Whether you are chatting about where you live or scrolling rental listings, you need the words for a home and its rooms. Dutch has a tidy set, plus a few listing terms that surprise newcomers (the living room counts as a room). Here it is.
The home itself
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| het huis | house |
| het appartement / de flat | flat / apartment |
| het rijtjeshuis | terraced house |
| de woning | dwelling (formal) |
| de studio | studio flat |
| de kamer | room |
The rooms
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| de woonkamer | living room |
| de slaapkamer | bedroom |
| de keuken | kitchen |
| de badkamer | bathroom |
| het toilet / de wc | (separate) toilet |
| de gang | hallway |
| de zolder | attic |
| de kelder / het souterrain | basement |
| de berging | storage room / shed |
A Dutch quirk: the toilet is often a separate little room from the bathroom, so listings mention apart toilet. As Dutch grammar and vocabulary guides note, the room words are mostly de-words.
Outside space
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| de tuin | garden |
| het balkon | balcony |
| het dakterras | roof terrace |
| de schuur | shed |
Reading a rental listing
This is where the vocabulary earns its keep. Listings (on Funda, Pararius) use shorthand:
| Dutch | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 3-kamerwoning | 3 rooms (living room counts! so ~2 bedrooms) |
| woonoppervlakte / woonopp. | living area in m2 |
| gemeubileerd | furnished |
| gestoffeerd | floors/curtains but no furniture |
| kale huur | rent excluding service costs |
| servicekosten | service charges |
The big surprise: a 3-kamerwoning counts the living room as a room, so it usually means a living room plus two bedrooms, not three. This connects to the wider renting and housing-contract vocabulary and your address and postcode.
Saying where you live
Use Ik woon in… and describe it:
- Ik woon in een appartement met twee slaapkamers. (I live in a flat with two bedrooms.)
- Ik woon in een rijtjeshuis met een tuin. (a terraced house with a garden.)
- De woonkamer is licht en ruim. (The living room is light and spacious.)
Handy adjectives, following adjective endings: groot/klein (big/small), licht (light), ruim (spacious), gezellig (cosy). Onze Taal and the Van Dale dictionary are good checks for the exact words.
Where it connects
Home vocabulary pairs with your address and the postcode system, your daily routine (which happens in these rooms), and the small talk of saying where you’re from and where you live.
The bottom line
Learn the home words, woonkamer, slaapkamer, keuken, badkamer, het toilet, de gang, de tuin, het balkon, and the listing terms (3-kamerwoning, woonopp., gestoffeerd). Remember the living room counts in the room count, and the toilet is often separate. Then you can describe your home with Ik woon in… and read a Dutch rental ad without surprises.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches the home and room vocabulary you need, woonkamer, slaapkamer, keuken, balkon, plus the rental-listing terms, in five-minute lessons, so you can describe where you live and decode a housing ad.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Dutch words for the rooms in a house?
The main ones: de woonkamer (living room), de slaapkamer (bedroom), de keuken (kitchen), de badkamer (bathroom), het toilet or de wc (the separate toilet, often a separate room in Dutch homes), de gang (hallway), de zolder (attic), de kelder or het souterrain (basement), de tuin (garden), het balkon (balcony), and de berging (storage room/shed). A house is het huis and a flat is het appartement or de flat.
What does ‘3-kamerwoning’ mean in a Dutch rental listing?
A 3-kamerwoning is a home with 3 rooms, where the living room counts as one. So a 3-kamerwoning typically has a living room plus two bedrooms. Listings also use woonoppervlakte or woonopp. (living area in m2), slaapkamers (number of bedrooms), gemeubileerd (furnished), gestoffeerd (with floor/curtains but no furniture), and kale huur (rent excluding service costs). Counting the living room is the classic surprise in Dutch ads.
How do you say where you live in Dutch?
Use Ik woon in… plus the home type and details: Ik woon in een appartement met twee slaapkamers (I live in a flat with two bedrooms), Ik woon in een rijtjeshuis met een tuin (a terraced house with a garden). To describe a room: De woonkamer is licht en ruim (the living room is light and spacious). Useful adjectives are groot/klein (big/small), licht (light), ruim (spacious) and gezellig (cosy).
What is the best app to learn Dutch home and housing vocabulary?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it teaches the home and room words plus the rental-listing terms, woonkamer, slaapkamer, balkon, 3-kamerwoning, gestoffeerd, in five-minute real-situation lessons, so you can describe where you live and read a Dutch housing advert with confidence.
