Dutch shopping phrases
Shopping in Dutch is mostly a short, polite exchange: you ask where something is or what it costs, the staff member answers and asks Anders nog iets? (“Anything else?”), and you pay by card. Get comfortable with both halves — what you say and what you hear back — and markets, supermarkets and clothes shops all become easy.
Finding things and asking prices
Pronunciation hints are rough English approximations; “kh” is the throaty Dutch g covered in the g-sound guide.
| Dutch | Sounds like | English |
|---|---|---|
| Waar vind ik…? | vahr vint ik | Where do I find…? |
| Hebt u…? | hept uu | Do you have…? |
| Hoeveel kost dit? | HOO-vayl kost dit | How much is this? |
| Wat kost het per kilo? | vat kost ut per KEE-loh | What’s the price per kilo? |
| Ik kijk alleen even | ik kayk ah-LAYN AY-vun | I’m just looking |
| Is dit in de aanbieding? | is dit in duh AHN-bee-ding | Is this on offer? |
| Ik neem deze | ik naym DAY-zuh | I’ll take this one |
| Doet u er maar twee | doot uu er mahr tvay | I’ll have two of them |
Sizes, colours and trying on
For clothing, the key words are maat (size) and passen (to try on / to fit). The full garment vocabulary — along with the Netherlands/Flanders split on the word for jeans — is in clothes vocabulary.
| Dutch | Sounds like | English |
|---|---|---|
| Welke maat is dit? | VEL-kuh maht is dit | What size is this? |
| Hebt u dit in een grotere maat? | … KHROH-tuh-ruh maht | Do you have this in a bigger size? |
| Hebt u dit in een andere kleur? | … AN-duh-ruh kluhr | Do you have this in another colour? |
| Mag ik dit passen? | makh ik dit PAS-sun | May I try this on? |
| Waar is de paskamer? | vahr is duh PAS-kah-mur | Where’s the fitting room? |
| Het past niet | ut past neet | It doesn’t fit |
| Het is te klein / te groot | ut is tuh klayn / tuh khroht | It’s too small / too big |
| Staat het me? | staht ut muh | Does it suit me? |
Paying: the pinnen culture
The Netherlands is close to cashless, and the everyday verb for “to pay by card” is pinnen — from the PIN you enter. Many shops, market stalls and even some cafés are alleen pinnen (card only) and no longer take cash at all. A common sign or spoken line is contactloos betalen (contactless). Foreign credit cards aren’t universally accepted at supermarkets, which historically preferred domestic debit (Maestro/V-Pay), so a bank debit card with contactless is the safest thing to carry.
| Dutch | Sounds like | English |
|---|---|---|
| Kan ik pinnen? | kan ik PIN-nun | Can I pay by card? |
| Kan ik contactloos betalen? | … kon-takt-LOHS buh-TAH-lun | Can I pay contactless? |
| Neemt u contant aan? | naymt uu kon-TANT ahn | Do you take cash? |
| Mag ik een tasje? | makh ik un TAS-yuh | May I have a bag? (usually paid) |
| De bon, graag | duh bon khrahkh | The receipt, please |
What the staff say to you
You’ll be met with a small set of stock questions. Recognising them is what makes you sound fluent, because you can answer without pausing.
| They say | English | You can answer |
|---|---|---|
| Zegt u het maar | Go ahead (what would you like?) | Ik zoek… (I’m looking for…) |
| Kan ik u helpen? | Can I help you? | Nee, ik kijk alleen even |
| Wie is er aan de beurt? | Whose turn is it? | Ik! / Ik geloof ik |
| Anders nog iets? | Anything else? | Nee, dat was het (No, that’s all) |
| Wilt u een bonnetje? | Would you like a receipt? | Ja, graag / Nee, hoeft niet |
| Pinnen of contant? | Card or cash? | Pinnen, graag |
| Heeft u een bonuskaart? | Do you have a loyalty card? | Nee / Ja, hier |
At a busy market stall or a cheese counter you often take a number ticket — listen for Wie is er aan de beurt? (“whose turn?”) or a called-out number. The phrase aan de beurt (“up next”) is worth knowing everywhere queuing happens.
Returns and complaints
| Dutch | Sounds like | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ik wil dit graag ruilen | ik vil dit khrahkh ROW-lun | I’d like to exchange this |
| Kan ik dit terugbrengen? | kan ik dit tuh-RUKH-breng-un | Can I return this? |
| Krijg ik mijn geld terug? | kraykh ik mayn khelt tuh-RUKH | Can I get a refund? |
| Het is kapot / defect | ut is kah-POT / day-FEKT | It’s broken / faulty |
| Hier is de bon | heer is duh bon | Here’s the receipt |
U or je, and the truth about haggling
With shop and market staff, default to the formal u — Hebt u…?, Kan ik u helpen? — especially with anyone older serving you; younger staff in casual shops may open with je, and you can mirror whatever they use. The register system in full is in pronouns. As for haggling: in the Netherlands and Flanders, don’t. Prices in shops and on food and flower markets are fixed, and trying to negotiate reads as odd. The exceptions are flea markets (rommelmarkt / vlooienmarkt) and second-hand or large one-off purchases, where a polite Kan er iets van de prijs af? (“Can you do anything on the price?”) is acceptable. Everywhere else, the marked price is the price.
Belgian usage. Flanders is far more cash-friendly than the Netherlands, so “card only” is less common and it’s worth carrying some cash. The verb pinnen is understood, but you’ll also hear betalen met bancontact (Bancontact is the Belgian debit system) and met de kaart betalen. A plastic bag is often a zakje rather than a tasje.
Related: pair these with the clothing vocabulary for sizes and garments, brush up your numbers for prices, and see the same card culture from the other side in restaurant phrases.