The purpose of this list is to give a rough idea of the Dutch language. The words listed below are not the most common Dutch words, but a broad sampling of words. See the Word Lists page for more details.
| English | Dutch (Nederlands) |
| I | ik |
| you (singular) | jij (informal), u (formal) |
| he | hij |
| we | wij, we |
| you (plural) | jullie |
| they | zij, ze |
| this | deze, dit |
| that | die, dat |
| here | hier |
| there | daar |
| who | wie |
| what | wat |
| where | waar |
| when | wanneer |
| how | hoe |
| not | niet |
| all | al,alle |
| many | veel, menig |
| some | enkele, sommige |
| few | weinig |
| other | ander |
| one | een |
| two | twee |
| three | drie |
| four | vier |
| five | vijf |
| big | groot |
| long | lang |
| wide | breed, wijd |
| thick | dik |
| heavy | zwaar, hevig |
| small | klein |
| short | kort |
| narrow | smal |
| thin | dun |
| woman | vrouw |
| man (male) | man |
| man (human) | mens |
| child | kind |
| wife | vrouw, echtgenote |
| husband | man, echtgenoot |
| mother | moeder |
| father | vader |
| animal | dier |
| fish | vis |
| bird | vogel |
| dog | hond |
| louse | luis |
| snake | slang |
| worm | worm |
| tree | boom |
| forest | woud |
| stick | stok |
| fruit | fruit, vrucht |
| seed | zaad |
| leaf | blad |
| root | wortel |
| bark (of a tree) | schors |
| flower | bloem |
| grass | gras |
| rope | touw, koord |
| skin | huid |
| meat | vlees |
| blood | bloed |
| bone | been |
| fat (noun) | vet |
| egg | ei |
| horn | hoorn |
| tail | staart |
| feather | veer |
| hair | haar |
| head | hoofd, kop |
| ear | oor |
| eye | oog |
| nose | neus |
| mouth | mond |
| tooth | tand |
| tongue | tong |
| fingernail | vingernagel |
| foot | voet |
| leg | been |
| knee | knie |
| hand | hand |
| wing | vleugel |
| belly | buik |
| guts | darmen |
| neck | nek |
| back | rug |
| breast | borst |
| heart | hart |
| liver | lever |
| to drink | drinken |
| to eat | eten |
| to bite | bijten |
| to suck | zuigen |
| to spit | spuwen |
| to vomit | braken, overgeven |
| to blow | blazen |
| to breathe | ademen |
| to laugh | lachen |
| to see | zien |
| to hear | horen |
| to know | weten |
| to think | denken |
| to smell | ruiken |
| to fear | vrezen |
| to sleep | slapen |
| to live | leven |
| to die | sterven |
| to kill | doden |
| to fight | vechten |
| to hunt | jagen |
| to hit | slaan, raken |
| to cut | knippen, snijden |
| to split | splijten |
| to stab | steken |
| to scratch | krabben |
| to dig | graven |
| to swim | zwemmen |
| to fly | vliegen |
| to walk | lopen, stappen |
| to come | komen |
| to lie (as in a bed) | liggen |
| to sit | zitten |
| to stand | staan |
| to turn (intransitive) | draaien |
| to fall | vallen |
| to give | geven |
| to hold | houden |
| to squeeze | knijpen |
| to rub | wrijven |
| to wash | wassen |
| to wipe | vegen |
| to pull | trekken |
| to push | duwen |
| to throw | werpen, gooien |
| to tie | vastmaken, binden |
| to sew | naaien |
| to count | tellen |
| to say | zeggen |
| to sing | zingen |
| to play | spelen |
| to float | zweven |
| to flow | vloeien |
| to freeze | vriezen |
| to swell | zwellen |
| sun | zon |
| moon | maan |
| star | ster |
| water | water |
| rain | regen |
| river | rivier |
| lake | meer |
| sea | zee |
| salt | zout |
| stone | steen |
| sand | zand |
| dust | stof |
| earth | aarde |
| cloud | wolk |
| fog | mist, nevel |
| sky | lucht, hemel |
| wind | wind |
| snow | sneeuw |
| ice | ijs |
| smoke | rook |
| fire | vuur |
| ash | as |
| to burn | branden |
| road | weg |
| mountain | berg |
| red | rood |
| green | groen |
| yellow | geel |
| white | wit |
| black | zwart |
| night | nacht |
| day | dag |
| year | jaar |
| warm | warm |
| cold | koud |
| full | vol |
| new | nieuw |
| old | oud |
| good | goed |
| bad | slecht |
| rotten | rot |
| dirty | vuil |
| straight | recht |
| round | rond |
| sharp (as a knife) | scherp |
| dull (as a knife) | stomp, bot |
| smooth | glad |
| wet | nat |
| dry | droog |
| correct | juist, correct |
| near | dichtbij |
| far | ver |
| right | rechts |