How to Say Hello and Good Bye in Dutch Language (Pronunciation with Audio)
Learning to say Hello and goodbye in Dutch is not so difficult and very straightforward.
The most common and the easiest greeting for ‘hello’ is Hallo; this general greeting can be used almost in any situation, time, or place.
The most common way of saying goodbye to someone is the word Dag which means ‘bye’. The word Dag literally means ‘day’ and can be used to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye.’ This greeting is for people saying goodbye to one another and is appropriate for any person or situation.
Hallo | ha-loa | Hello |
Dag | dakh | Bye |
Learning different ways to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ is very useful and very important as you will use it very often when you meet friends, family or new people. Although most Dutch people understand English very well, they will still appreciate it if you can say a few words in Dutch. You can use these greetings to make a good (first) impression and start your conversation on a positive note.

We have already looked at the most common ways of saying ‘hello’ (hallo) and ‘goodbye’ (Dag).
But there are many more ways to greet or say goodbye to someone in Dutch. The situation and the relationship with the person is an essential factors in deciding which is the best greeting to use.
After reading this article and practicing the pronunciation, you will know the following things:
- Common Ways to Say Hello in Dutch
- How to respond to a Dutch greeting
- Common ways to say Goodbye in Dutch.
- How about the handshakes and kisses when you meet someone in the Netherlands?
Common Ways to Say Hello in Dutch
There are several ways to say ‘hello’ in Dutch. The greeting you use depends on the time of the day and on how well you know the person.
General Dutch Greetings
Standard greetings for hello that are short and easy to say and appropriate for almost any time or place.
Hallo | ha-loa | Hello |
Dag | dakh | Hello /Bye |
Hoi | hoy | Hi (casual) |
Hey | Hey | Hey (very casual) |
Formal Dutch greetings
The Dutch greetings underneath are more formal and most commonly used in interactions with people you don’t know (well). For example, at work, in shops, restaurants, hotels, etc.
Goedemorgen | khoo-dermor-khen | Good morning |
Goedemiddag | khoo-der-mi-dakh | Good afternoon |
Goedenavond | khoo-dern-aa-font | Good evening |
Goedendag | Khoo-dern dakh | Good day |
Aangenaam | Aan ghu nahm | Nice to meet you (formal) |
Leuk je te ontmoeten | Luk yer ter ont-moo-tern | Nice to meet you (informal) |
Greetings where we inform about the other person’s wellbeing.
You can greet people, and you can show your interest in another person by asking a question that informs about their well-being.

These greeting forms you can use with your friends and family or even in more formal situations. They show caring and a willingness to interact and get to know the other person better.
Hoe gaat het? | hoo khaat het? | How are you? |
Hoe gaat het met je? | hoo khaat het met yer | How are you doing? (Informal) |
Hoe gaat het met U? | hoo khaat het met uw | How are you doing? (Formal) |
Alles goed? | a-lers khoot | All right? (informal) |
How to respond to the Dutch greeting ‘How are you doing’?
So hopefully, now you know how to greet someone. But imagine someone asking you how you are doing. How do you reply to such a question? There are several ways, and of course, the answers depend on how you are feeling and how close you are to the other person to share this information.
Goed, met jou? | Khoot met yow | Fine, and you? |
Met mij gaat het goed. | Met may khaat het khoot | I am fine. |
Prima | pree-ma | Fine |
Goed, dank je | Khoot, dank yer | Good, thank you |
Uitstekend | oait-stay-kernt | Excellent |
Het gaat wel | Het khaat vel | It is okay |
Niet zo goed | neet zoa khoot | Not very good |

Common ways to say Goodbye in Dutch
When leaving friends, family, or a place in general Dutch people will use one of these words or phrases to say goodbye in Dutch. It’s considered polite to say something when you are leaving. Here’s a summary of things you can say.
Dag | dakh | Bye |
Goedendag | KHOO dun dakh | Good day |
Doei | dooy | Bye (informal) |
Tot ziens / gauw / snel | Tot zeens/khow/snel | See you soon |
Tot straks / later / zo | Tot straks/laa-ter/zoa | See you later |
Tot de volgende keer | Tot der fol-khern-der kayr | Until next time |
Groetjes | khroot-yers | Say hi to everyone |
How about the handshakes and kisses when you meet someone in the Netherlands?
The most common way of greeting each other in The Netherlands is by giving a handshake. When you introduce yourself to someone, you will shake hands with the other person and say your name.
Many times when you leave, you will shake hands again. You thank the other person for their visit, present, or meeting and then say goodbye. The shaking of hands is done in formal and informal situations.
If we meet someone we are very friendly with, for example, family and close friends, we kiss each other 3 times on the cheeks. As mentioned, the 3 kisses are only common among people who know each other well, and it is also not a problem if you do not want to be kissed. You just put out your hand and make it non-verbally clear that you want to shake hands. One remark; Most men do not kiss other men so that they will shake hands instead.
Do you want to learn, speak and read more Dutch?
Being able to greet people in Dutch will help you to get around and talk to and connect with Dutch people. People will appreciate that you are making an effort to speak Dutch. If you want to learn more common words and expressions, then please check out our other posts.
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