No-nonsense Nederlands - No-nonsense Dutch

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise all the expressions you need when explaining your Flemish hairdresser what you want. Translate and repeat a Dutch dialogue about curls, bangs, and a bald boyfriend.

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise your Dutch with a dialogue about reporting a theft. This is a great episode for intermediate learners, because a lot of things come together: asking questions, talking about past and future, basic vocab... Up for a challenge? See how well you can translate and repeat this dialogue!

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise the typical phrases you hear in any Flemish restaurant when arriving at a restaurant, ordering and paying. 

Send a text Some Dutch sounds are notoriously difficult for non-natives. The 'ui' and 'ou/au' for example. In this episode, you get to translate and repeat sentences full of ui and ou. Enjoy there tongue twisters!

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise using prepositions in Dutch. You translate and repeat a challenging dialogue about a weekend spent at the Dutch coast, with lots of prepositions like op, onder, tegenover, langs ... for you to practise.

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise talking in Dutch about concerts, movies and plays. You learn how to ask a friend to join you, or to ask what kind of music they like.

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise the use of the pronoun 'zich'. You get to translate and repeat a story with lots of 'zich' in it.  Oh, and I've added music for the first time - let me know what you think! One address: nononsensenederlands@gmail.com

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise talking about things that are unlikely to happen, using the modal verb 'zou'. Translate and repeat, and gain fluency with every practice.

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise the past tense of strong verbs: those verbs that change vowels in the past tense, like kijken > ik keek. All the most common strong verbs are used in this beginner to intermediate text about a beloved cat. An active practice to make you progress faster!

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise lots of words about winter weather: from ice (ijs) and glad (slippery) to lawine (avalanche) and een winterslaap houden (hibernate). Perfect for when you need a small talk topic in Dutch.

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise the pronounciation of the soft g, a challenging sound in Flemish Dutch. There are two dialogues packed with g's for you to translate and repeat.  Have some water ready? Then start your Dutch workout.

Send a text In this grammar episode, you get to practise Dutch sentences with omdat, want, daarom, dus. These are not easy, because some take inversion, some don't (and sometimes you can choose). Take ten minutes to translate and repeat, to make real progress. Don't forget to check the transcript to support your learning!

Send a text In this episode you practise Dutch words related to families by listening to, translating and repeating a short text.  You learn common words like broer en zus, moeder en vader (brother and sister, mother and father), but also more challenging ones like gescheiden (divorced) or tweeling (twins). A quick and efficient practice for all levels.

Send a text In this episode, you practise the past simple of 'weak verbs' in Dutch: those verbs that keep their vowel. So 'Ik maak - Ik maak te '.  You get to translate and repeat sentences with lots of these verbs in them, through a story about childhood. Try it and see how many you had right!

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise some useful, real-life Dutch vocabulary on traveling, and you brush up on some verb tenses as well.  Translate and repeat, for a quick and efficient Dutch learning workout!

Send a text In this episode, you get to practise the small but not so innocent word 'er' . It's used in many different ways in Dutch, which puzzles most learners.  Here, you get to listen to a dialogue riddled with 'er', with time for you to translate and/or repeat, depending on your level.

Send a text In this beginner to intermediate episode, you get to translate and repeat a job interview dialogue with lots of questions. A quick and effective way to practice word order in Dutch!

Send a text Dutch learners sometimes struggle with when to use 'heel' en when to use 'veel'. In this episode, you'll get to practice the distinction.  'Heel' and 'veel' and their different uses are worked into a short text for you to translate (intermediate learners) or just repeat (beginners) out loud. 

Send a text In this episode, you practice vocabulary that will help you on your doctor's visits. The sentence structures are on a beginner level, but you get to translate more difficult health-related words and repeat typical phrases as well.  So there is something for every learner in this episode to help you quickly improve your Dutch.

Send a text In this intermediate episode, you'll learn and practise words for feelings like relieved, surprised and disappointed. They're worked into a realistic dialogue for you to repeat, with some typically Flemish expressions. 

Send a text 'Hij' versus 'zijn', 'ze' or 'zij' ... Many learners of Dutch struggle with using these pronouns correctly. In this episode, you'll get to practice them with a fun dialogue for you to translate and repeat.

Send a text Have you struggled with using 'zij' and 'haar' versus 'hij' and 'zijn'?  In this episode, we'll tackle this devilishly difficult piece of grammar with a fun dialogue for you to repeat. 

Send a text Do you struggle with 'hij' and 'zijn' versus 'zij' and 'haar'? Those first letters make it confusing, right? In this episode, you get to practise the masculine personal pronouns to gain confidence using them. With a fun dialogue for you to translate and repeat. Enjoy!

Send a text It's so hard to know when to use 'geen' and when to use 'niet' when using a negative sentence. In this beginner episode, you get to practise the difference with a fun dialogue.

Send a text In this short bonus episode, you get to practise pronouncing a difficult sound: the 'sch' .  I've collected some sentences with lots of 'sch' for you to twist your tongue on. Advanced learners can try to understand all of the vocabulary ánd some of the expressions I've added at the end (you'll find more information on them in the transcript). But don&...