If you’ve been around native Dutch speakers for a while, or at least communicate with them on a regular basis, you may at some point have received something called “groeten” or “groetjes”. It’s an informal way to end a conversation or a way to say hi to a person that’s not there, and the Dutch like to throw it around a lot. What are they, and what should you do with them? Let’s find out!
Groet vs. greet
In the most literal sense of the word, groeten means greetings. It’s also a verb, meaning to greet. The diminutive plural form groetjes is probably used even more often than the original plural form (learn more about diminutives in Dutch in the article about verkleinwoordjes). Additionally, you’ll find the singular form groet in more formal communication – and on Google Maps, because Groet is also the name of a small village in the province of North Holland.
In some cases, groeten is used in the exact same way as you would use the English greeting. When someone you know walks by, you can greet them. But where they differ, is that English greeting is often done beforehand, while Dutch greeting is usually performed afterwards. It’s more of a conversation finisher rather than a conversation starter.
De groetjes
The Dutch groeten/groetjes are most often used as a translation to Send my regards to [someone]. That “someone” can be mentioned outright (Groetjes aan je ouders! / Send my regards to your parents!), or it can simply be implied (Groetjes! / Send my regards to whomever you feel like sending them to, but probably the person you’ll go back to after leaving). The slightly longer version Doe hem/haar de groetjes (Eng: Send my regards to him/her, literally: Do the greetings to them) is also often used when talking about someone the person who does the groetjes hasn’t seen in a while, but the other sees them on a regular basis. It’s more or less the same as Say hi to them for me in English.
If you have been asked to do the greetings to someone, you can do so the next time you see them by saying Groeten/groetjes van [name]. That way, the person knows the other person is thinking about them, or is at least still acknowledging their existence.
A slightly wonky variant to this use is Groetjes thuis. This literally means Send my regards to your home, in which home doesn’t necessarily mean the building itself, but more like: your home situation – your family or whoever you happen to live with.
Lastly, Groetjes! is also often used when someone doesn’t necessarily expect you to literally send regards to someone in particular. In this case, it just means bye. It’s often quite easy to figure out whether you’re actually expected to send regards to someone or not, and don’t worry too much: I personally almost always forget to do the groetjes when prompted, and I’ve never been called out on it.
Met vriendelijke groet
If you’ve ever received a somewhat formal email from a Dutch person, you’ve probably come across the phrase Met vriendelijke groet. This literally means With a friendly greeting, and its most-used English version is probably Best regards, or Sincerely. While English has a variety of formal/formal-ish possible endings to emails, the Dutch mainly use Met vriendelijke groet.
The convenient thing about this is that you don’t really have to think about how formal your email is and who you’re sending it to. Dutch people tend to have it in their standard email signature for work, and it can be used in emails to basically anyone. There is the Dutch Hoogachtend (Eng: Highly regarding), which is almost laughably formal, and it’s barely ever used these days – but if you ever feel like sending a letter to the King, it’s a solid option.
De groeten!
While groeten/groetjes are almost always a positive thing, the Dutch wouldn’t be the Dutch if they didn’t also use it in a slightly negative way every now and then. The phrase Ja, de groeten! (Eng: Yes, the greetings!) can be used to express either disbelief or disregard for a situation.
When you tell a Dutch person you’ve received no less than four Nobel prizes, they might very well reply with Ja, de groeten, meaning: Yeah, right. It can also be used when a Dutch person has just sat down on the comfy couch after a long day at work, and you ask them to get up to do the dishes. Ja, de groeten!, or: No flippin’ way!.
Note how when used in this negative manner, it’s almost exclusively the standard plural version, and almost never the diminutive.
Long story short
De groeten or groetjes are delightful little things. When you receive them from someone, it means they’ve been thinking about you. When you’re asked to give them to someone else, it means you’re a well-regarded member of a certain social group, and you’re asked politely to reforge the bond between two members of said group.
It can also be used in a more formal way as an ending to emails, and it can even be used in a negative way to express disbelief or disregard. Which way it’s meant is often obvious enough, but it’s worth keeping in mind that there are all these different ways of doing the greetings. For now, have a great day, see you soon, and groetjes thuis!
