N is for natuurlijk. This means naturally, or of course. It is a standard response to questions and often the na at the beginning is missed off.

M is for molen and morgen Molen is windmill, of which there are many here. The Netherlands is covered with windmills, or the old and new varieties. Some are for power production - as the country is so flat this is an ideal place to have them. But traditionally they...

L is for leuk or lekker Both of these words are highly used here. Leuk means nice or good, and is a very handy response to almost everything. "What did you do at the weekend?" "Oh, leuk!" Lekker is yummy, so if you eat something good you'd say it was lekker. Though it...

K is for klomp and kermis What would the Netherlands be without its klompen, or clogs. You can see them in all the tourist shops - either wooden or a fluffy slipper alternative. And I have once spotted someone in the supermarket wearing them. But at least in this...

J is for jammer Jammer literally means shame, but is used to express sympathy when something bad happens to someone else. This is a word that is now my first reaction when in this situation, and I have to think hard about an English alternative each time.

I is for ietsje and inbergering Ietsje is a cute little word that means a small thing. I like using it. Inbergering is the exam that most immigrants from outside the EU have to take as part of their integration into Dutch society. It covers language skills, knowledge...

H is for hapjes, hoeften and helaas pindakaas Hapjes are bites. So when you take a mouthful of your food it's called a hapje. And canapes are also called hapjes. It's used in Dutch much more than I'd expect. Hoeften is to have, but it can only be used in the negative....

G is for geen, gezellig, groetjes, and groentjes Geen is the opposite of a (I like to think of it as na) and as I've written before it's a word I really like. Gezellig means cosy, but is used all the time to describe any occasion that is fun really. Though there has...

F is for fiets Fiets means bicycle. And as I'm sure everyone knows they are everywhere in the Netherlands. I think that there are more bicycles than people here. There certainly is in our house!

E is for echt or eet smaakelijk Echt means real, or really. It is a very useful interjection to question something that surprises you. Eet smaakelijk is bon appetit, or enjoy your food. Literally it means eat tastily.

D is for dag; doekje; and doosje Dag is a general greeting. Literally it means day, but it's used as both Hi and Bye. So it's a very useful word to know. When we were first here and I was starting to learn Dutch we were once in a cafe (or lunchroom) and something was...

C is for chocomel Dutch children seem to run on chocolate milk, either warm or cold. Many adults do too.