Netherlands Languages
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Netherlands Language and Languages
Most materials used in Dutch research are written in Dutch, but actually two languages are spoken in the Netherlands; in the province of Fryslân (Friesland) the Frisian language (not a dialect!)is spoken. You do not need to speak or read Dutch to do research in records of the Netherlands. However, you will need to know some key words and phrases to understand the records.
Because of the presence of several different religions, including Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Walloon (French Reformed) and Portuguese Jewish, you will find several other languages in Dutch records. These include Latin, German, French, and Portuguese.
Dutch grammar and customs may affect the way names appear in genealogical records. For example, your ancestor’s name may vary between records in Dutch. For help in understanding name variations, see the "Names, Personal" section.
Language Aids
The Family History Library has genealogical word lists for Dutch, French, German, Latin, and Portuguese. The Dutch Word list is found below at the end of this section.
The Family History Library’s separate Germany Research Outline includes an example of the German (Gothic) alphabet in print and handwriting. Also go to Germany Handwriting."
The following books and English–Dutch dictionaries can also aid your research. You can find these and similar material at many research libraries.
Cassell’s English–Dutch Dutch–English Dictionary. 36th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1981. (FHL book 439.31321 Ca272.)
Stierp–Impink, A. C. Practisijns Woordenboekje, of Verzameling van Meest alle de Woorden in de Rechtskunde Gebruikelijk (Lawyer’s Dictionary, or List of Most Words Used in Legal Documents). Alkmaar: A. C. Stierp–Impink, 1985. (FHL book 949.2 P26s.) This legal dictionary, originally created in 1785, identifies words found in court, land, notarial, and guardianship records.
Verdam, J. Middelnederlandsch Handwoordenboek (Middle Dutch Dictionary). ’s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1964. (FHL book 439.317 V582m; film 1045404 item 2.) This dictionary will help with most archaic words found in documents before 1811.
Additional language aids, including dictionaries of various dialects and time periods, are listed in the Place search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
NETHERLANDS – LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES
NETHERLANDS, [PROVINCE] – LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES
or in the "Subject Search" under:
DUTCH LANGUAGE – DICTIONARIES
Dutch Word List
This list contains Dutch words with their English translations. The words included here are those that you are likely to find in genealogical sources. If the word you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a Dutch-English dictionary. (See the "Additional Resources" section below.)
Dutch (like English and German), is a Germanic language derived from Old Saxon. Many of the words resemble English and German words. Latin also sometimes appears in older Dutch records. See the Latin Genealogical Word List . For a time, Dutch records were written in French. See the France Language and Languages.
Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands, northern Belgium, the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean, and Suriname. Flemish, which is spoken in Belgium, is a major dialect (regional variation) of Dutch. It uses words similar to the words on this list. Africaans, which is spoken in South Africa, is an old form (from the 1500's and 1600's) of the Dutch language, mingled with German and English words.
Frisian, which is spoken in the Dutch province of Friesland, is a different language from Dutch.
The "Additional Resources" section below will tell you how to use the Family History Library Catalog to find dictionaries of the various dialects and related languages.
In addition, Dutch is found in some early records of the United States (mostly in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Iowa) and in South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Brasil and Taiwan.
LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS
Dutch words for nouns (persons, places, and things) are classified as either common or neuter.
Variant Forms of Words
In Dutch, as in English, the forms of some words will vary according to how they are used in a sentence. Who—whose—whom, or marry—marries—married are examples of words in English with variant forms. This word list gives the standard form of each Dutch word. As you read Dutch records, you will need to be aware that some words vary with usage.
The prefix 't is equal to the Dutch word het, which means the. The prefix 's- is a part of many place-names and means des (of the). All prefixes are disregarded in alphabetized lists, except in Flemish records.
The endings of words in a document may differ from what you find in this list. For example, the document may use the word jonger, but you will find it in this word list as jong. In addition, the suffixes -je, -tje,-tien, or -ke are often added to words to indicate "little." These suffixes can also indicate the feminine version of a name. Therefore, the word zoontje means "little" or "young (tje) son (zoon)." The ending -sdr means "daughter of."
Plural forms of Dutch words usually add -en or -s to the singular word. Thus boer (farmer) becomes boeren (farmers), and tafel (table or index) becomes tafels (tables or indexes).
In Dutch, many words are formed by joining two or more words together. Very few of these compound words are included in this list. You will need to look up each part of the word separately. For example, geboortedag is a combination of two words, geboorte(birth) and dag (day).
Alphabetical Order
In the Dutch language, the letter combination ij is considered a single letter. It has the same value as y, and it is usually alphabetized as if it were a y. Some Dutch dictionaries and indexes use the following alphabetical order:
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, ij (or y), z
Some Dutch dictionaries alphabetize the letter ij under i then j. Just remember, when a name or town starts with the letter IJ, that you capitalize BOTH the I and the J. In the Netherlands the IJ or ij is ONE letter, not 2 and seeing that you can hardly split one letter when you capitalize it, you really have to capitalize the whole letter - IJ not Ij!
