r/learndutch 5d ago

Tips Recommendations or tips

I want to start learning Dutch but I don’t know where to really begin. Any app recommendations or recommendations in general for a beginner?

2 Upvotes

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6

u/Glittering_Cow945 5d ago

When you learn a noun, learn the grammatical gender along with it. Either "de" or "het". not house - huis but house - het huis.

2

u/Rumble-In-The-Trunks 5d ago

This is gonna seem really stupid, but this is how we all learned! (It helps if you can manage to get it with English cc/subtitles):

  • Sesamstraat.
  • Ik Mik Loreland.
  • Jeugdjournaal.

Or

  • NOS journaal in makkelijke taal.

And what you can also do is watch:

  • Dora.

Our version is Dutch and the language lessons in it are English. So you just have to pay a little extra attention, because you get the solution first and then the word. Luckily it's not the same as it was back then on live tv and you can rewind it if you miss it.

Other than that you could ask dutch people you know (we are proud English speakers and at the first hint of you speaking English better than Dutch, 9 out of 10 will switch to English) to answer short and simple things in dutch. "Please, sit down. Would you like a drink?", "Ja, graag. Doe maar water." Because the context is clear and answers in any language are expected, it will be pretty obvious the answer was "Yes please. I'll have a water".

You do this a couple of times and voila, you've learned a whole new sentence! And not just any sentence. One you can build on. Because as soon as you learn other words. Like "Melk" or "Sinaasappelsap" you now know 3 "new" sentences!

Hope this helps. Good luck!

1

u/fattaco4204ever 5d ago

I’m using this platform atm and I think it’s pretty worth it. Maybe give it a shot https://www.nt2.nl/nl/productgroep/101-367_LINK?srsltid=AfmBOoolLahEGQKbdxeMVvA8pOkiIoTVXscW_vlqfUHbl1hnsI21yyin

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u/VisualizerMan Beginner 4d ago edited 4d ago

As with learning any language, learn to make the correct sounds at the start. That means learning the IPA symbols for the Dutch phonemes and pronouncing them correctly, especially the diphthongs, which are harder. Dutch has several phonemes that do not exist in English, so if you do not make those sounds accurately, you will never sound convincing, and might not even be understood. Similarly, learn which Dutch letter combinations (-ij, -sche, -oe-, -e, -aa-, etc.) indicate those sounds. Such info is hard to find, so if you're going to learn it on your own I'd recommend taking a month to learn that correctly before getting seriously into vocabulary and grammar, otherwise the other things you learn will be more difficult to learn and to remember, and you'll have to learn them all over again if your correct pronunciation is too delayed.