How to Say Hello and Good Bye in Dutch Language (Pronunciation with Audio)

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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:

1. Common Ways to Say Hello in Dutch
2. How to respond to a Dutch greeting
3. Common ways to say Goodbye in Dutch.
4. 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. 

If you are serious about learning Dutch and you want to master the basics in a short amount of time, then check out our easy, fun, and fast Online Dutch course. While it can take you a while to learn a language by searching things on google and using apps, – with this comprehensive language course, it will just take you a couple of weeks to see some real progress in your abilities. You will be surprised at how quickly you will be able to talk in Dutch and leave a good impression!