Dutch greetings: hello and goodbye
“Hello” in Dutch is hallo (hah-LOH): neutral, polite and safe with anyone. Among friends say hoi (“hi”); in a shop or office use goedemorgen or goedemiddag; and the safe all-purpose goodbye is dag. Everything else — greeting a group, a business contact, or saying doei to a friend — is about matching the moment and the person, and this page sorts every option by time of day and formality.
Hello: the core greetings
Pronunciation hints are rough English approximations. The tricky sound throughout is the Dutch g, written “kh” below — a soft throat-clearing sound explained in full in the guide to the Dutch g.
| Dutch | Sounds like | English / when to use |
|---|---|---|
| Hallo | hah-LOH | Hello — neutral, works with anyone, any time |
| Hoi | hoy | Hi — informal, friends, colleagues, people your age |
| Hey / Hé | hey | Hey — very casual, close friends |
| Dag | dakh | Hello or goodbye — polite, slightly formal, all ages |
| Goedendag | khoo-dun-DAKH | Good day — formal, shops, officials |
Greetings by time of day
Dutch splits the day into morning, afternoon and evening, each with its own greeting. These are a notch more polite than a bare hoi and are the natural choice when you walk into a shop, a waiting room, or an office.
| Dutch | Sounds like | English / when |
|---|---|---|
| Goedemorgen | khoo-duh-MOR-khun | Good morning — until about noon |
| Goedemiddag | khoo-duh-MID-dakh | Good afternoon — roughly noon to 6 pm |
| Goedenavond | khoo-dun-AH-vont | Good evening — from about 6 pm |
| Goedemorgen! (shortened) | MOR-khun | Just Morgen! — casual clipped version |
| Goeiemorgen | KHOO-yuh-mor-khun | Colloquial spelling you’ll hear constantly |
In speech the goede- part often softens to goeie- (KHOO-yuh), and people frequently drop it altogether: a cheerful Morgen! across the office is completely normal. Note that goedenacht (“good night”) is only said when going to bed, never as a greeting on arrival.
Goodbye: the ones natives actually use
Textbooks over-teach tot ziens. It isn’t wrong, but it is on the formal side; in daily life the Netherlands runs on doei and dag.
| Dutch | Sounds like | English / register |
|---|---|---|
| Dag | dakh | Bye — polite, neutral, safe everywhere |
| Doei | doo-ee | Bye — friendly, informal, extremely common |
| Doei doei | doo-ee doo-ee | Bye-bye — light, chatty, often on the phone |
| Tot ziens | tot ZEENS | Goodbye — formal; shops, officials, strangers |
| Tot zo | tot ZOH | See you shortly — back within the hour |
| Tot straks | tot STRAKS | See you later — later the same day |
| Tot morgen | tot MOR-khun | See you tomorrow |
| Tot volgende week | tot VOL-khun-duh vayk | See you next week |
| Fijne dag (nog) | FAY-nuh dakh nokh | Have a nice day — warm, common on parting |
| Prettige dag | PRET-tuh-khuh dakh | Have a good day — slightly more formal |
| Het beste | ut BES-tuh | All the best — parting for a longer while |
The tot… family (“until…”) is endlessly productive: slot in any time expression and you have a goodbye. A shopkeeper handing back your change will very often add fijne dag nog! — the polite reply is simply u ook! (“you too!”) or, informally, jij ook!
Hello everyone: greeting a group (“hello guys”)
To greet several people at once, add allemaal (“all of you”) to any greeting. Hoi allemaal is the everyday Dutch for “hi guys” or “hi everyone”, and it works in a WhatsApp group, walking into a room of friends, or at the start of a relaxed team meeting.
| Dutch | Sounds like | English / register |
|---|---|---|
| Hoi allemaal | hoy AL-luh-mahl | Hi guys / hi everyone — informal, gender-neutral, the safe choice |
| Hallo allemaal | hah-LOH AL-luh-mahl | Hello everyone — neutral, fine at work |
| Hé jongens | hey YONG-uns | Hey guys — casual; jongens literally means “boys” |
| Hallo iedereen | hah-LOH EE-duh-rayn | Hello everybody — neutral |
| Goedemorgen allemaal | khoo-duh-MOR-khun AL-luh-mahl | Good morning, everyone — office, class, meeting |
| Dames en heren | DAH-mus en HAIR-un | Ladies and gentlemen — speeches, announcements |
| Doei allemaal | doo-ee AL-luh-mahl | Bye, everyone — informal |
Like English “guys”, jongens is widely used for mixed groups in casual speech, but some people find it exclusive; allemaal and iedereen never raise that question. For a group of women only, you will also hear meiden (“girls”): Hoi meiden!