This word list follows the standard English alphabetical order. However, when working with alphabetized Dutch records, use the Dutch alphabetical order.
When the Dutch alphabetize names of places or surnames, prefixes such as van der, de, or ter are not considered in the alphabetization.
Example:
ten Brock
van der Graf
's- Gravenhage
van Hijden
de Jong
van Leeuwen
ter Pelkwijk
van IJlst
't Zandt
Spelling
Spelling rules were not standardized in earlier centuries. Writers often failed to dot the ij, so that it looks like a y. The letter y was not used in older records. In Dutch, the following spelling variations are common.
y used for ij
g used for ch
d and t used interchangeably
j and i used interchangeably
Example:
echt spelled as egt
overlijden spelled as overlyden
Arie spelled as Arij
Marietje spelled as Marietie
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
This word list includes only the words most commonly found in genealogical sources. For further help, use a Dutch-English dictionary. Several Dutch-English dictionaries are available at the Family History Library. These are in the European collection. Their call numbers begin with 439.31321.
The following dictionary is available on microfilm for use in Family History Centers:
Dutch-English, English-Dutch Van Goor Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: G. B. Van Goor, 1938. (FHL film 1183584 item 2.)
Additional dictionaries are listed in the Subject search of the Family History Library Catalog under DUTCH LANGUAGE - DICTIONARIES or in the Place search under NETHERLANDS - LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES. These include dictionaries of various dialects and time periods.
KEY WORDS
To find and use specific types of Dutch records, you will need to know some key words in Dutch. This section lists key genealogical terms in English and the Dutch words with the same or similar meanings.
For example, in the first column you will find the English word marriage. In the second column you will find Dutch words with meanings such as marry, marriage, wedding, wedlock, unite, legitimate, joined, and other words used in Dutch records to indicate marriage.
| English | Dutch |
| baptism | dopen, doop, gedoopt |
| birth | geboren, geboorte |
| burial | begraven, begraaf |
| Catholic | rooms katholiek, oud katholiek |
| census | volkstelling, bevolking |
| child, children | kind, kinderen |
| christening (see baptism) | |
| civil registry | burgerlijke stand |
| death | overleden, overlijden, gestorven |
| father | vader |
| husband | echtgenoot, man |
| index | tafel, klapper, fiche |
| Jewish | joods |
| marriage(s) | huwelijk(en), trouwen, echt, gehuwden, getrouwd |
| military | militaire, landweer, krijgsmacht |
| month | maand |
| mother | moeder |
| name, given | voornaam, eerste naam |
| name, surname | achternaam, familienaam, bijnaam, toenaam |
| parents | ouders |
| parish | parochie, gemeente |
| Protestant | protestant |
| supplement | bijlage |
| town, village | stad, gemeente, dorp |
| wife | huisvrouw, vrouw, echtgenote |
| year | jaar |
NUMBERS
In some genealogical records, numbers are written out. This is especially true with dates. The following list gives the cardinal (1, 2, 3) and the ordinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd) versions of each number. Days of the month are written in ordinal form.
Cardinal Ordinal 1 een 1st eerste
2 twee 2nd tweede 3 drie 3rd derde 4 vie 4th vierde 5 vijf 5th vijfde 6 zes 6th zesde 7 zeven 7th zevende 8 acht 8th achtste 9 negen 9th negende 10 tien 10th tiende 11 elf 11th elfde 12 twaalf 12th twaalfde 13 dertien 13th dertiende 14 veertien 14th veertiende 15 vijftien 15th vijftiende 16 zestien 16th zestiende 17 zeventien 17th zeventiende 18 achttien 18th achttiende 19 negentie 19th negentiende 20 twintig 20th twintigste 21 eenentwintig 21st eenentwintigste 22 tweeëntwintig 22th tweeëntwintigste 23 drieentwintig 23th drieentwintigste 24 vierentwintig 24th vierentwintigste 25 vijfentwintig 25th vijfentwintigste 26 zesentwintig 26th zesentwintigste 27 zevenentwintig 27th zevenentwintigste 28 achtentwintig 28th achtentwintigste 29 negenentwintig 29th negenentwintigste 30 dertig 30th dertigste 31 eenendertig 31th eenendertigste 40 veertig 40th veertigste 50 vijftig 50th vijftigste 60 zestig 60th zestigste 70 zeventig 70th zevenstigte 80 tachtig 80th tachtigste 90 negentig 90th negentigste 100 honderd 100th honderdste 101 honderd(en)een 101st honderd(en)eerste 200 tweehonderd 200th tweehonderdste 1000 duizend 1000th duizendste
DATES AND TIME
In Dutch records, dates are often written out. For example:
Donderdag, drie en twintig maart in het jaar van onse heer een duizend acht hondert en zesendertig [Thursday, three and twenty March in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and six and thirty].
