Are DUTCH people DIRECT... or RUDE?

Do you think Dutch people are direct?
Or do they come over as rude to you?
What do you think about the so called 'dutch directness'?
Does it exist... or do Dutch people also beat around the bush?

That's what we asked to the Dutch language students of the BLC Dutch Summer School.

More #dutchculture videos with Dutch language students in the following playlist:

Do you want to learn Dutch words?
Check out Bart de Pau's free Dutch vocabulary course '1000 most common words in Dutch':

Video produced by:
Bart de Pau
(online Dutch teacher and founder of the Dutch Summer School)

Editing: Nicolas Balbontin, Claudia Macchiavelli, Kim van den Corput
Music: Eitan-Epstein-Music

Video was recorded at the BLC Dutch Summer School in Drenthe

To know more about our:

[andrevdende]

I am Dutch and i am very happy when someone telling me that i have something between my teeth.So i wont walk around like fool whole day.

[Careless]

Direct words can never be rude, only atitude can be rude. I like dutch people telling the truth and save my so much time. And generally they are very kind and friendly.

[Maxzor]

Are they just being polite about liking the directness of the Dutch or do they really appreciate it... Hmmmm😅

[LeonKerkdijk]

What's so bad about telling someone that he has spinach in his teeth? Would you rather walk around with dirty teeth? Maybe you should say "Thank you".

[AnymMusic]

I wouldn't say we would shout it out, but we would definitely tell the person "yo, you got something in your teeth"


for real though as a Dutchie I hate it when people say "don't worry about it" when I ask if something is wrong. like no, I sense something is wrong, tell me whether or not something is wrong. don't leave me with a vague "don't worry about it"

[Boslandschap]

It is important to realise that saying what you really think is culturally a sign of respect for Dutch people, you do it with people that you appreciate and with whom you can be open because you consider there is a relation of trust.


Saying "yeah, sure" while thinking otherwise is easier, so you do that with someone you don't appreciate. Just let them walk around with their spinach on their teeth or their project with problems they haven't seen themselves as they are not worth the hassle, they'll find out on their own.


I know this tends to be the other way around in many other cultures: polite and sugarcoating when you appreciate someone and directness when you don't appreciate the other person. No judgement of which approach is better, but know that Dutch directness is (often) a sign that the other person appreciates you.

[Joejoe-jk]

There is a big difference about being direct or rude. There is a certain group of people in The Netherlands who believe they can just say and do everything they want to people who they hardly know. Being direct doesn't give you the right to insult someone. Remember that.

[HermesSonofZeus]

The woman at 2:50 makes an excellent point. "Directness" or "Dutchness" can sometimes be used as a shield for bad opinions and they don't always handle criticism well, leading to a "being able to dish it but not take it" kind of situation.

[lannydragonlover]

2:47 You are so right! Saying "Oh I'm just dutch" as an excuse for hurting someone's feelings is stupid. It makes me happy to see that everyone in the video is doing their best to see what is rude and what is not rude within the Netherlands, while taking their own feelings seriously at the same time!

[TheDutchyNL]

What i get from this is that a lot of other cultures do their best to dance around something. That's just trying to fool yourselves because you both know what you're really talking about.

[jjakjjak]

I'm wondering. When the interviewed students say they 'like' the directness, are they just being polite? 😉

[jaronimo]

I'm Dutch. When I would meet someone at a party and I see some spinach between his or her teeth, I would just whisper that they had.. I wouldn't say it out loud!

[Sopherian]

It's rude to speak your mind and be direct? So you want us to sugar coat? Not be honest to you? You want to play a guessing game? You want us to lie to you? It makes no sense to me...

[PrinceWalacra]

In Dutch social behaviour being direct and trustworthy must come together. As a Dutchman i'm not direct to someone I cannot trust because it will make me vulnerable. In a working situation it's more "objective" so when you don't have any personal relationship to a colleague or client you can be “professional direct”.

[anvan]

Great series. I was born in the Netherlands and migrated with my family to Australia when I was two. That Dutchness never leaves you, and the videos have made me realise that even though I’ve lived in Australia for 70 years, I’m still VERY DUTCH.

[Mikachu]

I love going shopping with my Dutch bf because he will always tell me if something doesn’t look good on me instead of sugar coating it.

[Pannenkoekenplantje]

As a Dutch person, I actually think it's rude if someone is talking around the topic of sugarcoating. It almost feels like dishonesty, which most Dutch find disrepectful.

[IreneChibs]

There is a difference between being direct and being rude. You can be direct in a respectful way and then there is mere rudeness. Based on my overall experiences, it's a bit on the bad side lol

[chaoticgoodghst]

Being direct isn't necessarily a bad thing.

If I had spinach in my teeth I would WANT someone to pull me aside and say 'hey, you got smth in your teeth'

Why beat around the bush?

[rabarberellum]

The keyword is effective. Dutch people deep inside want to do things so effective as possible. The food, state policy, business, manner of speaking: everything is without fringes. We speak like we eat, without a lot of flavor.