Dutch vocabulary

Learn Dutch vocabulary
that sticks.

A deep Dutch dictionary with one-tap flashcards and spaced repetition. Save the words you meet while reading, studying, or working in Dutch — and review them right before you'd forget.

Free · No account required · Works offline

How it works

Look up, save, review.

No setup.

Look it up.

Search any Dutch word — including separable verbs, compound nouns, and conjugated forms. Every meaning it carries, with CEFR level and example sentence.

Save the meaning you met.

One tap, no typing. That exact meaning becomes a flashcard.

Review before you forget.

Spaced repetition brings each word back at the right moment. Five card formats so the word sets from every angle.

afspraak
NOUN · 4 SENSES
afsprekenafgesprokenafspraakje
A2 a planned meeting with someone at a set time and place noun
A planned meeting with someone at a set time and place.
Ik heb een afspraak bij de dokter om drie uur.
A2 a date or social get-together with someone noun
A date or social get-together with someone.
Hebben jullie een afspraak vanavond?
B1 an arrangement or deal reached by agreement noun
An arrangement or deal reached by agreement.
We hebben een afspraak gemaakt over de huurprijs.
B2 a convention or agreed rule between people noun
A convention or agreed rule between people.
Dat is niet de afspraak die we hadden gemaakt.
Dutch vocabulary research

How many Dutch words do you actually need?

Vocabulary researchers measure Dutch word size in word families — a root word and its common derived forms. The CEFR thresholds below reflect research by Schrooten, Vermeer, and Nation adapted to Dutch.

The jump from B1 to B2 in Dutch means roughly 2,000 more word families. At 5 new words a day, that's about a year — if you review consistently and don't forget what you've already learned.
A1
~500
A2
~1,000
B1
~2,000
B2
~4,000
C1
~8,000
C2
~16,000
Dutch for English speakers

The good news: Dutch and English are cousins.

Both Dutch and English come from the same West Germanic branch. Over the centuries, English borrowed hundreds of Dutch words — boss, cookie, landscape, yacht, and many more — and the core vocabulary still shows the family resemblance.

The real challenge isn't getting started; it's retention. Familiar-looking words carry unexpected meanings, and learners often re-look the same words repeatedly without them sticking. That's where building a personal wordbook pays off.

Shared roots — you already know these
water
water
hand
hand
arm
arm
open
open
naam
name
winter
winter
boek
book
oud
old
groen
green
huis
house
goed
good
melk
milk

Dutch has thousands more that don't share English roots — and even familiar words often mean something unexpected. That's where building a personal wordbook pays off.

For the Dutch you actually need.

Whether you're in the NT2 system, working in a Dutch company, watching Dutch TV without subtitles, or just tired of re-looking up the same words — OpenWords turns every word you look up into a flashcard at the moment you look it up.

NT2 learners and inburgering exam candidates
Expats working or living in the Netherlands or Belgium
Daily life learners building vocabulary from TV, podcasts, and conversation
Heritage speakers reconnecting with the language
FAQ

Dutch vocabulary questions

What's the best way to learn Dutch vocabulary?
Read and listen to Dutch that interests you — news, podcasts, subtitled TV. Save the words you don't know in their exact meaning and review them before you forget. OpenWords builds that loop around the dictionary lookup.
Does it help with NT2 and the inburgering exam?
Yes. NT2 vocabulary is mapped to CEFR levels. OpenWords shows you the level of every entry, so you can focus on A2–B1 words for inburgering, or push to B2 for NT2-2.
Can I study Dutch vocabulary offline?
Review works offline — once a word is saved, you can study it anywhere. Looking up new words needs internet.
What's the difference between NT2-1 and NT2-2?
NT2-1 targets roughly B1 level (around 2,000 word families), NT2-2 targets B2 (around 4,000 word families). The CEFR bar chart on this page shows the approximate word counts for each level.
Is OpenWords free?
Yes. No subscriptions, no paywalls. Free to download, free to use, no account required.
How is OpenWords different from other Dutch vocabulary apps?
Most Dutch apps focus on preset word lists. OpenWords starts from the dictionary: you save the Dutch words you actually meet, in the exact meaning they appeared in, and review them with spaced repetition.
Free · No account · Offline

Start learning Dutch vocabulary with OpenWords.

Every Dutch word you look up is one tap away from becoming a flashcard.

Free · No account required · Works offline