Trellum

We call it the ''Ñ'' letter, which is also pronounced as ''eñe'', I have noticed most English speakers trying to learn Spanish have trouble with the pronunciation of this letter. That and rolling our ''Rrrr''. And yes, the Ñ is Spaniard Apparently a lot languages have borrowed it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ñ

Oh I see, I was a bit confused about ''smeer'' because my fiance's explanation wasn't as satisfactory as yours (his English is not so good, sadly). Thanks, the laten prikken thing I saw it in my course was something medical, something about getting blood drawn, but I can't help to think in English Oh by the way, the pharse with ''smeer'' was like this: smeer zalf op je gezicht''. It sounded so odd to me! Is that normal dutch? Thanks a lot for the help You clarified a lot things, and ugh, I had no idea smeer could also mean that ear wax, lol. Context! I have noticed how important context is in dutch

I personally love the online approach, I learnt English online when I was 15-16 years old. I did it all on my own online, if it wasn't for the internet I am sure i'd not be speaking English right now. I have no idea how that happened, I wasn't even planing to learn English, I just had a genuine desire to communicate with English speakers and be able to understand what I read online. I never got too far with languages offline, I wanted to learn German when I was younger (11 or 12), but didn't despite I had the books to do so. Mostly because learning things offline is not as immersing as learning things online I love all the resources we have online! Are you using Memrise very often? Also, since you are a native dutch speaker... can you tell me what does the word 'smeer'' exactly means? Google Translates doesn't help that much. What about ''laten prikken''? I really appreciate the help! Some dutch words are so confusing! o_O

Yes, learning online with no help or guidance (if you are the kind of person who doesn't like to use paid courses) is very hard. I know because I went down that route when was younger with Norwegian and other languages. I've seen people fail so miserably when taking a course at a local school, but i think those who failed had no real motivation to learn said language. Sadly most teachers don't know how to motivate their students and make their classes more immersing and fun.... instead of turning them into tedious chores.

That was really useful, too bad you weren't around when I was still confused about the use of wat in that kind of sentences I'm no longer confused , but it took me a while to get used to the fact wat can be used in that way too. I just wanted to share what my biggest problems were with the language at first Thanks a lot for using different colors, I think a lot people will find this useful. I no longer have trouble with sentences like those (I'm starting to get used to it, but the first months it was such a huge shock. As for number 3, I didn't remember what the exact meaning was, but thanks for clarifying. This would make a great reference to anyone who is just starting learning dutch from 0, specially those who have just started with the Inburgering cursus and have no idea! Oh and yes, I am starting to read more about those verbs! Like worden, zitten, staan, etc. So many rules! But I will look into that later I plan to work on grammar right after I'm done with my inburgering exam. Thanks for the excellent reply, that is what I call a truly helpful post.

I understand that I honestly dislike the idea of practicing dutch with people via Skype, I am introvert, and lately i just don't feel like practicing via Skype. But you can find some really awesome places where you can get a really great study plan and you can even practice your pronunciation. You could try places like: http://www.spanishpod101.com/ I used the dutch version, and let me tell you it's awesome. They have tools to help you compare your pronunciation of different words to the pronunciation of a native! I'm sure the Spanish version does as well. It's amazing! Perfect for us introverts

I'm hope that if I ever have children they have a similar upbringing as well I thought that expecting them to know Dutch, Spanish and English would be too much, but now I do think it's possible I will definitely aim to my kids being trilingual, I thought it was so ambitious and kinda overwhelming for a kid, but after reading about your own experience, it doesn't sound so unreal!

Awesome, I'm curious.. how come polish and dutch are both your mother tongues? Did you learn dutch as a child? I've met a lot dutch speaking poles in the Netherlands, hard working people Very! It must be amazing to know those two languages so well! They are so different from each other Kudos to you!

