LEARNING DUTCH THE HARD WAY (husband and wife duolingo dutch challenge)

In this episode, Michelle and Alex do a husband and wife Duolingo challenge: which one of them knows Dutch better after living in the Netherlands for three months? The loser of each round has to eat a popular Dutch black licorice candy of increasing strangeness to our American palates. See what it's like for Americans to learn Dutch with a competitive Duolingo Dutch course.
00:00 Introduction and The Rules
01:02 Round 1 Exercise
02:36 Black Licorice Fruit Drops
03:18 Round 2 Exercise
06:01 Banana Licorice Ice Cream
06:21 Round 3 Exercise
08:22 Chalk Drops
09:12 Round 4 Exercise
11:10 Choco Drops
12:07 Round 5 Exercise
13:39 Katjes Drop (Kitten Drops)
14:04 Conclusion
We're Michelle and Alex, also known as buncharted, an American couple living as expats in the Netherlands, with an affinity for travel and snacks. Subscribe for new content like this every week!

[@buncharted]

We hope you enjoyed this fun little challenge video! Can y'all help us understand the difference between boterham and broodje? 😅

[@dutchnintendo94]

enjoyed the video, your pronunciation was pretty good actually. about the bread: most of the time we use "brood(je)" instead of "boterham". Brood is just bread in general. while boterham is an old dutch word that is referring to "slices of bread " "boterham" is basically the word for "sandwich" (from slices of bread)

[@komkwam]

@@dutchnintendo94 Broodje isn't the same as brood. Brood is a loaf of bread while broodje is more like a bun.

[@drkimble7315]

Maybe you guys would be keen on a flatmate for that spare room? i can teach you dutch as i am dutch but have lived in nz for 30 years since i was a kid. i have taught several people dutch. ill be there for the summer starting april. pm me.

[@marcelrombouts8607]

Boterham = sandwich. Broodje = bun. Brood = bread. Een brood = a loaf (of bread). Een snee brood = a slice of bread.

[@AlbertZonneveld]

The Chocolate liquorice balls are even weird for dutchies. They are new and won't make it a decade I think. The Venco Katjes drop you took is a classic hard sweet liquorice but not the easiest to eat. If you want a deep liquorice taste but more easy and sweet I would recommend the "Venco Droptoefjes". If you want a real punishment go for the "Venco dubbel zoute drop" (if you read Dutch you understand why)

[@mrmiddel]

As a Nederlander, I think this video is a great addition to the genre. By now I think most people watching this kind of content are fully aware that the Dutch are direct, we all have a bike and stroopwafels are 'lekker'. You guys provide an honest and playful insight to some challenge our language brings, which is fun to watch for a native speaker, but I bet also for people like you that are just getting aquatinted with words like de, het, een, ik, jij, hij, zij, etcetera...👌🏻

[@buncharted]

thank you 😄

[@vincenttayelrand]

I loved this! One of the main reasons that Dutch is so hard for English speakers is probably because Dutch is much closer to old English than modern English is. It is much easier to learn a language from scratch than having to deal with this odd combination of confusing similarities and differences at the same time. I am fluent in four languages, English, Dutch, German and Low Saxon - but because those are so closely related it is hard at times not to mingle things up - especially after a couple of beers Also you are much braver than me - I wouldn't participate in this challenge if was leaning Swahili with duolingo. Heaven knows what I would have to eat then.

[@henkkoopmans3240]

Broodje is a bun, boterham is a slice of bread. Really loved this challenge, geweldig!!!

[@johnhendriks4085]

I am Dutch, living in Amsterdam. I was a teacher and I think you did very well after only three months

[@534sander]

As a Dutchman I really enjoy seeing foreigners trying to learn Dutch. It's so weird yet satisfying when people take interest in a language that is not widely spoken. I especially love the way they try to pronounce difficult words. Keep it up guys. If you put enough effort into it you might become very skilled!

