9 funny little (hard to translate) Dutch words

Interjections (‘tussenwerpsels’ in Dutch) are so commonly used in spoken Dutch, that they may even be key to understanding the spoken language.

I have been living in the Netherlands and learning Dutch myself for years, and I really believe this to be true. These phrases are so commonly used, and often hard to translate, that it’s really important to learn them just as you would with grammar or vocabulary.

In this article I’ll take you through the ones I hear on a regular basis (keeping in mind I live in Utrecht and work in Amsterdam).

What are interjections?

For starters, what is an interjection?

Interjections are words or short phrases that express sudden emotions or reactions.

Dutch interjections play a key role in everyday language and are commonly used in daily conversations. Understanding these interjections can enhance your ability to communicate with native Dutch speakers and provide valuable insight into Dutch culture and the emotions behind the language.

Here are 9 common Dutch interjections that I think everyone learning Dutch needs to know.

Common Dutch interjections

1. Ze

Imagine you’re standing in line at the grocery store and the cashier is just ringing through the last items of the person ahead of you. The customer pays for their stuff, thank the cashier, and right before they walk away, instead of “goodbye” they say, “werk ze!”.

If you work in an environment where Dutch is spoken, or you’ve literally just been out in public in the Netherlands where any type of work is being performed, then you’ve heard people saying this in some form.

I have come to learn however (in the comments of my YouTube video) that this is a regional saying, most likely only used in the Randstad.

If you’ve tried to look this up online, you’ll already know that none of the translation tools can help you with this one.

But roughly speaking, “werk ze” means “good luck at work” or “enjoy the rest of your shift”.

As the website onzetaal.nl explains, “ze” can be used in many other situations, not just about work.

Generally speaking, if you see or hear this combination, the speaker is wishing you luck or hoping you enjoy whatever you’re about to do. And whatever you are about to do is indicated by the verb that comes before “ze”.

Other common examples:

Sport ze = have a good workout
Eet ze = enjoy your meal
Slaap ze = have a good sleep

2. Tjongejonge

It may not look like it, but this Dutch interjection is in fact a word that can be found in the van Dale dictionary:

tjon·ge , tjon·ge·jon·ge (tussenwerpsel)
uitroep van verwondering

In other words, you use this phrase to exclaim your amazement.

Funny enough, learning this word was actually part of the curriculum back in the first Dutch course I took — so that just goes to show you how important they considered this word for beginners. My teacher explained that you can keep adding more ‘jonge’s to the end, to make it even more dramatic.

“Jongen” means “boy”, so the best translation of this word is probably “boy, oh boy”.

3. Joh

There are a few different ways to use the word “joh” but there are 3 specific uses that I have encountered the most:

At the beginning or end of a sentence

I often hear this one when someone is addressing someone else informally. I would compare it to saying “man” or “dude” in English. So you’re probably only going to use this with someone you’re very familiar.

For example, you might hear, “doe even normaal, joh!”

Which could be like saying, “chill out, man!” or “just act normal, dude”

At the end of a short response

E.g. “nee joh!”

Depending on the tone you use, “nee joh” could even have a few different meanings. Sort of like “no way” in English.

You could say “nee joh!” because you disagree with something someone just said, or you could say “nee joh!” if you’re surprised by something that someone’s just said to you.

On its own

The third one is just “joh!” on its own, as a sarcastic remark to something very obvious.

Person A: Het is echt koud buiten in de winter
Person B: Joh

In English I think I’d probably say, “you think?” or “no kidding”.

4. Mwah

This one feels less like a word and more like a sound you make, but again, it is a word you can find in the van Dale dictionary:

mwah (tussenwerpsel)
om twijfel of gematigd enthousiasme uit te drukken

It is used to express doubt or mild enthusiasm. You can literally give this as a one-word answer if you want to explain that something is just ok or “meh” in English.

5. Zeg

For example, “lekker zeg!”

“Zeg” doesn’t really have an English translation in this construction — but it is used to strengthen or add emphasis.

One example that comes to mind, when you’re at a restaurant and the food arrives at your table and is placed in front of you, you can say, “lekker!” As a way of saying, this looks tasty!

But you can also say, “lekker zeg!” which has the exact same meaning, but with slightly more emphasis.

You can add “zeg” onto a bunch of different adjectives as well.

Mooi zeg = beautiful

Shit zeg = shit!
Kom op zeg = come on
Lelijk zeg = how ugly

You could also say something like, “nou ja, zeg” (in an annoyed tone) which would be like saying, “come on, are you kidding me?”.

