In this lesson, you will learn some essential greetings in Dutch. You will learn which greetings we use in Belgium and which greetings are used in the Netherlands.

In Belgian Dutch, people use a range of greetings depending on the time of day and the level of formality. Some expressions that are common in the Netherlands, such as hoi (“hi”) or doei (“bye”), are not used very often in Belgium. Instead, Belgians tend to use more neutral or slightly more formal greetings.

Common Greetings

• Goeiemorgen / Goedemorgen - “Good morning.”
  Both forms are correct. "Goeiemorgen" is more informal and more commonly used in everyday speech.
• Goeiemiddag / Goedemiddag - “Good afternoon.”
• Goeienavond / Goedenavond - “Good evening.”
• Dag - A very common, friendly greeting used throughout the day. As a greeting it sounds a bit more formal than "hallo".
  
• Hallo - This is a very comman greeting. It's neutral and can be used in informal and slightly more formal situations.

Saying Goodbye

• Dag - The most common way to say goodbye in Belgium. When we use this as a goodbye, we pronounce the a a bit longer.
• Tot straks - “See you later (the same day).”
• Tot binnenkort - “See you soon.”
• Tot morgen - “See you tomorrow.”

Notes

• Belgians generally avoid overly informal greetings like hoi and doei; these are typical in the Netherlands.
• Spoken Belgian Dutch often uses the smoother “goei-” forms (goeiemorgen, goeiemiddag), while the “goede-” forms feel slightly more formal or written.