[@albertlay8927]

As Alex has found out, schoolkrijtjes are addictive. To find your way into the realm of drop, go to the Jamin, start at the top left corner and work your way to the bottom right.

[@buncharted]

whoa! we will definitely be checking this place out!

[@tikket10]

jamin is helaas wel een van de duurste snoepwinkels

[@lbergen001]

You are a couple of sadists. 👍👍😆Competing in Dutch exercises and eating licorice. Hilarious but hard. A bit of leedvermaak

[@marksanne7565]

Not bad at all! Just continue learning and interacting in Dutch and you'll get it. Making mistakes is both helpful and can be fun, no one will blame you for it.

[@fiefvanrossem227]

- 🇨🇦 this was fun to watch! My parents immigrated to Canada in the late 50's and spoke Dutch to us kids so that we would be able to speak and understand our Oma & Opa when they came for extended visits. On one of my extended visits to family in the Netherlands 🇳🇱, I taught my self how to read Dutch by reading a Harlequin romance. These books are cheesy, however, they are translated from English to the foreign language, word for word. As it is such an easy story to follow, I picked up the written Dutch words very quickly. I'm 61 yrs old and can still be understood when I speak and even when I write Dutch to my cousins. Also, never got the hang of eating the VERY SALTY drop - my 90 yr old Mom loves DUBBEL ZOET drop to this day!

[@buncharted]

we watch all of our tv shows or movies with dutch subtitles on :) next step will be watching dutch movies with english subtitles! it’s been a great supplement to duolingo!

[@tikket10]

i think you mean dubbel zout?

[@fiefvanrossem227]

@@tikket10 - see you even understood my mistake

[@tikket10]

@@fiefvanrossem227 of course, i love those

[@rmyikzelf5604]

Nice licorice: kokintjes, trekdrop, duimdrop, honingdrop (the hard round ones with the honeycomb motif, probably only available at street markets. Not the ones shaped like a beehive), groene erwtjes (the small ones 3 to 4 mm in diameter which are hard to get these days. the bigger 5 to 6 mm ones are not as good. Alex might like these since he seemed to like schoolkrijt.... it's a salmiak core covered in a menthol crust. The smaller one have a better balance of flavours and usually are slightly softer. Look for them at markets, not stores) Avoid at all cost if you are not from licorice country (in casu Netherlands and Scandinavia) unless you really feel adventurous (even though I like most of these): laurierdrop (you have to try them, though), bielzen, dubbelzoute drop (don't try these, really. Even I don't like these), salmiak visjes.

[@cyrielmartens3575]

Hahaha Duolingo is great! But some lines are SO weird lol! They have things you would never use in real life. Like "My horse is not an apple", "I have a car, and a fork". 🤣

[@Nitzpitz]

Brilliant video😂

[@mariskavandasselaarofficial]

I really enjoyed this! Those treats look so delicious, but I guess that's because I love drop. There's a variation with honey that is delicious.

[@TheAnoniemo]

It's surprisingly fun watching when you know both languages in the quiz! Also the schoolkrijtjes are my favorite.

[@buncharted]

we look forward to knowing both languages soon 😆

[@dykam]

Katjesdrop is one of my absolute favorite, together with fish. They're both quite mild, so I'm surprised it seemed so repulsive. They're very much licorice though.

[@vincenzodigrande2070]

I like "Lievelingen Mix" Autodrop liquorice. I had many chuckles from you guys here, this was fun!

[@buncharted]

thank you :)

[@VashXTrigun]

Fruit & licorice drops are one of my faves. Most sweet drop I like.

[@PH61a]

You also have 'drop' like the ice-cream: I love it!