Well, it's hard Most dutch people in the Netherlands speak English, and as soon as they notice you are not a native dutch speaker they switch to English asap most of the time D: You seem to be doing better than me, but yes, let me tell you I have had those same problems with Dutch. You know what is the worst about dutch? It's all about context. Most words have several meaning depending on the context, which can be super confusing, since in spanish is not really like that (most of the time a word has one meaning, sometimes even two and rarely 3, right?) But in dutch... well, I've seen words that have 10 different meanings depending on the contexts and words used, place in the sentence and so on. When I first say this phrase: ''Wil je wat eten?''. What about that ''wat''? I was so confused, my fiance doesn't seem to have a strong English so you can imagine... I panicked when I saw this: ''Ik heb je een tijd niet gezien''. So different from English o_O I'm ok with those phrases... but phrases with more verbs and how some words invert word order even more are a nightmare still o_O There are sentences that make no sense to me at all yet: ''Hou daar rekening mee'' That is supposed to mean something like: don't forget that. Have you checked this site: http://www.germanpod101.com/ I checked the dutch version and let me tell you I think they offer a great study plan. I plan to play for the membership once I am done with my exam. By the way.... what language do you use when let's say... take note on things like vocab? I personally use English because it seems easier for me to do so (because I use it daily anyway and Spanish can be a bit tricky when trying to find the right translation). God help us D:

Wow... two hours to get that cow stomach tender? I am guessing you guys use an express pot, because once I tried to use a normal pot and that cow stomach took hours to get tender! Ever since i use the express pot, you lose some flavour to it, but it's ok, because with the other pot it takes an eternity. Thanks for sharing I'm sure that soup is delicious!

I've found some really useful resources that might come in handy for people getting ready for the basisexamen inburgering (A1). Most of them give you a clue of what you will see in the actual exam, but I must admit I'm not sure if all those exercises (in that modality) are present in the real exam. The naar Nederland practice exams: http://www.naarnederland.nl/en/category/voorbeeldexamens Perfect to get ready for the KNS: http://toetskns.nl/ Ad Appel material (reading): http://adappel.nl/lesmateriaal-2/ Taalspot: http://www.taalspot.nl/ My favorite one: https://basisexameninburgering.nl/ I hope someone finds those useful! I might post more later UPDATE: It's confirmed, Mr. Thijsebaard himself told me (via e-mail) the real exam contains the same exercises as the ones seen in the practice exams (the modality - not the actual questions). The exam was completey revamped back in December 2014!! So yes, its structure and content has changed. THANK GOD!!!!

Oh my.... I WISH we spoke dutch!!! But we can't!!! My dutch is hardly level A1, so we fall into the same trap. Plus the main problem is that he is too lazy to correct me when needed, so we end up speaking English. But I know we should speak dutch, we always say we will, but we end up speaking English again. I had no idea German had an odd word order as well! What a nightmare! I loathe dutch sentences with more than 2 verbs D: What are you using to improve your German right now? Maybe we can exchange some tips, since both languages are so similar

It's no secret I am currently getting ready for the basisexamen inburgering. I hadn't discussed this openly before because for several reasons I have so many questions regarding to the exam in itself, because I have heard so many things from people who have taken it one or two years ago, but it seems they have changed the way they conduct those exams. It seems they no longer use computers and now they use humans to check the student's answers. I'm also not sure, but it seems they removed the ''nazeggen'' sections as well as the 'verhaal'' one as well, but I actually need to check if that it's true. I have already checked the practice exams: http://www.naarnederland.nl/en/category/voorbeeldexamens and those sections no longer seem to be part of the speaking exam. Does anyone know if this is a fact? Someone who has taken this exam in the last 6 months? I'm starting to get nervous! I was told all i have to do i memorize all I have learnt from the language pack we bought ''Naar Nederland'' and I should be fine.

In mexico they do the exact same and it's irritating as heck. Don't feel bad, we Mexicans are as ''disrespectful'' to the Spanish language as the Spaniards You'd should see how most people there communicates. I feel so irritated at older men using words like ''guey'' and so on. I did the other day while eating at a small restaurant. You should see the way teens communicate, both written and oral form. Don't forget you guys started ''La Real Academia Española''

Same here My future husband is actually Dutch. I wasn't elated over the idea of living in the Netherlands, specially after all those awful things I heard about the country, its health care, language, and its people, but here I am So what's your German level now? A1? B2? I've heard German it's quite tough, but at least you don't have to deal with an odd word order? I like a capital letter is used for each noun though, that is cool I wanted to learn German when I was younger, but I had no access to the internet back then (I was 11 years old or maybe 10) so I didn't get too far

If it was me i'd pick Norwegian. It's s easy to learn ,specially for an English speaker After you are done with it (after one year or less) you can learn Japanese I've been dreaming of learning Norwegian for such a long time! Norway it's such an awesome country <3 Plus you do have Scandinavian friends You have nothing to lose, I bet you will end up mastering it in one year or less if you choose it.

