100 most common Dutch adjectives

Ranked by how often each adjective is actually spoken in films and TV series, with the English meaning and a short example. Free to download for Anki, Quizlet, Excel or print.

Study it in Fluent by Accident

Add the list as a flashcard deck in one click: spaced repetition on the web and on your phone, every card with its example sentence. Then meet the same words in your shows, with two subtitle lines on Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+ and Max.

Add to my decks

Free account. The free plan holds up to 20 cards in total, filled from the top of the list; Pro adds all 100.

Download for free

The list

100 adjectives

#	Dutch	English and example
1	goedadjective	good, well, fineDit is een goed idee. This is a good idea.
2	nodigadjective	necessary, neededDit is nodig. This is necessary.
3	anderadjective	other, differentIk wil iets anders. I want something different.
4	doodadjective	deadDe vogel is dood. The bird is dead.
5	grootadjective	big, largeDit huis is erg groot. This house is very big.
6	mooiadjective	beautiful, niceWat een mooie dag vandaag. What a beautiful day today.
7	leukadjective	fun, nice, coolDat is echt leuk! That's really fun!
8	bestadjective	quite, rather, bestDat is best goed. That's quite good.
9	nieuwadjective	newDit is mijn nieuwe auto. This is my new car.
10	klaaradjective	ready, done, finishedBen je klaar? Are you ready?
11	sneladjective	fast, quick, quicklyJe bent erg snel. You're very fast.
12	eersteadjective	firstDit is mijn eerste dag hier. This is my first day here.
13	oudadjective	oldMijn opa is heel oud. My grandfather is very old.
14	geweldigadjective	great, wonderful, amazingDat is een geweldig idee! That's a great idea!
15	kleinadjective	small, littleIk heb een klein huis. I have a small house.
16	laatstadjective	last, latestVorige week was ik laatst thuis. Last week I was home last.
17	gekadjective	crazy, mad, sillyJe bent helemaal gek! You're completely crazy!
18	enigadjective	only, sole, anyDat is de enige oplossing. That's the only solution.
19	bangadjective	afraid, scaredIk ben bang voor spinnen. I'm afraid of spiders.
20	slechtadjective	bad, poor, evilDit eten smaakt slecht. This food tastes bad.
21	juistadjective	right, correct, justDat antwoord is juist. That answer is correct.
22	eigenadjective	ownDit is mijn eigen huis. This is my own house.
23	gelijkadjective	equal, same, rightWe hebben gelijk. We are right.
24	rustigadjective	calm, quiet, peacefulBlijf rustig, het is oké. Stay calm, it's okay.
25	volgendadjective	next, followingDe volgende dag gaan we. The next day we go.
26	openadjective	openDe deur is open. The door is open.
27	blijadjective	happy, glad, pleasedIk ben blij je te zien. I'm happy to see you.
28	belangrijkadjective	important, significantDit is heel belangrijk. This is very important.
29	vrijadjective	free, at libertyBen je vrij morgen? Are you free tomorrow?
30	moeilijkadjective	difficult, hard, toughDit is moeilijk voor mij. This is difficult for me.
31	primaadjective	great, excellent, finePrima, dat is goed. Great, that's good.
32	enkeladjective	only, singleIk heb enkel water. I have only water.
33	fijnadjective	fine, nice, pleasantWat een fijne dag! What a nice day!
34	lekkeradjective	delicious, tasty, niceDit eten is erg lekker! This food is very delicious!
35	mogelijkadjective	possible, canIs het mogelijk om morgen te komen? Is it possible to come tomorrow?
36	gelukkigadjective	happy, fortunately, luckilyIk ben erg gelukkig vandaag. I am very happy today.
37	voladjective	fullHet glas is vol water. The glass is full of water.
38	veiligadjective	safe, secureJe bent hier veilig. You are safe here.
39	hardadjective	hard, loud, fastNiet zo hard praten! Don't talk so loud!
40	verkeerdadjective	wrong, incorrect, badDit is verkeerd. This is wrong.
41	drukadjective	busy, pressure, printIk ben erg druk vandaag. I am very busy today.
42	bezigadjective	busy, occupiedIk ben bezig met werk. I am busy with work.
43	armadjective	poor, armHij is arm maar gelukkig. He is poor but happy.
44	duidelijkadjective	clear, obviousDat is duidelijk. That is clear.
45	jongadjective	youngHij is jong. He is young.
46	eerlijkadjective	honest, fairWees eerlijk met me. Be honest with me.
47	wakkeradjective	awakeIk ben wakker. I am awake.
48	vreemdadjective	strange, oddDat is vreemd. That is strange.
49	losadjective	loose, freeDe knoop is los. The button is loose.
50	aardigadjective	nice, kindJe bent aardig. You are nice.
51	prachtigadjective	beautiful, wonderfulWat een prachtig huis! What a beautiful house!
52	hoogadjective	high, tallDie berg is erg hoog. That mountain is very high.
53	stomadjective	stupid, dumbDat is een stomme vraag. That's a stupid question.
54	dichtadjective	closed, nearDe deur is dicht. The door is closed.
55	sterkadjective	strong, powerfulHij is erg sterk. He is very strong.
56	perfectadjective	perfectDit is perfect voor jou. This is perfect for you.
57	normaaladjective	normal, ordinary, usualDit is heel normaal voor hem. This is very normal for him.
58	tweedeadjective	secondDit is mijn tweede keer hier. This is my second time here.
59	boosadjective	angry, mad, crossWaarom ben je boos op mij? Why are you angry with me?
60	zwartadjective	black, darkIk draag een zwart shirt. I wear a black shirt.
61	halfadjective	half, semi-Het is half twaalf. It is half past eleven.
62	raaradjective	strange, odd, weirdDat is echt raar, vind je niet? That's really strange, don't you think?
63	makkelijkadjective	easy, simpleDit is makkelijk voor mij. This is easy for me.
64	kwaadadjective	angry, mad, evilHij is kwaad op mij. He is angry with me.
65	ziekadjective	sick, illIk ben ziek, ik ga naar bed. I'm sick, I'm going to bed.
66	verlorenadjective	lostMijn portemonnee is verloren. My wallet is lost.
67	vorigadjective	previous, lastVorig jaar was beter. Last year was better.
68	stiladjective	quiet, silent, stillWees stil, alsjeblieft! Be quiet, please!
69	vreselijkadjective	terrible, awful, horribleDit is vreselijk slecht. This is terribly bad.
70	kwijtadjective	lost, rid ofIk ben mijn telefoon kwijt. I've lost my phone.
71	slimadjective	smart, clever, cunningDat is een slim plan. That's a clever plan.
72	legadjective	emptyDe fles is leg. The bottle is empty.
73	lichtadjective	light, easyDit is niet zwaar, het is licht. This isn't heavy, it's light.
74	zwaaradjective	heavy, difficult, seriousDit is erg zwaar. This is very heavy.
75	voorzichtigadjective	careful, cautiousWees voorzichtig met dat glas! Be careful with that glass!
76	grappigadjective	funny, amusing, comicDat is echt grappig! That's really funny!
77	serieusadjective	serious, earnestBen je serieus met me? Are you serious with me?
78	domadjective	stupid, silly, dumbDat was een domme vraag. That was a stupid question.
79	speciaaladjective	special, particularDit is een speciaal moment voor ons. This is a special moment for us.
80	waardadjective	worth, worthyDit boek is het lezen waard. This book is worth reading.
81	fantastischadjective	fantastic, wonderful, greatDat is een fantastisch idee! That's a fantastic idea!
82	persoonlijkadjective	personal, privateDat is mijn persoonlijke mening. That's my personal opinion.
83	roodadjective	redMijn auto is rood. My car is red.
84	gevaarlijkadjective	dangerous, riskyDat is gevaarlijk! That's dangerous!
85	trotsadjective	proudIk ben trots op je. I'm proud of you.
86	enormadjective	enormous, huge, veryDat is een enorm groot huis. That's an enormous big house.
87	liefadjective	sweet, dear, kindDat is erg lief van je. That's very sweet of you.
88	afgelopenadjective	past, lastDat was afgelopen week. That was last week.
89	bekendadjective	known, famousHij is een bekend acteur. He is a famous actor.
90	witadjective	whiteIk draag een wit shirt. I wear a white shirt.
91	koudadjective	coldHet is erg koud vandaag. It is very cold today.
92	kortadjective	short, briefDit is een kort verhaal. This is a short story.
93	schuldigadjective	guilty, owingHij voelt zich schuldig. He feels guilty.
94	volledigadjective	complete, full, entirelyDit is volledig waar. This is completely true.
95	rijkadjective	rich, wealthyHij is een rijke man. He is a rich man.
96	dronkenadjective	drunk, intoxicatedHij is dronken en kan niet rijden. He is drunk and cannot drive.
97	verliefdadjective	in love, smittenHij is verliefd op haar. He is in love with her.
98	donkeradjective	dark, darknessHet is donker buiten. It is dark outside.
99	warmadjective	warm, hotHet water is erg warm. The water is very warm.
100	interessantadjective	interestingDit boek is erg interessant. This book is very interesting.