6. Zo

There are a few different ways to use this word but I’ll mention 3 common ones:

Adjective + “zo”

The best way I can describe this construction, is that “zo” is referring to something that’s been done, or the manner in which something has been done.

So let’s use a really common example that you’ve definitely heard before — “goed zo”

One place you might hear this a lot is from parents at the playground. If a child goes down the slide on their own, a parent might say “goed zo”, which means “well done” or “good job going down the slide”.

As the opener of a sentence

In most cases, this is the exact same as saying “so” in English.

So after a long car ride, after parking the car, you might say something like, “Zo, we zijn er!”

Which I would just translate as, “So! We’re here”

On it’s own

“Zo” on its own is often used as an exclamation of your amazement or surprise. In that case you might see it written like so:

Zóóó!

7. Hoor

There’s something I love about this word. It’s extremely nuanced and I can’t think of anything like it in English.

This is by far one of the most commonly used Dutch interjections on this list, so you’ll definitely want to get to know the ins and outs of “hoor”.

Surprise, surprise, it can be used in a few different ways.

I’m not Dutch, so despite the fact that I have gotten somewhat of a feeling for using this word when I speak Dutch, I don’t know the full scope of it. The website The Dutch Online Academy on the other hand gives a great breakdown of the word “hoor”.

All of these examples are directly from her article linked here.

So let’s take this little exchange as our main example:

Person A: “Oeps, ik ben mijn portemonnee vergeten. Mag ik 5 euro lenen?”
Person B: “Ja, hoor!”

The answer could have simply been “ja”, but in situations like this one, you will often hear “ja, hoor” instead. So why is that? What does this word add?

The answer depends on context and especially intonation.

If the tone is happy or normal, it will strengthen the “ja”. So it’s like saying: no problem at all, you didn’t even have to ask!

If the tone is sarcastic or with disbelief, it will mean something like: yeah right and I am supposed to believe that?

If the tone is tired or accompanied by a sigh, it probably means: you forgot your wallet again? Well, ok, here you go again, but I am getting sick of this.

Let’s look at another situation:

Peter walks into the kitchen wearing shorts, a t-shirt and sandals. His girlfriend is eating breakfast at the table. She looks at Peter and says, “het regent en het is 12 graden, hoor”.

This means something like: I don’t know what you were thinking when you got dressed, but it looks like you need this information about the actual conditions outside! So it’s like saying, “you realize it’s raining and 12C outside right?”

Another one:

Mark has been cooking an elaborate meal. His roommate comes in and looks at the mess in the kitchen. Everything is in utter chaos. Mark says: “Ik ruim alles op, hoor!”

This means something like: Don’t worry! I know what you’re thinking, but I’m going to take care of this.

So, as you can see from these examples, “hoor” doesn’t mean anything on its own, but it comes with an emotion that is completely dependent on intonation and context.

8. Hè

I’ll mention three different ways you can use this little word.

To express confusion or surprise

This is no different from saying “huh?” in English.

Hè hè

This is what you say in the same breath as a sigh — indicating relief, feeling fulfilled, or tired.

At the end of the sentence

If you are familiar with the Canadian “eh”, this is literally the Dutch version of it.

So in this construction you can add it on to the end of a sentence in order to kind of ask for the validation or agreement of the person you’re talking to.

For example, if you’ve just reached the hilltop after completing a hike with a friend, the both of you are appreciating the view from the top, and you ask, “mooi, hè?”, which means, “beautiful, isn’t it?”.

9. Hoppakee

This is used as an exclamation of encouragement or excitement, often said during the coordination or completion of a physical activity.

Maybe it could be translated to “here we go” in English but there’s no clear 1-to-1 translation that I know of.

There are also bunch of variations of this:

Huppakee

Hoppatee
Hup
Hoppa

Hupsakee
Hatsiekiedee
Hatseflats

Huts

And many, many more!

Maybe one way to think of this one is like, if you have some heavy grocery bags — as you transfer them from the ground into the back of your car, you could say “hoppakee” while you clunk the heavy bag into your car.

A parent might also say “hoppakee” while picking up their child and putting them in their seat on the front of their bike.

You can also use these words when the movement is low-effort, like while moving files from one folder to another on your computer.

Final thoughts

Learning Dutch is always a fun challenge, but it can be especially tricky when it comes to all these unique, hard-to-translate little interjections which you’ll undoubtedly hear in spoken Dutch.

Make a habit of learning the most common ones, and you’ll be well on your way.

Let me know in the comments what some other words or interjections are that should be explained to Dutch learners!