L Learn Dutch For Expats
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Early access Coming soon to the App Store

Learn the Dutch you
actually need for
daily life here.

Learn Dutch For Expats helps international students and young expats learn practical Dutch for real life in the Netherlands and Dutch-speaking Belgium. No grammar overload, no random textbook sentences. Just the phrases you actually use.

It's free · Join early access ▶ A quick look See sample lessons
5 min
A lesson. That's it.
NL+ BE
Netherlands & Flanders
Real
Life, not school Dutch
Amsterdam ✺
Rotterdam ✺
Utrecht ✺
The Hague ✺
Eindhoven ✺
Maastricht ✺
Antwerp ✺
Ghent ✺
Leuven ✺
Brussels ✺
Amsterdam ✺
Rotterdam ✺
Utrecht ✺
The Hague ✺
Eindhoven ✺
Maastricht ✺
Antwerp ✺
Ghent ✺
Leuven ✺
Brussels ✺
Why Learn Dutch For Expats

Dutch that fits
real life here.

You live here, but everyone switches to English and you still feel like a tourist. These tiny lessons give you the Dutch you actually use, so daily life starts to feel a little more like home.

01
One real situation per lesson

Every lesson is built around a moment you actually live through: ordering coffee, texting your landlord, the bike repair shop. Not a grammar chapter.

02
Phrases you can say today

Short, natural phrases with audio and a simple English meaning. Learn it at breakfast, use it at lunch. No drills.

03
Feel less like a tourist

Understand what people say around you and reply in Dutch without freezing. Small wins, every single day.

01 · Daily lessons

Five minutes.
One useful situation.

Open the app, learn a handful of phrases for one real moment, and close it again. No 45-minute grammar slog, and no guilt when life gets busy and you miss a day.

5 min
ONE LESSON
1
REAL SITUATION
Gentle
STREAKS, NO PRESSURE
02 · Phrase cards

Hear it. Say it.
Save it for later.

Every phrase comes with audio so you know how it really sounds, a plain-English meaning, and a 'say it naturally' note. Tap to listen, swipe to save the ones you'll need again.

Audio
ON EVERY PHRASE
Say it
NATURALLY MODE
Saved
PHRASES, ANYTIME
03 · Real expat life

Cafés, housing,
bikes, the gemeente.

Lessons are sorted by the situations expats actually face, with notes marked for the Netherlands or Dutch-speaking Belgium where it matters. Beginner-friendly, with simple English explanations and no grammar overload.

NL + BE
CONTEXT NOTES
Beginner
FRIENDLY
WhatsApp
REPLY EXAMPLES
Not another Dutch app

Generic apps teach
the whole language.
We teach your week.

Duolingo, Babbel and the rest are built for everyone, everywhere, so you get random vocabulary, grammar chapters, and sentences you'll never actually say. Learn Dutch For Expats is built for one person: the international who just moved here and wants to stop feeling awkward in daily life. Real situations over grammar. Five minutes over long lessons. Confidence in small moments over fluency pressure.

No
grammar chapters
No
random textbook sentences
No
fluency pressure
“
Sample lessons

A look at
today's Dutch.

← SCROLL →
01 / 06
Café Dutch: "Mag ik een havercappuccino, alsjeblieft?" (Can I have an oat cappuccino, please?) In the Netherlands, 'mag ik…' sounds more natural than 'I want…'.
02 / 06
"Kunt u dat herhalen?" (Could you repeat that?) The one phrase that quietly saves every Dutch conversation.
03 / 06
Pick a real situation: café, housing, the gemeente, bikes, work, or small talk with friends.
04 / 06
"Ik heb een afspraak om drie uur." (I have an appointment at three.) For the dentist, the bank, or the gemeente.
05 / 06
"Ik kom het pakketje ophalen." (I'm here to pick up the package.) Said at the pick-up point, no switch to English.
06 / 06
"Sorry, mijn Nederlands is nog niet zo goed." (Sorry, my Dutch isn't great yet.) The friendly opener that keeps people speaking Dutch with you.
Who it's for

You just moved here.
This one's for you.

