Amsterdam as a vernacular has been spoken beyond the city limits of Amsterdam for decades through the spread of residents. Today’s media have adopted many terms and words from authentic Amsterdam elsewhere in the country and the language is therefore understood everywhere. Yet the characteristic Amsterdam accent remains reserved for born and bred Amsterdammers. Plenty of examples!
Born and raised
Standard Dutch is spoken in Amsterdam with various accents and countless other languages, but flat Amsterdam has always remained. Amsterdam is a vernacular language that differs from the standard Dutch language, especially in sound, but also in grammar and vocabulary, and is mainly spoken by residents of Amsterdam who were born and raised there. Due to migration, Amsterdam is also the ‘language’ in Almere and Lelystad and it is also spoken in places such as Purmerend and Hoorn. Amsterdam has brought fame to some artists, is one of the most common ‘languages’ in the Netherlands and is also the most easily understood thanks to the influence of television and radio. Some Amsterdammers try to unlearn their accent because it would hinder their career, but elsewhere in the country the Amsterdam accent is often seen as funny.
Origin Amsterdam
Amsterdam has borrowed many words from Yiddish and Bargoens. Due to the influence of Jews who had Yiddish as their common language in Northern and Eastern Europe, many expressions and words were added, such as ‘gein’ and ‘goochem’. The well-known word Mokum is also originally Yiddish. Bargoens is the ‘thieves’ language’, the secret language of the underworld. Examples of Bargoenian words are: ‘Ammehoela’, ‘Leiperik’ and ‘Trut’. Bargoens was used in the first half of the twentieth century by people from the underworld, vagrants and itinerant traders. Many Amsterdam words have been silently included in the ABN (General Civilized Dutch), although only in subcultures and certain social classes. Many words have become so common nationally that some people are not aware that they are of Amsterdam origin.
Learn or unlearn Amsterdam
There are Amsterdam residents who want to get rid of their Amsterdam accent, for example because they believe it hinders their career, or because they are labeled as vulgar elsewhere in the Netherlands. There are speech therapy training courses that can help with this, but a quick result is not expected. It is difficult to unlearn completely, because Amsterdam – provided one has lived in Amsterdam for a large part of one’s youth – is deeply rooted. Learning to speak ABN is certainly possible, but with strong emotions such as anger, etc., Amsterdam often comes up again. Besides unlearning Amsterdam, there are also people who want to learn it! There are special workshops and courses for them where you can work with others on the typical Amsterdam accent.
Pronunciation examples
- aa = a or ao
- ee = egg
- l = lll
- o=oi
- s = sj
- v = f
- z = s
- -je = ie
- can = know
Examples of typical Amsterdam expressions and words
- Amsterdam = Mokum
- Stay quiet = Clap pick
- Stay calm = Low key
- That’s fine = That’s fine
- Give a blow = sell bang, bullshit, lazer or stallion
- Sucker = Schlemiel
- Snacking = Snacking
- Drop dead = Get a pullaway, choke the kill
- Nothing to do with it = Nothing to do with it
- Watch out = Watch out
- Exhausted = Exhausted
- Hard work = You work hard
- I’m leaving = I’m going to plead, I’m going to smear him, I’m going to peer him
- It’s missing = It’s gone
- Nose = Gamble
- To make fun of = to make fun of
- All right = Kosher
- I don’t think about it = Lick my ass, hole, seam, vession
- I don’t care = I don’t give a shit
- Face = Porum, face, face work, hasses, kanus
- To arrange something = to rustle something up
- Pimp = Pimp
- Huge = Huge
- Sleeping = Crazy
- Semi-soft person = Butterletter
- To keep an eye on = to keep an eye on
- Bad people = Scum off the ledge, bullshit
- Crazy = Twisted, messed up, screwed up, crazy, crazy
- To take the piss = to take the piss, to fool around
- Talking a lot = talking nonsense
- On your own = On your own
- Worthless = Naatje
- Dangerous = Link
- Smart = Goochem
- Search = Stroll
- I don’t believe that = That seems stiff to me
- Houseboat = Floating house
- Stop it = Get fucked
- Friend = Gabber
- To leave = To stir up, to make a fuss, to fuck off, to fuck off
- Prison = Jail, lick
- Earn something extra = Nibble
- Negotiation = Haggling
- Bangerik = Shit louse, shit thrush
- Spitting = Gobbling
- It won’t be a concern to me = I don’t care
- Cut in skin = Jaap
- Stealing = Gapping, stealing, stealing
- Banknote = Print
- Toilet = toilet, shit house
- Argument = hell, hell
- Fun = Fun
- Drink something afterwards = nightcap
- Conceited = Possessive
