Clothes come up every single day: getting dressed, packing, shopping, and, in the Netherlands, dressing for weather that changes by the hour. Here are the Dutch garment words and the verbs for putting them on.
The clothes
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| de jas | coat |
| de broek | trousers |
| het shirt / het T-shirt | shirt / T-shirt |
| de trui | jumper / sweater |
| de jurk | dress |
| de rok | skirt |
| de schoenen | shoes |
| de sokken | socks |
| het ondergoed | underwear |
| de muts / de sjaal / de handschoenen | hat / scarf / gloves |
A grammar quirk: de broek (trousers) is singular in Dutch, so een broek is one pair, and twee broeken is two pairs. The same goes for een bril (a pair of glasses). Dutch grammar references note this differs from English.
For the local climate, two items are essential: de regenjas (raincoat) and de paraplu (umbrella), which you will reach for whenever the weather turns.
Getting dressed: the verbs
Dressing verbs are separable, and “to get dressed” is also reflexive:
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| zich aankleden | to get dressed |
| zich uitkleden | to get undressed |
| aantrekken | to put on (clothes) |
| uittrekken | to take off (clothes) |
| opzetten / afzetten | to put on / off (hat, glasses) |
| omdoen | to put on (scarf, jewellery) |
So Ik kleed me aan (I get dressed), Ik trek mijn jas aan (I put my coat on), Ik zet mijn muts op (I put my hat on). The prefix flies to the end, just like in your daily routine.
Shopping for clothes
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| de maat | size |
| de paskamer / het pashokje | fitting room |
| de kassa | till |
| passen | to try on / to fit |
Useful lines:
- Heeft u dit in een andere maat? (Do you have this in another size?)
- Mag ik dit passen? (May I try this on?)
- Het past niet. (It doesn’t fit.)
- Het zit te strak / te ruim. (It’s too tight / too loose.)
This connects to navigating the fitting room and sizes, and to supermarket and shop offers when there is a sale. Onze Taal and Van Dale are good checks for the exact words.
Where it connects
Clothing vocabulary pairs with dressing for the Dutch weather, your daily routine, and drills separable and reflexive verbs in a concrete setting.
The bottom line
Learn the garment words, jas, broek, trui, jurk, schoenen, sokken, plus the weather essentials regenjas and paraplu. Get dressed with the reflexive zich aankleden and put items on with separable aantrekken (Ik trek mijn jas aan). To shop, know maat, paskamer and passen. Mind that een broek is one pair, and you can dress for, shop in, and talk about any Dutch day.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches clothing words and the dressing verbs, jas, broek, trui, aantrekken, zich aankleden, plus shopping phrases like maat and paskamer, in five-minute lessons, so you can shop, pack and dress for Dutch weather.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Dutch words for common clothes?
The everyday set: de jas (coat), de broek (trousers), het shirt and de trui (shirt and jumper), de jurk (dress), de rok (skirt), de schoenen (shoes), de sokken (socks), het ondergoed (underwear), de muts (hat), de sjaal (scarf) and de handschoenen (gloves). For Dutch weather, de regenjas (raincoat) and de paraplu (umbrella) are essential. Note de broek (trousers) is singular in Dutch: een broek is one pair.
How do you say ‘to get dressed’ and ‘put on’ in Dutch?
Getting dressed is the reflexive separable verb zich aankleden: Ik kleed me aan. Getting undressed is zich uitkleden. To put on a specific item, use aantrekken (Ik trek mijn jas aan, I put my coat on) and to take it off uittrekken. For hats, glasses and accessories you use opzetten/afzetten or omdoen. These are separable verbs, so the prefix goes to the end: Ik trek mijn schoenen aan.
How do I shop for clothes in Dutch?
Key words: de maat (size), de paskamer or het pashokje (fitting room), and de kassa (till). Useful phrases: Welke maat heeft u? (what size?), Heeft u dit in een andere maat? (do you have this in another size?), Mag ik dit passen? (may I try this on?), Het past niet (it doesn’t fit), Het zit te strak / te ruim (it’s too tight / too loose). Sizes often follow EU numbering for shoes and S/M/L for clothes.
What is the best app to learn Dutch clothing and shopping vocabulary?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it teaches clothing words and the dressing verbs plus shopping phrases, jas, broek, trui, aantrekken, maat, paskamer, in five-minute real-situation lessons, so you can shop for clothes, pack for the weather and talk about what to wear.
