I can ask when an office is open, understand opening hours and signs, make an appointment, pick up a package at the post office, tell a bank from a sofa, and fill out a form: street, house number, ZIP code, and city.
Wanneer is … open? Offices and forms
Opening hours, the bank, and forms
When is it open? Wanneer is … open? — Van negen tot vijf. On the door: open — open, dicht or gesloten — closed, openingstijden — opening hours. To make an appointment: Ik wil graag een afspraak maken. In an office you're served at a window, het loket, or at a desk, de balie. To send a package: Ik wil dit pakket versturen. A stamp is de postzegel.
Two words have two meanings each. de bank is “bank” and “sofa”: naar de bank — to the bank, op de bank — on the sofa. de rekening is the “check” in a café and a “bank account”: in a café you ask for de rekening, alstublieft; at the bank you have your own account, a rekening. A debit card is de pinpas, in everyday speech often het pasje.
A form is het formulier (the table is next to this text). First voornaam and achternaam; there's no middle-name field. The house number comes after the street, not before it as in English: Breestraat 25. Below that: postcode (four digits and two letters) and woonplaats, your city or town. At the end: your signature, de handtekening.
Common mistakes:
• ×Wanneer de post is open? → Wanneer is de post open?
• ×25 Breestraat → Breestraat 25
• ×Mijn woonplaats is Breestraat. → woonplaats is your city: Delft.
Form fields
The form goes from top to bottom; the house number comes after the street.
| Form field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Voornaam | first name | Eva |
| Achternaam | last name | Meijer |
| Straat en huisnummer | street and house number | Breestraat 25 |
| Postcode | ZIP code: four digits and two letters | 2611 KL |
| Woonplaats | the city or town where you live | Delft |
| Telefoonnummer | telephone | 06 12 34 56 78 |
| E-mailadres | eva.meijer@mail.nl | |
| Handtekening | signature | (sign here) |
Lesson notes
Opening hours, the bank, and forms
When is it open? Wanneer is … open? — Van negen tot vijf. On the door: open — open, dicht or gesloten — closed, openingstijden — opening hours. To make an appointment: Ik wil graag een afspraak maken. In an office you're served at a window, het loket, or at a desk, de balie. To send a package: Ik wil dit pakket versturen. A stamp is de postzegel.
Two words have two meanings each. de bank is “bank” and “sofa”: naar de bank — to the bank, op de bank — on the sofa. de rekening is the “check” in a café and a “bank account”: in a café you ask for de rekening, alstublieft; at the bank you have your own account, a rekening. A debit card is de pinpas, in everyday speech often het pasje.
A form is het formulier (the table is next to this text). First voornaam and achternaam; there's no middle-name field. The house number comes after the street, not before it as in English: Breestraat 25. Below that: postcode (four digits and two letters) and woonplaats, your city or town. At the end: your signature, de handtekening.
Common mistakes:
• ×Wanneer de post is open? → Wanneer is de post open?
• ×25 Breestraat → Breestraat 25
• ×Mijn woonplaats is Breestraat. → woonplaats is your city: Delft.