- Good = Great, great
- Lifting = Lifting
- Death = Out of the pipe
- High in the sphere = Kapsones
- Novice = Greenhorn
- Drunk = Lazarus, stove
- Something that’s easy = Easy
- Slapjanus = Dick rosewater
- Throwing = Pleasing
- Divide equally = Samsam
- Sarren = Jennen
- Making a fuss = making a fuss, making a fuss
- Scum = Schorremorrie, gajes, schojer, scum
- Bad beer = Owl piss
- Enjoy your meal = Greaves
- Police = Cops
- Selling = Selling
- Your partner = Your suitor
- Stomach = Mik
- Worker = John with the hat
- Being screwed = Being screwed
- Homosexual = Faggot
- Do it with ease = Do it like your old man
- Luck = Lucky
- Small thing = Habbekrats
- Man = Pief
- Male member = Young gentleman, asshole
- I’m going to stop = I’m going to cut, cam
- Creep = Griebus
- Yes = Jottem
- Casual relationship = Free-range
- Woman = Female
- No longer in the mood = having tobacco
- Junk, junk = Barrel
- Poor = Can’t make a cent, don’t have a fork
- Guy = Guy
- Problems = Trouble
- Crazy person = Crazy person, crazy person
- Big car = Pimp box
- For nothing = Noppes
- The whole lot = Mikmak
- To have an understanding of it = to have an advantage of it
- Not caring = giving a shit
- Everything fine = Everything kits
- Whining = Bucking
- Dirty person = Smeerkanus
- Smooth person = Smooth Janus
- Fingers = chipping, ticking, stealing
- Girl, girlfriend = Babe, honey
- Kissing = Foxes
- Nonsense = Badass
- Slippery person = Sneaky
- Deceived = Deceived, cheated, cheated
- Reheated food = Prakkie, kliekie, liflaffie
Well-known Amsterdam swear words: bastard, scoundrel, jerk, jerk, scumbag, scumbag, scumbag, bastard, bastard.
Fairy tale in flat Amsterdam
The wolf and the seve goats
There were a lot of goats and one day the old goat had to go to the market to buy the ration card and then he said to the kids: ,Guys, you have to go away for a while, don’t do anything bad and if the wolf comes, say so he might fall to death and not open it.,
,That’s really nice,, said the goats. ,That’s for the rough red copper,, said the old man, ,Well, lucky you.,
When the old man was gone, the kids started playing games and everything was crazy until there was a rattle on the door. ,He’s thundered in the glass!, cried the kids. ,What are you doing?, one asked. ,Please open the door, boy, , see the wolf, who stood outside and wanted to destroy everything.
,Your sister,, said the goats, who heard that it was the wolf. ,We’ll have to be careful, let’s keep our focus on, you bastard, take your aunt into custody., Anyway, the wolf was nervous, because he sensed that the goats had noticed that it was a dirty cup. A little later he came back and saw in a female voice that she had to open the door, because the tent was still locked. The kids thought everything was nice, but one of them was so reluctant to let the wolf see his paw, so he pressed his mustache. Well, Mossie thought of something else and he dug it into the flour to make it look white.
When the goats asked again to see their grabbers, they said everything was okay and they said : ,Good soup boys, open the place.,
The wolf came in and said: ,Now I have your tail, you dirty stinkers., The goats were shocked by the lasers. The wolf saved his whole lens and frame. Only the seventh goat was brave enough to dive into the bell and stayed there until the wolf was gone. In the evening the old goat came home to the lierum and the little goat saw that the rotten wolf had shoved the other six in its mouth.
,Soon a piece of scum,, said the old goat, who immediately got scabies in it. ,I’ll get rid of that shit right away!,
The old man took a piece of wood and took the goat to the den of the wolf, who was snoring with his full paunch on his soft bunker. ,Have you eaten my children, you bastard?, The wolf woke up and was startled. itself a rock.
,Have you been deceived?, he quickly saw: ,I haven’t put a leg outside the door., ,He’s lying, it’s cracked,, cried the kid, ,I’ve seen it., The old man jumped up to the wolf and hit him. um with a lot of resin in it. The wolf was immediately exhausted and was gone in no time. The old man took a niifie and cut up the tripe of the wolf.
The six goats immediately jumped out and sang: ,There we are again! ,
In short, she filled the bark of the wolf with boulders and lasered it into the majum. The goats lived happily ever after.
(Explanation: Published in the magazine for Amsterdam HES students ‘Tilt’ volume 13, number 3, February 1997. However, the text was written decades earlier. Original author unknown. Folktale bank DIVTX043. Parody on the Wolf and the seven goats: AT 123, The wolf and the kids.)
,Dialect or the speech of people is capable of expressing whatever the people are., ~ Sterling Brown