distance. The plural is "de zwanen"
de reiger
Heron
Usage
Famously unbothered on Amsterdam's canal sides and in its markets, sometimes waiting beside a fishmonger's stall. A wild bird entirely at home in the Dutch city
de meeuw
Seagull
Usage
Not only at Scheveningen and the coast but well inland too. They will go for food on an outdoor table, so watch your plate
de duif
Pigeon
Usage
In every square and station. The plural is "de duiven"
de eekhoorn
Squirrel
Usage
The red squirrel of Dutch woods and parks. Unlike Britain, the Netherlands has almost no grey squirrels
het konijn
Rabbit
Usage
Wild rabbits are everywhere in the coastal dunes, and they are a common pet too
de muis
Mouse
Usage
In a hotel: "er zit een muis in de kamer". The plural is "de muizen"
de rat
Rat
Usage
Along the canals and around stations. Like English, Dutch separates the mouse from the rat
de vleermuis
Bat
Usage
Out over the canals at dusk in summer. They eat the mosquitoes, but never handle one
de slang
Snake
Usage
The only venomous snake here is the adder ("de adder"), and only in a few heathland areas of the Veluwe and Drenthe. You will not meet one in town
de hagedis
Lizard
Usage
The small lizard basking on dunes and heathland, and quite harmless
de kikker
Frog
Usage
Everywhere in the ditches and ponds, and loud on spring nights. The squat toad is a separate word, "de pad"
de mug
Mosquito
Usage
"Er zijn muggen" — there are mosquitoes; repellent is "de muggenspray". With water everywhere, summer evenings are lively. A bite is "de muggenbeet"
de vlieg
Fly
Usage
For flies landing on food at an outdoor table: "er zit een vlieg"
de bij
Bee
Usage
If you are allergic, say "ik ben allergisch voor bijensteken". Honey is "de honing"
de wesp
Wasp
Usage
Late summer brings them to your drink and anything sweet on a terrace — exactly the season for pancakes and ice cream outdoors. Never approach a nest
de mier
Ant
Usage
"Er lopen mieren in de kamer" if they get into your room. The plural is "de mieren"
de kakkerlak
Cockroach
Usage
Tell reception "er zit een kakkerlak in de kamer". The Dutch climate keeps them mostly indoors
de spin
Spider
Usage
All Dutch spiders are harmless. In autumn the big ones come indoors
de teek
Tick
Usage
Dutch nature reserves post warnings about Lyme disease, "de ziekte van Lyme". Check yourself after walking through grass or woodland. If bitten, say "ik ben gebeten door een teek" — and see a doctor if a ring-shaped rash appears
de kwal
Jellyfish
Usage
Washed up on North Sea beaches in summer. Most Dutch species do not sting, but some do, so do not pick them up. If stung, say "ik ben gestoken door een kwal"
More Dutch phrases
- Basic Words
- Basic Nouns
- Basic Verbs
- Adjectives
- Question Words
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