Flemish is the Dutch of Belgium, spoken by about 6.5 million people there, and everyday speech in Flanders often mixes standard Dutch with local sounds and words. Dutch you can mostly follow is called comprehensible input, and for Flemish it helps to get it from Flanders itself.
Good material has one new word now and then, and everything around it is clear. When a café menu lists a croque-monsieur next to a photo of a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, the photo explains the word. For courses and tutors, see our Flemish guide. For every app, see our Flemish app comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Flemish. You learn from Flemish you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Flemish lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
If a Belgian word like stops you, she explains it.
Bubblegum only plays its own lessons. For a Flemish video you found on YouTube, use Language Reactor below.
- Lessons, news, and stories in Belgian Dutch, about things you like.
- Lessons are read aloud with Flemish pronunciation.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you read them again in new contexts.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- It can't load a show or an audiobook you already have.
- Lessons teach standard Belgian Dutch and don't cover local dialects like West Flemish.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
NedBox
NedBox comes from Flanders. You pick a place on the map of a town, like the VDAB job service or a shop, and the exercises use Dutch from that part of everyday life.
- Practice with clips and articles from VRT, Het Nieuwsblad, and Wablieft.
- It is free.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (4)
- ReelangReelang is new and growing. Its App Store page says it has short videos from the Netherlands and Flanders, with Flemish as its own feed of more than a thousand clips, and tap-to-translate words. Its Reelang+ upgrade is an auto-renewing subscription.
- Language ReactorA Chrome extension for computers that shows Dutch subtitles and an English translation together, and replays one line at a time. It works with Flemish YouTube channels, but it doesn't tell you which Dutch a channel speaks.
- VRT MAXVRT's streaming service has Flemish shows, radio, and podcasts. Its podcasts and radio need no Belgian residence or nationality. Its video does.
- WablieftA Belgian centre for clear language that writes news in easy Dutch. Most of its articles are for subscribers.
Start at the top if you're new. If you live outside Belgium, skip the video rows that need Belgian residence or nationality.
| What | Why It Helps | Try It When |
|---|---|---|
| Karrewiet (video needs Belgian residence or nationality) | VRT's children's news for ages 9 to 12 | You're just starting |
| Alexia's Everyday Dutch | A podcast for learners at A2 to B1, with a focus on Belgium and Belgian Dutch | You know some basics |
| Wablieft | News in clear Dutch, with short articles | Short texts feel easy |
| VRT MAX podcasts and radio | Real Flemish radio and podcasts, with no Belgian residence needed | You follow most of a long talk |
| VRT MAX video (video needs Belgian residence or nationality) | Flemish series and news | Longer scenes feel easy |
Everyday speech in Flanders often sits between standard Dutch and local speech, which linguists call tussentaal. A series may use it, so start with news and learner material, and move to series later.
The number of languages you can use an app in isn't the same as the languages its lessons explain things in, so try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| NedBox | 1 | App Store |
| Reelang | 21 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | — | Chrome Web Store |
| VRT MAX | — | vrt.be |
| Wablieft | — | wablieft.be |
Which Flemish app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Flemish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with NedBox if you live in Flanders and want free practice from the places you visit each week.
Can I watch VRT MAX outside Belgium?
Only with a Belgian residence or Belgian nationality. VRT's page says watching programs abroad isn't possible without one of them. Podcasts and radio livestreams need neither.
Can Dutch from the Netherlands count as input?
Yes. It shares the spelling and most of the grammar, and you can start with it. Keep plenty of Flemish audio in your week too, so the sound and the Belgian words become familiar.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Taalunie: facts and figures (about 6.5 million Dutch speakers in Belgium)
- Team Taaladvies (Flemish government): differences between standard Dutch in Belgium and in the Netherlands
- Wikipedia: Belgian Dutch (tussentaal, the in-between speech of everyday Flanders)
- Bubblegum: Dutch (Belgium)
- NedBox app on the App Store
- Flemish government: NedBox, practice with material from VRT, Het Nieuwsblad and Wablieft
- VRT: NedBox is a free app and website
- Reelang: Learn Dutch on the App Store (a Flemish feed)
- VRT MAX: watching and listening outside Belgium
- VRT MAX
- VRT: Karrewiet (children's news, ages 9 to 12)
- Wablieft: news in clear Dutch
- Wablieft: online news, with articles for subscribers
- Alexia's Everyday Dutch (podcast with a focus on Belgium, A2 to B1)
- Language Reactor on the Chrome Web Store
