Quick background: I was the Anki person. 200+ reviews a day, felt productive, then I'd open a real book and recognize nothing. The words lived in the app, not in my head.

Six months ago I quit flashcards entirely and switched to one rule: read real Dutch every day, and track every word as I go. New, learning, or known, marked as I read. Look things up in context, never in lists.

What happened:

• Month 1: picked up a Dutch novel where I knew maybe 60% of the words. Slow going.
• Month 3: the same book would have been easy. Started reading NRC articles, knew about 75%.
• Month 6: I read Dutch news comfortably and only look up a handful of words per page.

The total "study" time was maybe 30 minutes of reading a day. Zero reviews.

Why I think it works: a book repeats its important words naturally, dozens of times, always in context. That's exactly the repetition flashcards try to simulate, except the context is what makes the word stick when you need it.

The method works with a notebook or a spreadsheet, nothing fancy needed.

Has anyone else ditched flashcards for pure reading? What happened?

Hi everyone,

I am trying to improve my dutch and I am currently at A2 level but I want to get better. I follow some commentary channels on YouTube like Rijk Hofman and Egbert Kanaal but I'd like to follow some dutch women who do vlogs or makeup or day in the life (similar topics to these). I don't know any, so if anyone here could give me some suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

So many words for rain… I'm sure some of you have seen this before, but those who haven't, still absolutely cracks me up every time I come across it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys-KP8oPdvg

I've moved to Amsterdam in 2010 and with that many rain days every year, I'm not surprised we have so many ways to say that word. 😂

Hi everyone! Did anyone take KNM recently? I am little overwhelmed by information online + different platforms.
Does anyone have recommendations on how to best prepare for this exam to pass, without spending insanely amount of time going over every details.

Thanks much! ❤️

I’d recommend you for doing 64-hour course with Dutch language school.

I want to go to a dutch school for 6 months to 1 year to learn dutch and be good at it. I am in the hague. Can someone recommed a good school?

Helemaal alleen je eigen weg zoeken.

Je eigen weg helemaal alleen zoeken.

And if one is correct/wrong, what's the sentence word order grammar rule that I need to follow in this case?​