THE TYPICAL USER
She lives here now.
An international student or young professional, twenty-something, fluent in English, a little tired of feeling like a tourist in her own street.
"Is deze kamer nog beschikbaar?" First housing viewing · 'Is this room still available?'
🎓
FOR
Students & interns
Lectures, group projects, campus admin.
🧳
FOR
New arrivals & au pairs
Your first weeks, made less awkward.
BUILT FOR MOMENTS LIKE
First-times that feel big.
First week · Ordering coffee and getting a Dutch reply
First viewing · "Ik ben net verhuisd." (I just moved here)
💼
FOR
Young professionals
Lunch small talk, Slack, the coffee corner.
AND MOMENTS LIKE
The little wins.
First repair · "Mijn fietsband is lek." (my tyre's flat)
First 'dankjewel' · said back without thinking about it
💻
FOR
Remote workers & creatives
You work in English, but you live in Dutch.
A note from the founder
“ I kept meeting people who'd lived here for a year and still froze at the checkout. They didn't need fluency, they needed the handful of phrases that make a normal day feel normal. So we're building exactly that. ”
Lawrence Arya
Founder
Guides

From the journal.

View all →
A young student holding a phone showing Dutch student terms in a bright university hallway.
Cities & regions

A University of Amsterdam Dutch Survival Dictionary

Lawrence Arya
A young expat walking past parked bikes by an Amsterdam canal, phone in hand.
Getting around

Bike Repair Dutch for Tourists and Newbies: Fietsenmaker Basics

Lawrence Arya
A young international student walking an Amsterdam canal, weighing whether to learn Dutch.
Students, family & social

Can You Pass Without Dutch? Yes, But You Miss Out

Lawrence Arya
Early access

Be one of the first
to try Learn Dutch For Expats.

We're building it for international women who want Dutch that feels useful, friendly, and actually connected to daily life. Join the early list and help shape what we build first.

Founding member
Free
Early access is free. Get in before launch, try the first lessons, and tell us which situations to build next.
Open now · limited early-access spots
No spam, ever. One email when the app launches, plus a free 'Dutch Survival Phrases for Expats' guide.
Questions, answered

The honest FAQ.

Yes. Learn Dutch For Expats is built for people starting from zero, or close to it. Lessons begin with the phrases you need most and explain everything in simple English, so you're never lost.
Not at all. It's made for expats across the Netherlands and Dutch-speaking Belgium: Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven, Brussels, and everywhere in between.
Yes, especially for Dutch-speaking Belgium, including Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven, and parts of Brussels. Some phrases and cultural notes are marked as Netherlands or Flanders-specific so you say the right thing in the right place.
No. Learn Dutch For Expats is built around real-life situations first. You'll pick up grammar naturally, through phrases you can actually use, instead of sitting through grammar chapters.
Duolingo teaches broad, general language. Learn Dutch For Expats focuses on the daily Dutch you actually need as an expat: cafés, housing, bikes, appointments, work, small talk, and messages.
Yes. Every phrase comes with audio so you know how it really sounds, plus a 'say it naturally' note so you don't sound like a textbook.
That's exactly who it's for. When everyone switches to English, you never get to practise. Learn Dutch For Expats gives you small, ready-to-use phrases so you can start in Dutch and keep the conversation there.
Both. International students, interns, au pairs, young professionals, remote workers, and creatives all use the same situations: cafés, housing, transport, appointments, and work.
We're in early access and building now. Join the list and you'll be among the first to try it, and you'll get the free 'Dutch Survival Phrases for Expats' guide in the meantime.
Early access

Stop feeling like a tourist.
Start with one phrase.

{{appName}} is daily Dutch for real expat life. Join the early list, be first to try it, and get the free 'Dutch Survival Phrases for Expats' guide today.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"I live here, but I still feel like a tourist." The feeling we built this to fix.
Free early access · launching soon Join Learn Dutch For Expats