To understand Dutch dates, use the following lists as well as the preceding "Numbers" section.
Months
English Dutch Archaic Form January Januari louwmaand February Februari sprokkelmaand March Maart lentemaand April April grasmaand May Mei bloeimaand June Juni zomermaand July Juli hooimaand August Augustus oogstmaand September September (7ber) herfstmaand October October (8ber) wijnmaand November November (9ber) slachtmaand December December (10ber) wintermaand
Days of the Week
English Dutch
Sunday Zondag Monday Maandag Tuesday Dinsdag Wednesday Woensdag Thursday Donderdag Friday Vrijdag Saturday Zaterdag
Times of the Day
Dutch birth and death records often indicated the time of day when the birth or death occurred. This is usually written out.
Dutch English
des avonds ('s avonds) in the evening
des middags ('s middags) in the afternoon
des morgens ('s morgens) in the morning
des nachts ('s nachts) in the night
in de namiddag in the mid-afternoon
in de voormiddag in the mid-morning
Alphabetical
A
- aan - upon, to
- aangenomen naam - named, alias, also known as, assumed name, accepted surname
- angiften - intentions (marriage), declarations
- aannemen to adopt (a child), to assume, to take on
- aanneming confirmation
- aannemingsdag day of confirmation
- aanstaande next, toward, following, expectant, future, impending
- aanval stroke, attack
- aarde earth (buried in), ground
- aardrijkskundig woordenboek gazetteer
- acht eight
- achtenswaardig respectable, honorable
- achtentwintig twenty-eight
- achtentwintigste twenty-eighth
- achterkleindochter great-granddaughter
- achterkleinzoon great-grandson
- achternaam surname, last name
- achtste eighth
- achttien eighteen
- achttiende eighteenth
- adel nobility
- adellijk noble, titled
- aderlating bleeding, bloodletting
- adresboek directory
- advocaat notary, lawyer
- afkondigen to post banns
- afkondigingen proclamations, banns
- afschrift(en) extract, duplicate record, transcript, certified copy
- akte certificate, deed, license
- alhier here, at this place, locally
- alle all, every
- alleen alone, single, only
- altijd, steeds always
- ambt office, function, post
- ambtelijk official, professional
- ambtenaar official, registrar, civil servant, clerk
- ander(s) other
- anders genoemd alias, also known as
- Apostolisch Apostolic
- April, april April
- arbeider laborer
- archief archive
- archieven archives
- Augustus, augustus August
- avond ('s avonds) evening, (in the evening)
- Avondmaal communion, sacrament
B
- bad(plaats) resort, spa, bath
- baker dry nurse
- bakker baker
- bedelaar beggar
- bedrag fee, amount (of money)
- bedrijf trade, business, concern
- begraafplaats cemetery
- begrafenis funeral
- begraven to bury
- behoeftigden needy, indigent
- behoren to belong to
- beide both
- bejaard aged
- bekende acquaintance
- belasting taxation
- Belg(isch) Belgian
- België Belgium
- bemerking remarks
- benadering approximation
- berg mountain
- beroep trade, occupation
- beschrijving description
- beslagnemen to seize
- besnijdenis circumcision
- bet-overgrootvader second great-grandfather
- bet-bet-overgrootvader third great-grandfather
- betrekking in relation to, relatives
- betuiging declaration, expression
- bevolking population
- bevolkingsregister population register
- bewaarder guardian, warden
- bewijs certificate, proof
- bewijs van overlijden proof of death, death certificate
- bewijs van trouwen proof of marriage, marriage certificate
- bidden to pray, to request
- bijlagen supplemental documents
- bijna almost, nearly
- bijnaam surname, nickname
- bijzit mistress, concubine
- binnenkant inside
- biografie biography
- bisdom diocese
- bladzijde (blz.) page
- bloeimaand blossoming month, May
- boek book
- boer farmer
- boerenarbeider cottager, farmhand, worker
- boerenknecht farm worker
- bos woods, forest
- bosbaas forester
- bosch woods, forest (old spelling of the word)
- boswachter forester
- boven above, over, upstairs
- braaf honest, worthy, good
- broeder, broer brother
- brouwer brewer
- brug bridge
- bruid bride
- bruidegom bridegroom
- buiten(kant) outside
- buitenechtelijk illegitimate
- burgemeester mayor
- burgelijke administralie civil administration
- burger citizen
- burgerboek citizenship book
- burgerlijke ambtenaar civil registrar
- burgerlijke stand civil registration, civil administration
- burgerschap citizenship
- buurman neighbor
- buurtschap neighborhood
C
communicanten members, communicants
comparant one who appeared
compareerde appeared before
confirmatie confirmation