Did you know that every minute of the day, one billion tons of rain falls on the earth? Hard to believe, considering the climate crisis! Of course, all that rain is not equally shared across the planet. So, would you mention this fascinating fact to your new acquaintance? Well, small talk about local weather is actually a great conversation-starter. Everyone cares about the weather and you’re sure to hear a few interesting opinions! Seasons can be quite unpredictable these days and nobody knows the peculiarities of a region better than the locals. DutchPod101 will equip you with all the weather vocabulary you need to plan your next adventure. The weather can even be an important discussion that influences your adventure plans. After... Show more

Did you know there are many different types of calendars? As you probably know - a calendar is a system of organizing days in weeks and months for specific purposes, according to Wikipedia. Worldwide, most countries use the Gregorian calendar. Some just work on the same framework, meaning that time is divided into units based on the earth's movement around the sun - the "solar calendar". Other calendars keep time by observing the moon's movements, a combination of the moon and the sun's movements, and seasons. Through DutchPod101, you can learn all about this and so much more! Our themed, culturally relevant lessons are skillfully designed so you can do your planning perfectly for a holiday or a date. Having a good plan for a visit or... Show more

Did you know that only some reptiles and birds don't parent their offspring? Except for crocodiles, all reptiles (and one family of bird species called megapodes) hatch from eggs and grow up alone, without any family. The rest of us need family if we are to survive and thrive - humans and animals alike! At DutchPod101, we know how important family is. Therefore, we take care to teach you all the important vocabulary and phrases pertaining to family. Table of Contents Why Is It Important to Know Dutch Vocabulary about Family? Learn a New Culture? Learn its Family Vocab first How DutchPod101 Can Help You Learn Dutch Family Terms 1. Why Is It Important to Know Dutch Vocabulary about Family? Well, if you're serious about... Show more

Traveling to foreign countries is nearly always an exciting, enriching, and beneficial experience. Yet, some things can be real downers, such as boredom on a lengthy flight to . Really, binge-watching onboard movies can only be interesting for so long! And jet lag - another huge downer. Did you know that jet lag is more severe when you travel from the West to the East? Well, we won't know how to beat that, but there are fortunately plenty of remedies around to investigate. To beat flight boredom, though, we may have the answer for you at DutchPod101! Why don't you take the time to study Dutch travel phrases? We make this super easy and fun, with great downloadables, like our PDF Cheat Sheets. Quickly memorize these, and impress your ... Show more

Have you ever found yourself shopping in the Netherlands, only to become confused when the cashier tells you the price? Or maybe you were having a smooth conversation with a native Dutch speaker, only to freeze up when trying to give your age. If you plan on working or studying in the Netherlands for any length of time, you’ve got to learn some Dutch numbers.  Numbers are everywhere, in countless aspects of our daily lives: from giving our age to counting money, people, or things. Therefore, learning how to identify and use numbers is a vital skill for effective communication. When you first begin studying Dutch numbers, it may be challenging—but if you stick to it, you’ll get the hang of it in no time. In this useful guide from... Show more

Learn how to apologize in Dutch - fast and accurately! DutchPod101 makes it easy for you to make amends. Start with a bonus, and download your FREE cheat sheet - How to Improve Your Dutch Skills! (Logged-In Member Only) Table of Contents Common Ways to Say Sorry in Dutch How To Refuse Something Politely in Dutch Audio Lesson - Survival Phrases "How to Say Sorry" Why You Will NOT Be Sorry For Learning Dutch through DutchPod101 1. Common Ways to Say Sorry in Dutch Nobody’s perfect, not anywhere in the world. Everybody makes mistakes, and does and says regrettable things. Then it’s time to apologize, as saying ‘I’m sorry’ is not in vain. It can be very healing! Did you know that hearing a sincerely-meant apology can have a... Show more

Wouldn't it be nice if you could improve your Dutch sitting on the couch watching TV? Yes, learning Dutch can really be this fun. If you combine watching Dutch language TV shows with a Dutch language course, you can greatly improve your understanding of the language. Luckily for you, there are many Dutch TV shows to watch, in every genre—Dutch comedy TV shows, cartoons on the Nickelodeon Dutch TV channel, crime series, Dutch reality shows, and more. There’s really something for everyone, and for every learner regardless of their current skill level. In this article, we’ll first explain how watching Dutch TV can boost your Dutch. After that, we’ll give you tips on where to watch Dutch TV series. And last but definitely not least,... Show more

Yes, even beginners can quickly learn conversational Dutch well enough to carry on real conversations with native speakers. Of course, beginners won’t be able to carry a conversation the same way they could in their native language. But, just knowing a few tips like which questions to ask to keep a conversation going are all you need to speak and interact with real native speakers! But before we get to specific suggestions, let’s first take a closer look at how having real Dutch conversations is so vital to your mastery of the language. Learning to Carry a Conversation is Vital to Mastery of Any Language Communicating with other people is the very point of language and conversation is almost second nature in our native tongue. For... Show more

Learn 4 tools and techniques to stop translating in your head and start thinking in Going through lessons is enough to get by and learn the basics of , but to truly become fluent you need to be able to think in . This will allow you to have conversations with ease, read smoothly, and comprehensively understand natives. To do this, you need to go beyond just completing daily or weekly lessons. We naturally translate in our heads because it's viewed as the easiest way to learn the definitions needed when learning a language. This way of learning can actually hinder your skills and fluency later on. If your brain has to make neural connections between the word you're learning, what it means in your native tongue, and the physical object... Show more

Speaking is usually the #1 weakness for all Dutch learners. This is a common issue among language learners everywhere. The reason for this is obvious: When language learners first start learning a language, they usually start with reading. They read online articles, books, information on apps and so on. If they take a class, they spend 20% of their time repeating words, and 80% of the time reading the textbook, doing homework or just listening to a teacher. So, if you spend most of your time reading instead of speaking, you might get better at reading but your speaking skills never grow. You get better at what you focus on. So if you want to improve you speaking skills, you need to spend more of your study time on speaking. Here are... Show more