No, Dutch is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. Language learning can be daunting and one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is how difficult is it. If you're an English speaker then with Dutch you have a huge head start

Dutch and English Are Close Cousins?

We don't mean that they grew up together as children and played together in the garden, but they are closely related languages that share a lot of their development in common. That means there are many shared words and grammar structures.

For example, if you know the english words for "hand" and "pen" then you know the dutch ones. If you use your hand to hold a pen and write something then you might be writing a book. Or in dutch - a boek.

This is particularly handy for passive language skills like reading and listening where it's often possible to guess what something or somebody says by these similarities and the context.

Pronunciation is Odd But Not a Big Deal

There are some sounds in Dutch that aren't in English. There are a couple of vowel sounds but the more well known is the guttural "g" sound. But there's very few of them and the good news is that Dutch pronunciation, unlike English, is consistent. Once you know the sounds you can read and pronounce practically any word easily.

Grammar Is Logical and Easy

Things like noun genders exist in Dutch, but they are much more simplified than, say, German and you can just learn them along the way. On the whole the grammar is easy and systematic, with less irregularities than exist in English. Even word order isn't too tough when you get used to talking like Shakespeare or Yoda.

Your Language Learning Journey

Starting to learn any language is daunting. Let's not lie here - it's a big undertaking. It can takes years. But if you speak English then the advantages that gives you with Dutch can give you a huge jumpstart and the confidence to dive in and learn. So there's really only one question:

wil je Nederlands leren?