I didn't start having dreams in English ( not that I can remember) until I was into the 5 or 6 year mark I think even now most of my dreams are in Spanish. I'm not so sure though, I don't pay so much attention to the language I speak in my dreams or maybe I do but I just can't fully remember o_O Sorry, today is one of those days my brain doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me. Foggy brain day

It happens everywhere, believe me. It happens in my native Mexico and when they make grammar, punctuation and orthographic mistakes they go big most of the time. I'm talking about epic mistakes, but they try to cover it up by saying it's on purpose (young people and not so young people avoid using good grammar and punctuation). They are changing the Spanish language completely... or should I say ruining it? It happens everywhere, I wish our mistakes were as small as yours guys... a simple ''your so pretty!'' compared to a: ''k royo kbron?'' doesn't look so bad.

Don't be fooled... Dutch can be a real nightmare for most people to learn, but if we compare... yes, Dutch is easier to learn for a native English speaker than for a Spanish speaker who doesn't speak English. The hardest part about dutch is with no doubt word order, after that comes knowing the definite article for each noun, etc. Word order in dutch is really tough and it might be so confusing more most people, simple sentences like: ''Ik moet Nederlands studeren'' are a piece of pie, but sentences like this: '' In ons huis gaan we lekkere dingen koken'' and that's not even a complex sentence at all! It does make sense to me now, but when I was just starting it didn't at all :/ If you are a native English speakers you'd be better off learning Norwegian or Swedish. Those are perfect for an English speaker.

Hehehe, I do! I actually love to talk about food in every language, soon I might be talking about it in Dutch too I found an excellent wordbook at the Action last year, it's supposed to be for dutch speakers who are trying to learn Spanish. Lot's word terms, I plan to create my own Memrise ''course'' with it By the way, I actually made that beef soup yesterday, and it was wonderful! NEVER use an express pot to make any kind of meat-based soup! Ever! If you want a flavorful soup you need to throw the cold meat in the water and let it boil slowly. How did you end up in Germany? I'm just curious I'm very interested in hearing about the journey of other native Spanish speakers living abroad. By the way, I am also taking my Spanish laptop with me. I plan to keep on practicing my Spanish in the Netherlands. If I don't i know I might lose some words and my good orthography (I've a serious neurological problem).

You can find some really good offers But to be honest? I prefer the fruit from my country... mangoes looks so nice and yellow, but wait and see until you start eating it, so bad! It looked so nice, but it tasted awful. I was later explained that the fruit there won't ever taste the way they do in Mexico, because well, their weather s bad most of the time (another thing I don't like from that place - it's windy like hell almost all year round! so no hair down no hair done at all, lol). But I do like the Hema (a store) they sell a lot nice things there for an ok price. Hehehe, I'm trying to find as many positive things as possible before I move

Oh, you know? Lately I eat menudo once a week at a place nearby I used to make my own for special occasions so we could all eat, but it's so tedious! Cow stomach takes so long to cook! Chickpeas are garbanzo beans, I will be making beef soup and I will add chickpeas to it: Chickpeas are those round things you see in the picture, they taste much better than they look We use them in many soups.

Yes, it's amazing, many people who smell it when it cooking think it must be the grossest thing ever, but when it's done... gosh, it's heavenly! Specially the way they serve it here, but not everyone can get it right. How do you guys prepare yours?

Thank you, I just try to do my best with what I have I don't want this to define who I am or what I can do, you know? I know my mind is not what it used to be before (I will never be the same), but I really want to prove I can do this to myself (plus I really have no choice but to pass that test D: ). I think I will make it My main enemy right now is laziness.

Have you tried Memrise? If not, I really recommend it to you, don't waste your time with Duolingo if you ever go back to french or Italian, it only confuses you more. With Memrise you can create your own word lists! It's awesome! I plan to learn a lot words using it (7 weeks away from my test) then I'll start using a paid site, so after one year I might be fluent in dutch (then I iwll be ready for the last exam! yaaay!) But if you want to continue teaching yourself Italian and french, you can't miss verbix! It's so useful too Just get yourself a nice course, I recommend you the Larousse series, their grammar books are very nice, very well put and not too thick, just perfect. Oh... she is a nightmare, believe me, lol. But I try to tolerate her the best I can (she and her husband did something awful and never apologized), it's ok, before going to the Netherlands I had read about dutch people being peculiar I am not the kind of person who believes everything she reads, but let's say I am now a believer, I learnt this the hard way, I always try not to talk with her much, she turns even a small comment into a debate war Hehehe, god help me D: !!