Dutch at the supermarket: food words and phrases

Dutch at the supermarket in six short game lessons: paying at the till, fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, finding things, asking for amounts and returning something. Every word has audio.

Dutch at the supermarket: food words and phrases

All the Dutch from the six lessons, grouped by situation in the shop: the example conversation, then every word with its English meaning. Tap ▶ to hear it.

Paying at the till: mag ik pinnen?

What the cashier says and how to answer.

Example conversation

Goedemiddag! Dat is dan vier euro vijftig.Good afternoon! That'll be four euros fifty.
Mag ik pinnen?Can I pay by card?
Ja hoor. Wilt u het bonnetje?Sure. Would you like the receipt?
Nee, dank u. Fijne dag!No, thank you. Have a nice day!

Word list

Dutch	English
de supermarkt	supermarket
de euro	euro
pinnen	to pay by card
het bonnetje	receipt
de tas	bag
ja	yes
nee	no
graag	gladly, please
hoeveel	how much, how many
kost	costs

▶ Practise this as a game: Paying at the till

Dutch words for fruit and vegetables

From aardappel to aardbei.

Example conversation

Wat heb je nodig voor de soep?What do you need for the soup?
Tomaten, wortels en een ui.Tomatoes, carrots and an onion.
Hebben we nog aardappelen?Do we still have potatoes?
Nee, die zijn op.No, they're finished.

Word list

Dutch	English
de groente	vegetable, vegetables
de tomaat	tomato
de wortel	carrot
de aardappel	potato
de komkommer	cucumber
de sla	lettuce
de paprika	bell pepper
de sinaasappel	orange
de druif	grape
de aardbei	strawberry

▶ Practise this as a game: Fruit and vegetables

Dutch words for meat and fish

Including halal and vegetarisch.

Example conversation

Wat eten we vanavond?What are we eating tonight?
Kip met rijst, of vis?Chicken with rice, or fish?
Liever vis. Ik haal het wel bij de visboer.Fish, preferably. I'll get it at the fishmonger's.

Word list

Dutch	English
het vlees	meat
de kip	chicken
de vis	fish
de rijst	rice
de pasta	pasta
het gehakt	minced meat
halal	halal
vegetarisch	vegetarian
liever	rather, preferably
halen	to get, to fetch

▶ Practise this as a game: Meat and fish

Finding things in a Dutch supermarket

Asking where something is, and packaging words like pak, fles and blik.

Example conversation

Waar vind ik de melk?Where can I find the milk?
In het koelvak, achterin bij de kaas.In the fridge section, at the back near the cheese.
En hebt u ook glutenvrij brood?And do you also have gluten-free bread?
Ja, in gang drie.Yes, in aisle three.

Word list

Dutch	English
het koelvak	chiller, fridge section
het schap	shelf
de winkelwagen	shopping trolley
het mandje	basket
de kassa	till, checkout
de aanbieding	special offer
het pak	carton, pack
de fles	bottle
het blik	tin, can
de zak	bag

▶ Practise this as a game: Finding things

Asking for amounts: at the cheese counter

Grams, slices and anders nog iets.

Example conversation

Mag ik vier broodjes en een halve kilo kaas?Could I have four rolls and half a kilo of cheese?
Jonge of oude kaas?Young or old cheese?
Jong, graag. Plakjes, alstublieft.Young, please. Sliced, please.
Anders nog iets?Anything else?

Word list

Dutch	English
het plakje	slice
het stuk	piece
de gram	gram
de liter	litre
halve	half
het paar	pair, couple
anders	else, different
nog	still, more
iets	something
niets	nothing

▶ Practise this as a game: How much?

Returning or exchanging something in Dutch

Ruilen, terugbrengen and the right size.

Example conversation

Ik wil deze trui graag ruilen.I'd like to exchange this jumper.
Is er iets mis mee?Is something wrong with it?
Hij is te klein. Hebt u hem in een grotere maat?It's too small. Do you have it in a bigger size?
Ja, hier is een maat L.Yes, here's a size L.

Word list

Dutch	English
ruilen	to exchange
terugbrengen	to bring back, to return
de bon	receipt
de maat	size
te	too (te klein = too small)
mis	wrong
passen	to fit, to try on
deze	this (de words)
dit	this (het words)
die	that (de words)
dat	that (het words)

▶ Practise this as a game: Returning something

How to practise Dutch at the supermarket

Use your next shopping trip as practice. Most of the Dutch at the supermarket in these lessons is short, fixed phrases like Mag ik pinnen? and Anders nog iets?, so learn them as whole sentences.

Before you go, play the lesson that matches your trip: fruit and vegetables for the market, the cheese counter for amounts, or returning something if you need to exchange an item. Then try one phrase in Dutch at the till.

Frequently asked questions

How do you ask to pay by card in Dutch?

Mag ik pinnen? (Can I pay by card?)

What does anders nog iets mean?

Anything else? You can answer: Nee, dat was het, dank u. (No, that's it, thank you.)

How do you ask where something is in a Dutch supermarket?

Waar vind ik de melk? (Where can I find the milk?)

What does 1 + 1 gratis mean?

Buy one, get one free.

What is the difference between jonge, belegen and oude kaas?

They are ages of cheese: jong is young, belegen is matured and oud is old.

Related on The Dutch Daily

Word meanings checked against Wiktionary. Audio uses your device’s Dutch voice where available.

Dutch at the supermarket: food words and phrases