Language barriers in the Netherlands

Official language is Dutch and in Friesland they speak the Frisian language.

People can speak some English, German and sometimes French. Those languages we are taught at school. Do all Dutch speak English? No they don't! Learn Dutch!

Well you can live without speaking Dutch, but to really integrate yourself you must speak Dutch. Most jobs require the Dutch language. Also realise we don't have to speak English to you

Populair phrases are Goedemorgen (Good morning), goedemiddag (good afternoon), goedenavond (good evening). All pronounced with a hard "G".

How to survive? Learn Dutch

I've posted my Dutch language disaster stories on here previously and don't intend to repeat them again except to say, if you live in Holland, life around you is in Dutch; learn Dutch, it really does make life so much easier - as the Dutch say it's gezellig.

Groetjes

I think gezellig is the most difficult thing to understand for foreigners what it really means. We use it for so many different occasions and we have a hard time to explain it ourselves. But yes it's one of the most used phrases in Dutch.

There are more practical reasons to learn the language; it's handy knowing what "pas op je hoofd" means, before you find out the hard way.

Hello...
I've been here 7 years now and if I could tell my self back then what I know now is to "give less f@#ks"...to what people think of you...to how quick or slow you are learning this difficult language, to whether you are working or not...it's your journey and you need to make it as easy for yourself as you can.
Yes life will be easier if you learn the language but you will come across opinionated dutchies along the way asking why you don't speak Dutch yet! Bear in mind a lot of these people have learnt English since primary school whereas you are learning a language that barely 1% of the population speaks...from scratch...so give yourself a break.

Also if you are moving to a small town...you will most likely come across people that don't understand why on earth you would want to move so far away from home...these people set up home 3 doors down away from their parents...so again what would you rather be doing...broadening horizons??


I actually quite like living in the Netherlands now...but I wish I cared less what people thought of me...and if you meet stuck minded people that say "we don't have to speak English to you" then you really don't want them speaking to you anyway.

Good luck

From my experience, Dutch people are highly educated to speak English. It is very rare they can not communicate in English. On the other hand, they really don't like to talk it that much.
In greater cities you can easily function with little knowledge of Dutch, as English in the public places is very common. Problem with shopping is that ingredients and instructions are mainly in Dutch, following with German and French, so no English.
In general, if you plan to stay longer in the Netherlands, I would really recommend you to learn Dutch, you would feel more comfortable and more opportunities would open for you.
In my opinion knowing foreign language gives you wider view on the world, and develops your brain, so if you live here that is additional advantage to learn it. Especially if you can practice on the street, at work, and learn on the internet for free, there are many free tutorials, courses, YouTube videos.
If you show interest to learn Dutch, people here will be eager to help you with explanations and pronunciation.

It is very important to learn the dutch language.I finally moved to the netherlands about 5months now and find it difficult getting a job i qualify for BECAUSE i cannot speak dutch fluently. Most jobs that matches my skill set i cannot apply foe because they ALWAYS require fluent dutch speaking person along side english.quite frustrating but i understand why they need a dutch speaking person.
Yes most of the people here speak english but it is advisable to learn the dutch Language.
I am learning and trying my best to get better.
I still wonder how one can build a careeer here if almost all jobs that is in line with my career field  requires a fluent dutch speaker.

(*please pardon the typo errors*)

finally, I came to the decision of learning dutch after living here for 2 years. I always thought that there's no need for me to learn Dutch, I mean there's barely 30  Million dutch speakers around the world so what are the doors that this language is going to open for me?
Now I'm having a completely different view, learning Dutch is going to boost my career or boost my chance for better careers here, now I see that the Dutch language is the only way to integrate into Dutch society make friends and live to the fullest not live as a foreigner.
so my advice for anyone living here or planning to live here is to learn Dutch that will make you feel more at home   

on my experience on being here in netherlands for 8months now. it really is important to learn it. i already know from the beginning that i "need" to learn the dutch language mainly for myself and my partner. we both can speak good english but for me to have a healthy relationship with her and her family i "must" learn their language and in the end for my self as well.  for my social life, my career and for our soon to be kids. i got a good paying job after my first month living here in roermond. it was so frustrating and dissappointing because i had no friends here and yes dutch people can speak english but they prefer speaking their own language in their own country of course. i get. i think personally one of the reason is people dont want to talk or speak other language that they are not comfortable with.  coz they gonna look stupid or sound dumb. but since i am expat, im the one need to adjust on their customary or culture or ways.  slowly im getting better and making progress on dutch language. niw im making friends, i can go around and do groceries, do job interviews in dutch and having a nice conversation with my gf family. so all is going good so far. its always nice to learn something new. especially a new language. its another life achievement for me.