[@rolandhuydecoper4090]

Haha never realised what an odd snack the white chalk ("krijt") sweet is, until I saw you two try it 😀 Thanks for an interesting video, compliments on the professional production

[@buncharted]

thanks :)

[@xentothemoon]

Ik heb afgelopen weekend wel 25 videos van jullie gezien. Deze video is ook heel grappig. Ik hoop dat jullie weer een nieuwe Duolingo Dutch video maken. 😂❤ PS Jojo drop is wel lekker. Dat kun je ook uitrollen. 😊

[@polischawolpolis]

Great video try muntdrop (by Klene) It's my favorite :P

[@komkwam]

Or honingdrop (honey licorice).

[@zeupel]

My favorite drop: Trekdrop en Laurierdrop.

[@prairiepirate]

After doing Dutch lessons for 4+ months on Duolingo, it appears that I've learned many of the basic words. Wined and was amused by your struggle with those early lessons. Dutch seems easier to learn for me than Spanish, as I have years of learning German. I recognize many Spanish words from just living in the USA, but I whiz through Dutch lessons much easier.

[@bartvschuylenburg]

I’d say start with very basic and sweet honingdrop before you get into the more salty kinds of drop. And once you get used to it, it even becomes addicting.

[@rmyikzelf5604]

Owww Harlekijntjes! Love those! (The non-fruit better)

[@yellow7371]

Commenting in Dutch to help you on your learning journey 😊 Ik vind het echt supertof dat jullie echt moeite doen om Nederlands te leren. Je ziet helaas zoveel kanalen op KZbin waar gezegd wordt dat je alleen Engels hoeft te spreken. PS: jullie hebben wel echt smerige drop uitgekozen voor deze challenge. Ik zou als drop-etende Nederlander deze niet eens gegeten hebben

[@tikket10]

die krijtjes zijn best bekend, al vind ik die ook niet super lekker. ik eet het vaakst rondo's of zwartwitjes

[@tomdebruin2512]

Wat dan wel? Dubbelzout? Ik herinner me nog de reactie, na consumptie, van mijn Australische neefje.

[@daviddevos3518]

Try 'Kokindjes'. You can wake me up for a bag of those.

[@jolandafrijlink6103]

Mmmm the chocolate covered drop i would not even want to taste, too odd even for me. But you had my favorite drop apekoppen but i didn't know there was a ice flavored one wow.

[@jaccovermeulen2762]

honingdrop is mijn favoriet. En voor de schrik zou je dubbelzout kunnen proberen.

[@ialrakis5173]

rather old video but i like the duolingo website. having some fun with the norse language now just because I can.

[@OscarW61]

Leuk om te zien dat jullie Nederlands leren, maar dat jullie drop vies vinden? hahahaha Dat is toch heerlijk.

[@aislingbooks]

Hahaha - your Dutch has massively improved since this video...maybe your taste for drop too? 🤣

[@buncharted]

dutch yes, drop no 😆

[@aislingbooks]

🤣I do like autodrop, though. Have you tried it?

[@RichardHoogstad]

Wait chocolate salty balls are sold in the Netherlands? Also dat klinkt vreselijk goor!

[@Silentsouls]

Drop can be nice, i would not have eaten the ice tho. Katjes drop, i love those, and i probably eat to many of them

[@tomdebruin2512]

You want to learn Dutch, so my comment is in Dutch. Probeer eens Napoleon zwart-wit (AH). Zwart op wit was het favoriete snoepgoed van mijn jeugd, toen nog betrof het puur. Tegenwoordig verpakt in een snoepje. De z.g.n, Napoleon kanonkogels. Verkrijgbaar o.a. bij AH in diverse smaken. Zwart- wit blijft mijn favoriet. De rest is zeker goed. Het gaat om de inhoud van de kogels.

[@thesnipecatcher116]

I’ve been struggling to learn Dutch for about 4 months now. It’s nice to know there are two people worse than me at it :)

[@buncharted]

haha this was from a year ago. i hope we’ve made some improvement in that time 😂

[@Stadtionalist]

FYI, that coin flip came up heads, not tails

[@mauricebenink]

Doulingo : verstaan of vergaan Also i love that kitten liquorice.

