How the word lekker can transform your Dutch

One of the first words that you’ll learn is lekker. You’ve probably noticed this already. But there is something else that only few people are aware of… The word actually has multiple meanings! Albert from Talencoach explains the nuances of the word lekker.

Yes, you may have started to use lekker all by yourself and how you use it reflects your current level of Dutch. If you like the idea of speaking Dutch on a more advanced and natural level, then make sure that you check out the multiple usages of lekker.

Yummy

In the first place, lekker means tasty or yummy. Most people can figure this one out! Here are some examples:

• Bier (beer) is lekker
• Een stroopwafel is lekker

So, if you put something in your mouth, you can always say: lekker. It means that you enjoy it. Notice that Dutch people will say this word with many different intonations and if they are really excited about the taste of something, then they may say lekker a couple of times in a row: lekker, lekker, lekker! Often, they’ll add some melody to the word as well.

It feels good

Chances are high that you have heard lekker many times already and maybe it does not always make sense to you. Have you heard of lekker weer (weather)? Weather is not something that you can taste, right? For Dutch people it does not matter. Lekker also means that something feels good. That is why you can also say: de man is lekker. It does not turn you into a cannibal, I promise! In this case, it just stands for good-looking, hot and even erotic...

Once again, if something feels good, you can use lekker. Here are some more practical examples:

• De massage is lekker
• Het matras is lekker
• De zon (sun) is lekker

I like it

You can also throw lekker into your sentences when you want to say you like something. Here are some examples:

• Ik werk lekker
• Ik sta (stand) lekker onder de douche
• Ik spreek lekker Nederlands

Yes… lekker is great!

Smooth

Often, lekker also means that things flow well, or that things go smoothly. For example:

• Het gaat lekker (Things are going great)
• Hoe gaat het? Ja, lekker (How are you? Great)
• Ik verkoop lekker (I sell a lot)

Can you see how multifunctional lekker actually is? It might be hard for people that speak Dutch as a second language to figure out all the different meanings at first, but lekker does make all your conversations a lot richer, don’t you think?

Combine it!

And it does not stop here… You can also combine it with veel which means much or many. You could say: ik heb lekker veel stroopwafels and then it means that you love the fact that you have so many stroopwafels. Or who knows? One day, you may say ik spreek lekker veel Nederlands and then it means that you speak loads of Dutch, quite often and that is always lekker, of course!

Then you can also make combinations like lekker hard: het matras is lekker hard. You like the fact that the matrass is hard and a nice one is lekker goedkoop, nicely cheap. Lekker goedkoop is a combination that many Dutch people like for obvious reasons…

The advanced stuff

Now it is time for some “advanced” stuff. With the word lekker, you can also make other people feel jealous or envious. Depending on the tone that you use, it could even mean: I am in a good situation and you are not, bleep you! For example, if you go to a sunny country in winter, you could send a message with a picture of you sitting in the sun with a nice cocktail with the text: Dag lieve collega’s, ik zit lekker in de zon… Hoe is het weer in Nederland? (How is the weather in Holland?) When there is dark weather with rain in Holland, this message will really hurt ;)

Oops… lekker is not always lekker!

And - surprise surprise - lekker can also have the total opposite meaning. Just in case that you have not noticed it, Dutch people love sarcasm. Imagine that you need to travel by bike and it’s raining heavily. Then you can say lekker, while cursing a lot! You may also notice some sarcasm in sentences like this:

• Ik ben nu lekker depressief (wow! It is so great to be depressed…. Not!)
• Het is lekker duur (it is bloody expensive)
• Je bent lekker laat (you are late, how wonderful!... not)

Multiple meanings

Here is one thing that most people forget when they learn Dutch. Most people have an obsession with memorising new words and too many people think too often that every word in Dutch has only one meaning. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rule number one is that most Dutch words have multiple meanings.

Contrary to what you may think, this is actually good news. It means that a word like lekker is easy to use in many different situations, so if you know how to apply this simple principle, it can accelerate your Dutch fluency.

Here is another great example. Imagine that someone says to you: jij bent lekker! What would be your conclusion? I am good looking and sexy? Well, this may not be the meaning necessarily… Imagine that someone sends you a tikkie (pay request) for een bitterbal. Then it makes perfect sense to write or shout: jij bent lekker! Now it means: you are out of your mind and insane!

Last but not least: how would you interpret this sentence? Ik ben nu niet zo lekker. In this case, it means that you do not feel well and that perhaps you even feel a bit sick… Can you see that with lekker you can do lekker veel, a whole lot?

Truth is that lekker is not the only word like this, you can do it with many words that you already know. All you need is a bit of creativity, playfulness and the will to experiment a bit.

If you want to speak Dutch for real, with real people, in real situations you will need to know how to be flexible, how to have a sense of adventure and how to have real fun with it. If you like this idea, then a Dutch Brainwash course from Talencoach might be something for you. Within days, you’ll learn how you can bring your Dutch to a much higher level with some simple thought shifts. Lekker is only the beginning and there is much more to explore!

Learn Dutch with Talencoach:

• Download the e-book "3 Steps to Dutch flow"
• Download the e-book "Why You Hate Learning Dutch and 7 Secrets to Change It"
• Visit the website Talencoach.nl
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All free of charge!