English writes days and months with a capital: Monday, January. Dutch does not. It is one of the most common mistakes in Dutch writing, so it is worth getting right.
The days of the week in Dutch
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| maandag | Monday |
| dinsdag | Tuesday |
| woensdag | Wednesday |
| donderdag | Thursday |
| vrijdag | Friday |
| zaterdag | Saturday |
| zondag | Sunday |
The months in Dutch
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| januari | January |
| februari | February |
| maart | March |
| april | April |
| mei | May |
| juni | June |
| juli | July |
| augustus | August |
| september | September |
| oktober | October |
| november | November |
| december | December |
With a small letter
- Months: januari, mei, december.
- Days: maandag, zaterdag.
- Seasons: de lente (spring), de zomer (summer), de herfst (autumn), de winter.
- The words ik (I) and u (polite you). That is different from English.
- Words like de gemeente (the municipality), de dokter, de school. They are not names.
How to write it
- Mijn afspraak is op dinsdag 4 maart.My appointment is on Tuesday 4 March.
- In de zomer ga ik naar mijn familie.In the summer I visit my family.
- Kunt u mij morgen bellen?Could you call me tomorrow?
With a capital letter
- The first word of a sentence: Morgen ga ik werken. Even when it is a day: Maandag heb ik vrij.
- Names of people: Fatima, meneer Jansen.
- Names of places, streets and countries: Utrecht, de Kerkstraat, Syrië.
- Languages: Nederlands, Engels, Arabisch.
- Words that come from a country: Nederlandse kaas (Dutch cheese), een Turkse winkel, hij is Pools (Polish).
- Holidays: Koningsdag (King's Day), Pasen (Easter), Kerstmis (Christmas), het Suikerfeest (Eid al-Fitr).
- Names of organisations: DUO, de Belastingdienst (the tax office).
Starting a letter or email
After the greeting you put a comma. On the next line you start with a capital, because it is a new sentence.
- Beste Sanne,
- Ik kom morgen om tien uur.I will come tomorrow at ten.
Surnames with de, van or van der
With the first name in front, the little word stays small: Jan de Vries. Without a first name it takes a capital: meneer De Vries.