What does 'genieten' mean in Dutch?
Huwelijksreis naar Bali: onze eerste dagen in Sanur
A2 Dutch listening practice · Dutch from the Netherlands · Picked for people who know a little
Genieten means to enjoy, but Dutch uses it the way English speakers might use bliss or living it up. Ik geniet (I’m enjoying) needs no object: of life, of the view, of being on vacation. Dit is echt genieten (this is really enjoyable, what a moment) functions almost like a noun.
This honeymoon vlog stages it from Bali: « Dit is echt genieten, hoor » (this is really genieten, you know) over breakfast in Sanur, then « Wij genieten hier nog even door » (we’re going to keep on genieten-ing here a bit longer) as they wrap. The verb does double duty: ongoing state plus low-key humble brag.
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How common in written Dutch
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Harder words in this video
These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸On Dutch travel and lifestyle YouTube and Instagram, plus tourism content on Holland.com, when creators post sunset and food shots
- ▸On Dutch food and lifestyle TV like 24Kitchen on 24Kitchen.nl and RTL Boulevard on RTL where presenters savor mouthfuls on camera
- ▸In Dutch holiday coverage in Linda and travel sections of De Volkskrant and NRC when columnists describe restful breaks
- ▸In Dutch supermarket and ad campaigns from Albert Heijn, Jumbo, and HEMA, where words like genieten and lekker anchor every food slogan