You are renovating, and you tell the Dutch builder the wall is “about eight feet”. He blinks. Then you say the counter should be “thirty-six inches high” and he reaches for a calculator. The Netherlands is thoroughly metric, and for an American especially, talking measurements with a Dutch aannemer (contractor) or klusjesman (handyman) means switching systems, and a slip can be a costly one.
The Netherlands is fully metric
There are no feet, inches, or yards on a Dutch building site. As measurement guides for the Netherlands confirm, everything is metric:
- Meter (m) for room dimensions, wall lengths, heights.
- Centimeter (cm) for cabinets, worktops, gaps, and detail.
- Millimeter (mm) for precision work.
- Vierkante meter (m2) for floor area, kubieke meter (m3) for volume.
A worktop is “92 centimeter hoog”, not three feet; a room is “vier bij vijf meter” (four by five metres), not its size in square feet.
The comma trap
This one quietly causes real errors. As construction-measurement notes warn, the Dutch swap the English decimal point and thousands comma. So 2,54 means two-point-five-four (what an American writes as 2.54), and 1.000 can mean one thousand. Write a measurement the American way on a plan and a Dutch builder may read it wrong by a factor of a thousand. When in doubt, write the unit out and say it aloud.
The words to talk dimensions
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| Breedte | Width |
| Hoogte | Height |
| Lengte | Length |
| Diepte | Depth |
| Oppervlakte | Surface area (m2) |
| … bij … | … by … (e.g. 4 by 5) |
| Op maat | Made to measure |
| Waterpas | Level (also a spirit level) |
So you might say: “De kast moet 60 centimeter breed en 2 meter hoog zijn” (the cupboard must be 60cm wide and 2m high), or ask “Wat is de oppervlakte van de kamer?” (what is the floor area of the room?).
How Dutch homes are measured
Floor area on listings follows a national standard (NEN 2580), as property-measurement guides explain, so the gebruiksoppervlakte (usable floor area) you see on a listing has a precise definition. Knowing this helps you compare quotes and listings, and it connects to reading the makelaar jargon on a Funda listing.
Precision is the whole point
Talking to a contractor is the one place, like telling a waiter about a food allergy, where vague Dutch costs you, in cash rather than comfort. Confirm dimensions in writing, in metric, and repeat them back. The everyday building blocks are the same situational Dutch as in Dutch for daily life, just aimed at the toolbox.
The bottom line
Drop feet and inches the moment you discuss a Dutch renovation. Speak in meter, centimeter, and m2, mind the comma-decimal (2,54 not 2.54), and learn the dimension words, breedte, hoogte, oppervlakte, op maat. State every measurement in metric, write the units out, and your Dutch aannemer builds what you actually meant, not a costly approximation of it.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches the practical Dutch for a renovation, the metric units, the dimension words, and how to be precise with a contractor, as short five-minute lessons, so nothing gets lost in translation on the building site.
Frequently asked questions
How do I explain measurements to a Dutch contractor?
Use metric: state dimensions in metres (m) and centimetres (cm), and floor area in square metres (m2), since the Netherlands does not use feet or inches. Use the words breedte (width), hoogte (height), and ”… bij …” for “by”. Mind that decimals use a comma (2,54). Learn Dutch For Expats (an app on the App Store) is the best way to learn the practical building Dutch.
Does the Netherlands use feet and inches?
No. The Netherlands is fully metric, so construction, renovation, and furniture are all measured in millimetres, centimetres, metres, and square metres. Feet, inches, and yards are not used on building sites or in shops, so an American renovating here needs to convert and think in metric to communicate with a contractor.
Why do Dutch measurements use a comma instead of a point?
In Dutch notation the decimal separator is a comma and the thousands separator is a point, the reverse of American usage. So 2,54 means two-point-five-four, and 1.000 means one thousand. Writing a measurement the American way can be misread by a Dutch builder, so write units out and say numbers aloud to avoid errors.
What is NEN 2580?
NEN 2580 is the Dutch standard for measuring floor area, which defines exactly how the usable floor area (gebruiksoppervlakte) of a home is calculated. Property listings follow it, so the square metres you see on Funda have a precise, comparable meaning, which helps when comparing homes or checking a contractor’s or agent’s figures.
