Dutch–English false friends

False friends are Dutch words that look like English words but mean something else: slim means “clever”, brutaal means “cheeky”, eventueel means “possibly”, de wet is “the law” and raar means “strange”. Because Dutch and English are close cousins, such pairs are everywhere, and a few can land you in genuinely awkward situations. This page lists the ones that matter, in both directions, with the dangerous ones flagged.

False friends arise because English and Dutch share a Germanic ancestor and later borrowed from the same Latin and French sources, but the meanings drifted apart. Sometimes both languages kept a word and narrowed it differently; sometimes an English borrowing into Dutch shifted sense over the centuries. The result is a word that your brain reads as familiar and translates wrongly on autopilot — which is exactly why they are worth studying deliberately.

The essential false-friends table

Read it as: the Dutch word, the English word it looks like, and what it actually means. Nouns are shown with their article; see de or het if the articles trip you up.

Dutch word	Looks like	Actually means
eventueel	eventually	possibly, if applicable (English "eventually" = uiteindelijk)
slim	slim	clever, smart (thin = slank, dun)
brutaal	brutal	cheeky, impudent (brutal = wreed, meedogenloos)
de rommel	rummel/rumble	mess, clutter, junk
de fabriek	fabric	factory (cloth = de stof)
het lokaal	local	classroom, room (your local pub = de stamkroeg)
de map	map	folder, binder (map = de kaart, de plattegrond)
het meer	mere/more	lake ("more" = meer too — context decides)
bellen	to bellow	to phone, to ring
durven	to deserve	to dare (to deserve = verdienen)
huren	to hire (a person)	to rent (to hire staff = aannemen, inhuren)
de gift	gift	donation (a present = het cadeau); note het gif = poison
het gymnasium	gymnasium	a grammar school with Latin/Greek (gym = de sportschool)
de eekhoorn	acorn	squirrel (acorn = de eikel)
de wet	wet	law (wet = nat)
willen	will (future)	to want (future "will" = zullen)
de tent	tent	tent — but also slang for a bar/joint/place
het college	college	a lecture (or a municipal board)
de fabrikant	fabricant	manufacturer
actueel	actual	current, topical (actual = werkelijk, feitelijk)
gemeen	mean (average)	nasty, mean-spirited — or "common/shared"
de spot	spot	mockery, ridicule (a spot = de plek, de vlek)
de stem	stem	voice; also "vote" (plant stem = de stengel)
de arm	arm	arm — but as an adjective arm = poor
kloppen	to clop	to knock; also "to be correct" (dat klopt)
raar	rare	strange, weird (rare/scarce = zeldzaam)
de fles	flesh	bottle (flesh = het vlees)
de rok	rock	skirt (rock = de rots; the music = rock)
de school	school	school — but een school vissen = a shoal of fish
solliciteren	to solicit	to apply for a job
de student	student	university student only (school pupil = de leerling)
de fabel	fable (fine)	fable — but figuratively "nonsense"
overhoren	overhear	to test someone orally (overhear = toevallig horen)
de trap	trap	staircase; also a kick (trap = de val, de valstrik)
de room	room	cream (room = de kamer)
de boot	boot	boat (boot = de laars)
de brief	brief	letter (a brief = de opdracht, de briefing)
de hoek	hook	corner (hook = de haak)
de kast	cast	cupboard, wardrobe
het bad	bad	bath (bad = slecht)
de bril	brill	glasses, spectacles
de pink	pink	little finger (pink = roze)
de ramp	ramp	disaster (ramp = de oprit, de helling)
de pet	pet	cap (a pet = het huisdier)
de lever	lever	liver (lever = de hendel)
de chef	chef	boss, manager (a chef = de kok, de chef-kok)
de concurrentie	concurrence	competition between businesses or rivals
de competitie	competition (any)	a sports league or season-long contest
het monster	monster	monster — but also a sample (een bloedmonster)
controleren	to control	to check, inspect (to control = beheersen)

