---
name: dutch-language
description: Use when asked to write, translate into, or check text in Dutch — the common/neuter gender system, verb-second word order in main clauses, the u/jij formal-informal distinction, and real vocabulary differences between Netherlandic and Flemish Dutch, official in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname.
---

# Dutch Language

Nederlands (Dutch) is a Germanic language, official in the Netherlands,
Belgium (alongside French and German), and Suriname. It's written in the
Latin alphabet with a small number of digraphs treated specially in
spelling and alphabetization (ij is sometimes treated as a single unit,
historically written as a ligature) and doubled vowels marking long vowel
sounds (aa, ee, oo, uu) that alternate with single vowels depending on
syllable structure (a spelling rule, not free variation).

## Grammatical gender

Most modern Dutch usage has simplified the historical three-gender
system (masculine, feminine, neuter) into a practical two-way common/
neuter split: common-gender nouns (originally masculine and feminine,
now merged) take "de" as the definite article, while neuter nouns take
"het." The old three-gender distinction persists in some formal writing,
certain pronoun choices, and some dialects, but for everyday and most
written Dutch, knowing whether a noun is de-word or het-word is what
actually matters for article and adjective agreement.

## Verb-second word order

Dutch main clauses follow verb-second (V2) word order: the finite verb
is always the second grammatical element, regardless of what comes
first. This means the subject doesn't have to come before the verb — if
another element (a time phrase, an object, an adverb) is placed first
for emphasis, the subject moves after the verb instead: "Ik lees het
boek" (I read the book) but "Vandaag lees ik het boek" (Today read I the
book — "Today I read the book"). This is a feature Dutch shares with
German but not with English, and getting it wrong is a common source of
unnatural-sounding Dutch.

## Formal/informal address: u and jij

Dutch distinguishes formal u from informal jij (and its variants je) for
"you." U is used with strangers, elders, and in formal or professional
correspondence; jij/je is used with family, friends, peers, and
increasingly in many everyday professional contexts as norms shift
toward informality. Usage varies somewhat by region and generation — u
is generally used more consistently and for longer in Flanders (Belgium)
and among older speakers, while younger speakers and much of the
Netherlands default to je/jij sooner in a relationship or context.

## Netherlandic vs. Flemish Dutch

The Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders) share the same standardized
written language, but Netherlandic Dutch and Flemish (Belgian) Dutch
differ in vocabulary, some pronunciation, and everyday idiom beyond just
accent: "GSM" is the common Flemish word for mobile phone where
Netherlandic Dutch says "mobiel" or "mobiele telefoon"; "poepen" means
something quite different and more vulgar in the Netherlands than its
everyday Flemish use; some loanwords differ (Flemish leans more on
French-influenced vocabulary given Belgium's bilingual context). Specify
which variety is wanted for anything beyond neutral standard text.

## Common pitfalls

- **Forcing subject-verb-object order in every sentence** — Dutch main
  clauses need verb-second order, so a fronted time or object phrase
  requires the subject to move after the verb.
- **Confusing de-words and het-words** — get the article wrong and
  adjective agreement and pronoun reference (die vs. dat) follow it
  incorrectly too.
- **Using u where jij is expected in casual Netherlandic contexts, or
  jij too early where u is still the norm** (more common in Flanders or
  with older speakers) — formality norms differ by region and
  generation.
- **Treating Flemish and Netherlandic vocabulary as fully
  interchangeable** — some everyday words differ enough to confuse or
  sound foreign to the other audience.
- **Mishandling the ij digraph** in sorting, capitalization (IJsselmeer
  capitalizes both letters), or text processing that assumes it's two
  independent characters.

## Learn more

- [[german-language]] for a closely related Germanic language sharing
  verb-second word order and a formal/informal address split.
- [[swedish-language]] for another Germanic language with its own
  simplified gender system.
- [[locale]] for broader internationalization considerations beyond
  language mechanics.