[@YippingFox]

Drop is a hate or love thing, even for Dutch people.

[@henseegers914]

Hahaha, I am a Dutch guy. ii even never heard of drop with banana. were dit you found these dropjes

[@buncharted]

jumbo 😅

[@blinkachu5275]

“When is it de vs het?” Trust me. Even a lot of Dutch people don’t know 😂

[@eddys.3524]

What helps learning Dutch is finding Dutchies to practice with. You'll pick up the language way faster.

[@RealConstructor]

I’m Dutch and love drop (licorice) especially dubbelzoute drop (double salty licorice), but I would never eat dropijs (licorice ice cream)

[@collectioneur]

Bet you finished the dropjes after all because you secretly started loving them...

[@buncharted]

busted 😄

[@vivianwohl]

I'm a real dutch so I like all of them 😂

[@huibroggenkamp5405]

Believe me, soon Dutch liquorice will be your guilty pleasure

[@blinkachu5275]

I would lose on purpose just to eat the licorice 😂

[@gardengeek3041]

Didn't know about DuoLingo. Now 10 days into DutchPod 101. Some free, some paid. Mucho Disappointed. Hardest part is navigating the stupid site, not the language. Any advice out there? I find languages fascinating and after many years, now speak 3: one from classroom & immersion. The other from books & travel. Dutch Pod is my first try at online lessons. Am I seeing flaws that aren't there, or being too critical?

[@dplj4428]

Buncharted, are you using the Duolingo free or the premium? Surprised it will deny access to next unit. I guess I’ll find ou.

[@buncharted]

premium :)

[@Haeruna]

Drop isn't bad at all! I think people just trap unsuspecting foreigners with salty drop instead of some good sweet drop. Like Honing Drop for example!

[@gerrygrouwe70]

Little by Little you will learn at least you try to learn dutch 👍👍👍

[@stephenvanwijk9669]

Ik had ze allemaal goed.

[@queercastlimburg]

When I can learn Swedish as a Dutch guy, you can learn Dutch ;-)

[@henridejong9433]

Here is one you either going to love or absolutly going to hate... try "dubbel zout"... either you will fly trough duolingo or pack it in all together, depending on your experience with this great black candy... 🤣

[@buncharted]

🤢 i'm scared

[@atropatene3596]

Oh man that chocolate dropjes combination seems terrible. I had never even heard of that. Poor Michelle! Muntdrop and dubbelzout are my favourites. Can we (the viewers) help you with your Dutch lessons somehow?

[@buncharted]

eventually, i think we will need help with conversations but we still have a ways to go 😆

[@richardbrinkerhoff]

When I moved to the Netherlands in 1974 Duolingo and other learning tools didn't exist. I learned Dutch the way a child does, by listening and copying.

[@bjornr1120]

Ive see many people use this on KZbin, but never used it my self lol.. think it wil be unfair if i do use that program, because the most dutch speak both languages. 😅

[@martiekr]

"Dutch is hard" en de katjesdrop ook hahaha.

[@buncharted]

😂

[@the_real_Wieniet]

kijk een leer van bard de pau. he was a KZbin channel for learning Dutch in English

[@ministek77]

Als jullie écht willen inburgeren, zullen jullie toch een keer aan de dubbelzoute drop moeten. Schoolkrijtjes, katjes, apekoppen: da's allemaal drop voor baby's.

[@ruudvisser712]

What helped my wife when learning Dutch, was watching the youth tv programs 'Het Klokhuis' (weekdays, fun and informative about tehcnologu, culture, environment, science et cetera) and 'Het jeugdjournaal'(daily. the news for children). Both are somewhere between 18.00 - 19.00 hrs on NPO 3. You might try them?

[@buncharted]

hey, that’s a great idea! thank you!

[@lbergen001]

Maybe watch also the Journaal, daily at 20.00h. The hosts speak very standard Dutch on B1/B2 level, so all Dutch people can understand it.

