Doe NormaalDutch reading practice for A2 and B1
Updated
At A2 and B1 you're in an awkward spot: picture books are boring, and a newspaper is still too hard. What helps is short texts about everyday things, in Dutch that real people would write.
Below are four of those to read right now, each with the hard words explained, a question, and the English when you want it. After that: where to find more, most of it free, and how to read so the words stay.
Not sure which of the two levels you're at? Take the 5-minute Dutch level test first.
Read these: four Dutch dating profiles
These are (fictional) profiles from Swipen, the dating part of our app Doe Normaal. Each one says which level it is. Read the Dutch first, and only then open the words, the question and the translation.
Emma, 30 · Den Haag
Level A2
- Ik praat gewoon Nederlands met je, ook als het nog niet perfect gaat 🫶
- Ik fiets sneller dan jij, met of zonder wind
- Allergisch voor katten. Ik heb er twee.
- Strand van Scheveningen > alle andere stranden
Words in this text
- gewoon
- just, simply
- met of zonder wind
- with or without wind
Question: What's odd about Emma and cats?
She's allergic to them, and she has two.
In English
- I'll just speak Dutch with you, even if it's not going perfectly yet 🫶
- I cycle faster than you, with or without wind
- Allergic to cats. I have two.
- Scheveningen beach > all other beaches
Emma keeps talking Dutch with you. Not everyone does: how to stop Dutch people switching to English.
Bram, 25 · Den Bosch
Level A2
- Zevendejaars student (bijna klaar, echt waar)
- Elke donderdag in de kroeg, de rest van de week ook
- Ik kan maar één ding koken: pasta pesto
- Ik leen soms geld, maar ik betaal altijd terug… uiteindelijk
Words in this text
- zevendejaars
- seventh-year (student)
- kroeg
- pub, bar
- leen
- borrow (from 'lenen')
- uiteindelijk
- eventually, in the end
Question: How long has Bram been a student?
This is his seventh year (zevendejaars). He says he's nearly done.
In English
- Seventh-year student (nearly done, honestly)
- In the pub every Thursday, and the rest of the week too
- I can only cook one thing: pasta pesto
- I sometimes borrow money, but I always pay it back… eventually
Noor, 28 · Amsterdam
Level B1
- Mijn hond Pippa komt op de eerste plaats
- Op twee: mijn moeder. Jij mag strijden voor plek drie.
- Ik ben 1,60, dus iedereen is lang genoeg
- Elk vrij weekend klimmen in de Ardennen. Pippa gaat mee.
Words in this text
- op de eerste plaats
- in first place
- strijden
- to fight, to compete
- lang genoeg
- tall enough
- klimmen
- to climb
- Ardennen
- the Ardennes, hills and rock faces in Belgium
Question: Where do you come on Noor's list?
Third at best: her dog Pippa comes first and her mother second.
In English
- My dog Pippa comes first
- In second place: my mother. You get to fight for third place.
- I'm 1.60 m, so everyone is tall enough
- Climbing in the Ardennes every free weekend. Pippa comes along.
Height comes up in a lot of Dutch bios: 1.80 m counts as short here.
Pieter, 33 · Amersfoort
Level B1
- Echte Hollander: zuinig, direct en altijd op tijd
- Eerste date? We betalen allebei de helft, dat is normaal
- Ik houd al mijn uitgaven bij in Excel, ook voor dates
- Op verjaardagen neem ik één koekje. Eén.
Words in this text
- Hollander
- Dutch person
- zuinig
- frugal, careful with money
- de helft
- half
- uitgaven
- expenses
- koekje
- biscuit, cookie
Question: Who pays on a first date with Pieter?
You both do: each pays half (de helft). And it goes into his Excel sheet.
In English
- A real Dutchman: careful with money, direct and always on time
- First date? We each pay half, that's normal
- I keep track of all my expenses in Excel, for dates too
- At birthdays I take one biscuit. One.
He's not the only one: splitting the bill, even on a date. And what a Hollander is.
News in easy Dutch
Jeugdjournaal: the daily news for children from the public broadcaster NOS. Short articles about real news, often with a video. The sentences are short, the subjects aren't childish. Good from A2.
NOS Journaal in Makkelijke Taal: the news in easy Dutch, every weekday on NPO 1 and afterwards on NPO Start. It's television, but with the Dutch subtitles on it's reading practice at speaking speed. Slower and simpler than the Jeugdjournaal.
Books
The Leeslicht series: well-known novels and life stories retold in easy Dutch, at around A2 to B1. Stories for adults, in short chapters.
Jip en Janneke by Annie M.G. Schmidt: very short stories about two small children, in simple, natural Dutch. Every Dutch person grew up with them, so you get some culture for free.
And the library. Most Dutch public libraries have a shelf of easy-to-read books for adults who are learning the language. Ask for makkelijk lezen or for the Taalhuis.
Texts with exercises
Nedbox: free, made by the university of Leuven together with the Flemish broadcaster VRT, among others. Television clips and news articles with exercises at different levels. It's Flemish, so expect the odd Belgian word.
Oefenen.nl: free for individual learners, with dozens of practice programmes. The ones for learning Dutch are around A2.
Dutch the way people really write it
News and books teach you tidy Dutch. Messages, profiles and comments are something else: short, full of small words like toch and gewoon, and shorthand like ff and wss. It's also the Dutch you'll get from colleagues, friends and dates.
That's what Doe Normaal is for. The four profiles above come from it. The app has more of them, plus a group chat you read along with, one episode at a time. Tap any word you don't know, and the word quiz brings it back until it sticks.
On this site, the culture notes are short texts in easy Dutch too, each with an English summary.
How to read so the words stay
Pick texts you mostly understand. If you have to look up more than one word in every sentence, the text is too hard for now. Taking something easier isn't cheating.
Read first, look up after. Guess from the sentence, finish the paragraph, then check the two or three words you really needed.
Keep a word with its sentence. Word for word, op de eerste plaats is 'on the first place'. In Mijn hond Pippa komt op de eerste plaats you see what it does: my dog comes first.
Read it twice. The second time is easier, and that feeling is your Dutch getting better.
A little, often. Ten minutes a day does more than an hour on Sunday.