Introduction: What Do You Like?

Being able to express what you like and dislike is fundamental for sharing opinions, preferences, and getting to know people. Dutch has several ways to do this, but two common and useful expressions at the A1 level are houden van and leuk vinden.

houden van - To Love / Like (Strongly)

houden van (to hold of/from) is used to express a strong liking or love for people, things, or activities.

• Meaning: Often translates to "to love" when used for people, and "to really like" or "to love" for things and activities. It implies a deeper appreciation or enjoyment.
• Structure: Subject + houden (conjugated) + van + Object/Activity
• Conjugation of houden: It's a regular verb (stem: houd).
• ik hou(d) - Both forms are common.
• jij/u houdt
• hij/zij/het houdt
• wij/jullie/zij houden
• Activities: When you like doing something, use the infinitive form of the verb after van.

Examples:

• Ik hou van jou. (I love you.)
• Zij houdt van chocolade. (She loves chocolate.)
• Mijn vader houdt van klassieke muziek. (My father loves classical music.)
• Wij houden van reizen. (We love travelling.)
• Houden jullie van wandelen? (Do you [plural] like hiking?)
• Hij houdt ervan om te lezen. (He loves to read.) - Using er + van is common when linking to a om te + infinitive clause, but the simple infinitive (Hij houdt van lezen) is also fine for A1.

... leuk vinden - To Like / Find Nice/Fun

leuk vinden (to find nice/fun) is used to express a more general liking or enjoyment. It's often used for opinions about specific things, experiences, or activities.

• Meaning: Translates to "to like" or "to find (something) nice/fun/pleasant". It's less emotionally intense than houden van.
• Structure: Subject + vinden (conjugated) + Object/Activity + leuk
• Notice that the object or activity comes between the conjugated verb vinden and the adjective leuk.
• Conjugation of vinden: It's an irregular verb (stem: vind).
• ik vind
• jij/u vindt
• hij/zij/het vindt
• wij/jullie/zij vinden
• Activities: When you like doing something, use the infinitive form of the verb as the object.

Examples:

• Ik vind dit boek leuk. (I like this book / I find this book nice.)
• Zij vindt haar nieuwe baan leuk. (She likes her new job.)
• Wij vinden deze stad leuk. (We like this city.)
• Vind je Nederlands leren leuk? (Do you find learning Dutch fun? / Do you like learning Dutch?)
• Hij vindt koken leuk. (He likes cooking.)

Expressing Dislikes

To express dislike, you negate these expressions using niet.

• Negating houden van: Place niet before van.
• Ik hou niet van spinazie. (I don't like spinach.)
• Zij houdt niet van vroeg opstaan. (She doesn't like getting up early.)

• Negating leuk vinden: Place niet before leuk.
• Ik vind deze film niet leuk. (I don't like this film / I don't find this film nice.)
• Wij vinden wachten niet leuk. (We don't like waiting.)

Other Useful Words

• lekker (tasty, nice, pleasant) - Often used for food, drinks, weather, or comfortable situations.
• Ik vind deze koffie lekker. (I like this coffee / I find this coffee tasty.)
• Het is lekker weer vandaag. (The weather is nice today.)
• graag (gladly, with pleasure) - Used with a verb to indicate enjoyment in doing the action.
• Ik zwem graag. (I like to swim / I swim gladly.)
• Hij leest graag boeken. (He likes to read books.)

Use houden van for stronger feelings (love, really like) and leuk vinden for general liking or finding something nice/fun. Remember the different sentence structures (houden van + object vs. vinden + object + leuk). Negate with niet van and niet leuk. Consider using lekker for food/drink/pleasant experiences and graag with verbs to express enjoyment in activities.