The genuinely dangerous ones

A wrong meaning is usually just funny. A handful, though, will embarrass you badly, so learn these consciously:

brutaal — calling a Dutch child brutaal says they are cheeky, not violent. Fine. But do not use it to translate English "brutal".
de gift vs het gif — one letter apart: een gift is a donation, gif is poison. Offering someone een gift is generous; offering gif is not.
eventueel — the classic professional slip. "We will eventually deliver" becomes, in bad Dutch, "we might possibly deliver" (we leveren eventueel). Use uiteindelijk for "eventually".
English "actually" — do not reach for actueel. "Actually" is eigenlijk or feitelijk; actueel means "current/topical".
English "to control" — Dutch controleren means "to check/inspect", not "to have control over" (that is beheersen, besturen).

False friends in the other direction

These are English words a Dutch speaker — or you, thinking in English — is tempted to import, with unfortunate results:

You want to say	Tempting (wrong) Dutch	Correct Dutch
eventually	eventueel	uiteindelijk
to become	bekomen	worden (bekomen = to recover from a shock; in Belgium also “to obtain”)
to get (receive)	worden, by analogy with “become”	krijgen: ik kreeg een cadeau (I got a present)
sympathetic	sympathiek	sympathiek = likeable, not compassionate (that is meelevend)
to realise (understand)	realiseren	zich realiseren / beseffen (plain realiseren = to bring about)
eventually / finally	finaal	finaal = utterly, completely — not "finally"
a magazine	magazijn	het tijdschrift (magazijn = warehouse/stockroom)
furniture	meubel as a mass noun	de meubels / het meubilair

Belgian usage: most false friends behave identically in Flanders, but a few English borrowings differ. Belgians say een bureau for an office desk much as the Dutch do, yet Flemish keeps some older French-derived senses. Where a word feels off, check whether it is a regional preference — see Dutch vs Flemish.

Competence, competition and concurrentie

One cluster confuses learners more than most. Competent and de competentie are true friends: they mean what English “competent” and “competence” mean, and competenties is standard HR language for skills in job adverts. The trap is “competition”, which Dutch splits in two:

de concurrentie — commercial or professional rivalry: De concurrentie is groot. (Competition is fierce.) A competitor is een concurrent.
de competitie — a league or ongoing sports contest: Ajax staat bovenaan in de competitie.
de wedstrijd — a single match or contest: een schaakwedstrijd, a chess competition.

So “there is a lot of competition for this job” is Er is veel concurrentie voor deze baan, never competitie. More job-related vocabulary is on the work vocabulary page.

Why memorising these pays off

False friends are high-value vocabulary: each one you learn removes a mistake you were otherwise guaranteed to make, because your English instinct actively pushes you the wrong way. The fix is exposure and a little deliberate drilling — flag each word the first time it bites you and it will not bite twice. They also pair naturally with loanwords, where the borrowing went the other way and the meanings usually stayed closer.

Frequently asked questions

What is a false friend in Dutch?

A false friend (Dutch: een valse vriend) is a Dutch word that looks or sounds like an English word but means something different, such as slim (clever) or de fabriek (factory).

What are the most common English–Dutch false friends?

The ones learners hit first are eventueel (possibly), slim (clever), brutaal (cheeky), actueel (current), raar (strange), de wet (law), de map (folder), de gift (donation) and solliciteren (to apply for a job).

Is “competence” a false friend in Dutch?

No. Competent and competentie mean the same as in English. The false friend is “competition”: business rivalry is concurrentie, a sports league is competitie and a single contest is een wedstrijd.

What does slim mean in Dutch?

Slim means clever or smart: een slim idee is a clever idea. For “slim” in the English sense, use slank or dun.

How do you say “eventually” in Dutch?

Use uiteindelijk. Eventueel means “possibly” or “if necessary”, so eventueel in a business email changes your meaning.

How do you say “actually” in Dutch?

Eigenlijk (or feitelijk, in feite). Actueel means current or topical, as in actuele informatie.

False friends are one of the common mistakes Dutch learners make. Keep expanding with the vocabulary hub, and see how borrowed words behave in Dutch loanwords.