The Best Way to Learn Dutch in 2026

The best way to learn Dutch is a mix: mostly Dutch you can understand, plus review and real conversation, with the balance set by your goal. Dutch you can mostly understand is called comprehensible input. Below, you'll see what each way of learning builds and the mix that suits six common goals.

Which Ways of Learning Dutch Work Best?

Reading and listening to Dutch at your level works best, and each other method adds one skill on top of it.

Input is the base of the mix: a 2016 review of 49 studies in Reading in a Foreign Language, a University of Hawaii journal, found that reading a lot of easy material improves reading in a new language.

What Is the Best Way to Learn Dutch for Your Goal?

For every goal, the best way is the same base of reading and listening, with the rest of your time on the skill that goal needs most.

• 📺Watch Dutch ShowsPut most of your time into listening, starting with videos made for learners and moving on to shows on NPO Start with Dutch subtitles.
• 💬Talk With Family or FriendsRead and hear lots of everyday conversations, and spend the rest of your time talking with them or with a tutor.
• ✈️Travel to the NetherlandsSpend most of your time on short dialogues about ordering coffee and getting around, and say each one out loud.
• 📝Pass the Staatsexamen NT2Read and listen at your level most of the time, and try the practice exams linked from the official Staatsexamen NT2 page as the test gets close.
• 🏠Move to the NetherlandsRead and hear Dutch about everyday life most of the time, and practice on the official inburgering site before your civic integration exam.
• 💼Work in DutchRead and hear Dutch about your field most of the time, and practice with a tutor when to use the polite u and when to use je.

To see how many hours each stage takes, read how long it takes to learn Dutch.

What Are the Best Resources for Each Part?

Each part of the mix has a good free option, such as Duostories for short stories or Anki for review, and an app or service for when you want more. Bubblegum, which appears in a few rows, is a language app where Poppy, an AI tutor, writes Dutch lessons at your level about things you like.

What Should You Avoid?

Avoid anything that keeps you from reading real Dutch sentences you can follow.

• 🔤Reading Dutch Like EnglishLetters like ui and ij have their own sounds in Dutch, as in huis (house) and wijn (wine), so play the audio as you read.
• 🗂️Lists With No SentencesSave words from lines you have read, so each noun comes with its de or het and an example of how it is used.
• 🎬Shows You Can't Follow YetSave Dutch series for when you can follow an episode with Dutch subtitles on, and watch Easy Dutch's street interviews before that.

Frequently Asked Questions