The A-Z of Turning Dutch – the Letter J

Long awaited, but worth the wait. The letter J. This list is what sprung to mind when you were asked what J words you associate most with life in the Netherlands or the Dutch.

Jammer
Joh
Jip en Janneke
Jenever
Jachtschotel met rode kool en extra appelmoes (this is extremely specific and not something I think you will stumble on regularly unless you are a particular fan)
Jumbo (the supermarket, not plane or elephant related)
-je (not to be confused with je, as in you, but as in the diminutive postfix. More on this below)
Johan (someone’s uncle maybe, or more likely Mr Cruijff)
Jonge jenever
Jonge kaas (the various distinctions when it comes to Dutch cheese probably warrants its own blog post)
Jan (not just a common Dutch name, but also “Jan, als in: Jan en alleman, Jan Modaal, Jan met de korte achternaam. M.a.w. de spreekwoordelijke Gewone Nederlander,” as explained by Jacco van Schaik)
Jeetje

A-Z-Letter-J-640x960 The A-Z of Turning Dutch – the Letter J

Jammer

More on the word jammer. Pronounced yammer and not as in English sounding jam…., it’s a word that means ‘that’s a pity’ or ‘that’s a shame’. It’s often used in our house in a sarcastic way, as in ‘jammer dan‘ when something doesn’t quite go right and there is absolutely no empathy whatsoever for your situation.

Adding -je to a word

Adding -je to a word makes it schattig, smaller, endearing. And it is also one of the most fabulous things you can do if the de of het issue plagues your life. If you add -je to the end, you almost certainly will need to use het. So, ‘Ach, kijk nou, het egeltje. Wat schattig!’ “Het vliegtuigje is groot.” This tip can be a life saver, but it can also make you come across as a bit strange if you do that with every word in your conversation…….. use it sparingly.

Johan

If you know anything about football. then Johan Cruijff will be a familiar name to you. He was arguably one of the greatest Dutch footballers ever, and Ajax’s stadium (also known as Amsterdam Arena) is named in his honour. Notably he was a heavy smoker during the height of his playing career but later gave up after a heart bypass operation. He died of lung cancer in 2016 at the age of 68.