Untranslatable Dutch Words: 15 Gems and Their Meanings

Some of the most untranslatable Dutch words are the ones that reveal the most about how the Dutch actually live and think. English can circle them with a clumsy phrase, but it cannot match them in a single word. Here are fifteen of the best, grouped by theme, with what each one really means and when you will hear it. If they leave you wanting more, our guide to learning Dutch is a good place to start.

Untranslatable Dutch words for cosiness and pleasure

Gezellig is the famous one, and there is simply no clean English equivalent. It rolls cosy, convivial, warm, sociable and pleasant into a single word, and it can describe a room, a cafe, an evening or a person. A candlelit bar full of friends is gezellig. So is a tidy living room on a rainy afternoon. It sits so close to the heart of Dutch life that it earns its own place in our guide to Dutch traditions and customs.

Voorpret translates literally as “pre-fun.” It is the enjoyment you get from looking forward to something before it has even happened, like the quiet buzz of planning a holiday. The Dutch treat this anticipation as a genuine, nameable pleasure in its own right.

Niksen is the art of doing nothing on purpose. Not meditation, not a hobby, just deliberate idleness. It had a moment as a wellness trend abroad, but the Dutch have always understood the value of sitting and staring at precisely nothing.

Uitwaaien means, roughly, “to out-blow.” It is the act of going outside into the wind, often along the coast, specifically to clear your head and feel refreshed. It is a very Dutch answer to a stuffy mind and a grey mood.

Words for food and the table

Lekker officially means “tasty,” but the Dutch use it for almost anything good. Lekker weer is nice weather, lekker geslapen means you slept well, and a lekker chair is simply a comfy one. Once you start noticing it, you hear it everywhere.

Natafelen is the act of lingering at the table long after the meal is finished, just talking. The plates are cleared, but nobody gets up. English has no single word for this much loved ritual.

Uitbuiken translates literally as “to out-belly.” It is the contented business of relaxing and letting your stomach settle after eating a little too much, usually done while natafelen.

Borrel is far more than “a drink.” A borrel is an informal social gathering built around drinks and snacks, whether it is after work on a Friday or at someone’s home. The company matters as much as the beer.

Words about other people

Gunnen is one of the hardest of all to translate. To gunnen someone something is to feel they truly deserve it and to be glad they have it, with no trace of envy. It is the warm opposite of begrudging.

Pretoogjes means “fun eyes.” It is the twinkle in someone’s eyes when they are amused or quietly up to mischief. You can spot pretoogjes on a person from right across the room.

Buurten is to drop by a neighbour or friend for a casual, unplanned chat. It is the verb form of simply being neighbourly. The habit is fading in a lot of places, but the Dutch held on to the word.

Words that explain Dutch culture

Gedogen is the official practice of tolerating something that is technically illegal but not actively prosecuted. The best known example is the approach to cannabis in coffeeshops. It is an entire governing philosophy folded into one verb.

Polderen means reaching a decision through long, patient consultation until everyone can live with the result. It comes from the centuries of cooperation the Dutch needed to manage water in the polders, and it still describes how they run almost everything, from politics to the office.

The handy words English forgot

Overmorgen is a single word for “the day after tomorrow,” where English needs four. The Dutch also have eergisteren for “the day before yesterday,” which is every bit as useful and every bit as absent from English.

Uitzieken is to stay home and let an illness fully run its course rather than rushing back too soon. The Dutch firmly believe in properly finishing being sick before returning to normal life.

What these words share is a quiet attention to ordinary life, to weather, to company, and to the pleasure of doing nothing well. Picking up a few of them teaches you as much about the Dutch as any history book, and they are the kind of thing you will start hearing the moment you know to listen for them.