Saying hello in a business setting
In a professional context the standard hello is the time-of-day greeting plus a handshake: Goedemorgen before noon, goedemiddag after. When you meet someone for the first time, you shake hands and say your full name — Goedemiddag, Mark Jansen — which is how the Dutch introduce themselves in business, without “my name is”. Start with the formal u and switch to je once the other person does or proposes it (Zeg maar je, “just call me je”). Dutch workplaces move to first names and je quickly, often within the first meeting.
| Situation | Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting a client | Goedemorgen, meneer De Vries. | Good morning, Mr De Vries. |
| Meeting a client | Goedemiddag, mevrouw Bakker. | Good afternoon, Ms Bakker. |
| First handshake | Aangenaam, Sarah Smith. | Pleased to meet you, Sarah Smith. |
| Answering the phone | Goedemorgen, u spreekt met Sarah Smith. | Good morning, this is Sarah Smith. |
| Answering the phone (short) | Met Sarah. | Sarah speaking. |
| Formal email opening | Geachte heer De Vries, | Dear Mr De Vries, |
| Formal email opening | Geachte mevrouw Bakker, | Dear Ms Bakker, |
| Normal work email | Beste Anna, | Dear / Hi Anna, |
| Email to a team | Hallo allemaal, | Hi all, |
Two spelling details: the surname prefix is capitalised when no first name precedes it (meneer De Vries, but Jan de Vries), and in an email Geachte is only for genuinely formal letters — Beste plus a first name is the everyday business standard. The full set of email formulas and sign-offs is in business Dutch.
U or je? Getting the register right
Greetings themselves mostly don’t change for formality — hallo and dag are register-neutral — but what you attach to them does. “How are you?” is hoe gaat het met u? to someone you address formally and hoe gaat het met je? (or just hoe gaat het?) to everyone else. As a rule of thumb, pair goedemorgen/goedemiddag and tot ziens with the formal u for older strangers, officials and customers; pair hoi and doei with the informal je for peers, colleagues and friends. The Netherlands leans informal by default; the full system is set out in Dutch pronouns and in the introductions guide.
Belgian usage. In Flanders people lean formal a little longer, and the everyday hello you’ll hear is goeiedag or simply dag. Casual Flemish adds salut (also spelled salu, sah-LUU) for both “hi” and “bye” among friends, and ciao and tot seffens (“see you in a bit”) turn up where a Netherlander would say tot zo. Doei sounds distinctly Netherlandish to Flemish ears.
Handshakes, kisses and the physical greeting
Meeting someone for the first time in a formal or professional setting, you shake hands and say your name: Hallo, ik ben Anna or, more formally, Aangenaam (AHN-khuh-nahm, “pleased to meet you”). Among friends and family the greeting is three kisses on alternating cheeks — left, right, left — not two. This is between women, and between a woman and a man; two men almost always shake hands or, if close, do a quick hug or back-pat. The three-kiss custom is a Netherlands and Flanders thing and it catches many newcomers out; when in doubt, offer a hand and let the other person escalate. Since the pandemic, a plain wave with hoi has also become perfectly acceptable, especially at work.
Answering “how are you?”
Unlike the English “how are you”, which expects only “fine, you?”, the Dutch hoe gaat het? can invite a real, if brief, answer. Standard replies:
| Dutch | Sounds like | English |
|---|---|---|
| Goed, en met jou? | khoot, en met YOW | Good, and you? |
| Prima | PREE-mah | Great / fine |
| Het gaat | ut khaht | So-so (literally “it goes”) |
| Niet zo goed | neet zoh khoot | Not so good |
| Wel goed, druk | vel khoot, druk | Fine — busy |
Keep going: pair these with introducing yourself to get past hello, and use small talk for what comes after. For the sounds behind the hints above, work through the pronunciation guide.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say hello in Dutch?
The standard word is hallo (hah-LOH), which works with anyone. Informally, say hoi; in shops and offices, goedemorgen (good morning) or goedemiddag (good afternoon).
How do you say “hello guys” in Dutch?
Say Hoi allemaal or Hallo allemaal (“hi everyone”). Hé jongens is the closest literal match and is often used for mixed groups, but allemaal is the gender-neutral choice.
How do you say hello in Dutch in a business setting?
Use the time-of-day greeting with a handshake: Goedemorgen, meneer De Vries or Goedemiddag, mevrouw Bakker. Introduce yourself with your full name and use the formal u until invited to switch to je.
What is the difference between hoi and hallo?
Hallo is neutral and fits every situation; hoi is informal, like English “hi”, and is used with friends, colleagues and people your own age.
What is the most common way to say goodbye in Dutch?
In daily life, doei (informal) and dag (neutral). Tot ziens is correct but more formal, suited to shops, officials and strangers.
Do the Dutch greet with three kisses?
Yes, among friends and family: three kisses on alternating cheeks, mainly between women and between women and men. In professional settings and with strangers, shake hands.