How this list was made

Most frequency lists count newspapers and books. This one counts what people say on screen: word counts from the OpenSubtitles 2018 collection of film and TV subtitles (263 million Dutch words), published by the FrequencyWords project.

Different forms of the same word are counted together under the dictionary form, so every form of a verb adds to the verb's rank. Names, English words, typos and swear words were removed. Nouns are shown with their article where the language has one, so you learn the gender with the word.

Ranking: OpenSubtitles 2018 via FrequencyWords by Hermit Dave (CC BY-SA 4.0). This list is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Questions

How many Dutch words do you need to understand films and TV?

In 263 million words of Dutch subtitles, the 100 most common words make up 62.1% of everything said, the top 500 make up 78.5% and the top 1000 make up 82.8%. The rest are rarer words that are easiest to pick up from the shows themselves, in context.

How do I import this list into Anki?

Download the Anki deck (.apkg) and open it, or in Anki choose File, Import and pick the file. The cards arrive in the order of the list, most common first, with the meaning and an example on the back. AnkiDroid and AnkiMobile open the same file.

Can I use it in Quizlet?

Yes. Open the Quizlet file, copy everything, then in Quizlet create a set, choose Import and paste. Keep "Tab" between term and definition and "New line" between cards. Knowt and Brainscape accept the same text.

Is it free to use and share?

Yes. Download it, print it and share it. The list is published under CC BY-SA 4.0: if you publish it or a changed version, credit Fluent by Accident and the FrequencyWords project and share it under the same licence.

Where do the translations and examples come from?

The ranking comes only from real word counts. The English meanings and example sentences were drafted with AI and can contain small mistakes. If you spot one, write to rk@coldabry.com.