[@peli71]

Some tips: 1. watch children’s tv programs. 2. Insist on talking Dutch with Dutch. (you may have noticed that most Dutch will automatically switch to English) 3. Children’s books in Dutch

[@buncharted]

we've been watching dutch shows on netflix, which has been really helpful with pronunciation!

[@lysannedrop3092]

You should have gotten zoute drop and salmiakballen. That is so much more intens. Probably the one you would spit out.😈

[@devanii]

katjesdrop are delicious :)

[@karelvandegraaf62]

I won't make you do the video again, but you started wrong. An American Eagle on a coin might be Tails (munt) but eurocoins the heads of kings, queens, presidents etc. are "Heads" (Kop) since germany uses their eagle for this instead the cointoss was HEADS! No big deal you'll get used to it when you find Willem Alexander, Beatrix (NL), Albert II (Belgium), Henri (Luxembourgh), Dante (Italy) Juan Carlos I (Spain) Etc. in your purse. Like your local video's best regards, your "neighbour" from across the river.

[@buncharted]

that’s funny, there’s a cut there where i had to google what heads or tails would be for euros, and it sounds like they were wrong. 😆 thank you for clarifying!!

[@itllbe]

lol!

[@robertogartz]

"Wtf is we" lol

[@kevin8798]

Apekoppen! Lekker

[@ElMariachi1337]

Funny how Katjes Drop was ranked as the worst at the end. As a Dutchy I'm not a fan of liquorice whatsoever and I would have passed on all the rest, but I actually am ok with Katjes Drop and Honing (Honey) Drop. Those are good for when you have a sore throat. Also Michelle would have beaten Alex easily if she would have been a bit better with the pronouns. Keep it up guys!

[@yourimoggre]

Hi! I love your channel. If you are looking for a free Dutch teacher or if you want to come to the beautiful city of Groningen and need a guide, let me know!

[@pmvdmeulen]

You should interact more and make dutch friends. Dan leer je veel sneller Nederlands. Gewoon meer doen! Speel spelletjes, monopoly, ticket to ride, vier op een rij, charades.

[@cloggy010]

honingdrop

[@waterdrager93]

Just a tip. If he begins with an H, Hij must be he. Je in dutch sounds like ya/ye like if you are lazy and don;t want to say you. We is wij/we, you(plural) is jullie and they is zij/ze. Zij/ze can also be she I cannot wait till you have to tell the difference.

[@buncharted]

thank you!

[@Dutchbelg3]

hij = he zij/ze = she Jij = you You can maybe remember it because the starting sounds are alike

[@therealdutchidiot]

For me, while Duolingo seems nice it just doesn't really work. It's so much easier to just get a language coach on some app. I won't promote any here, because well, you know. No favourtism. Dutch apparently is a very easy language to learn for english speakers, especially American English because it has so many words copied from Dutch in one way or another, so it's mostly syntax or "word order" and pronunciation you have to get used to.

[@buncharted]

i find that duolingo is helpful for basics. same with memrise. it definitely won’t get you comfortable in a conversation though - we will have to “graduate” soon!

[@rmyikzelf5604]

The chocolate covered balls are not Dutch! Those are Scandinavian

[@henrimessinghausen5185]

I cried...from empathy and from laughing. You are doing just fine in the Netehrlands and with speaking Dutch. Tip for good online classes in Dutch: kzbin.info

[@buncharted]

thank you!

[@davevanbeers6944]

Where you go wrong mostly here is jullie, you, and wij - we … so in the pronouns.

[@TheBab63238]

I am sorry? Als Nederlander kan ik niet eens een fatsoenlijke vertaling vinden. Alleen "Sorry".

[@r.a.h7682]

Nee "mijn excuses" of "het spijt me" begrijp je niet?

[@benvanroijen4133]

Neem mij niet kwalijk

[@30sTEM]

I'm Dutch and I've been wondering if it's DE or HET sap for 15 minutes now (and counting) 🥲