Do I need to know Dutch or French to work in Belgium?

Do I need to know Dutch or French to work in Belgium? by JoshiBaba

Many people planning to work in Belgium have this question do I need to know Dutch, French, or any other languages before coming to Belgium?
I tried answering this after one and a half years of living in this country.

Tags:
Do I need to know Dutch or French to work in Belgium?, what language do they speak in Belgium? Languages in Belgium, JoshiBaba, Do they speak English in Belgium?, Which language do I need to learn to live in Belgium?, working in Belgium, IT jobs in Belgium, Languages to know in Belgium, Speaking Dutch and French in Belgium, Learning Dutch in Belgium, Learning French in Belgium, Languages spoken in Belgium, Belgium language, languages in Belgium

[joshibaba.]

Thanks for the like :)
Let me know if you have any other questions about Belgium?

[remirms]

Your videos are always great! Even though I live in Belgium myself, I think it's super interesting to hear from people that just lived here for some time.

Keep up the good work, you're surely helping out a lot of people!!

[The_Wandering_Nerd]

Even if all your coworkers and clients speak English, you're probably going to have to buy groceries, read street signs, interact with locals or police officers, deal with the local government for vehicle registration or visas or other things, pay rent, etc. I haven't been to Belgium but I assume that all that business is going to be conducted in the local language(s) of the region you're staying at. Unless the company you work for handles all that for you, or you can afford a translator, it probably wouldn't hurt you to start learning that language.

[redMaple_QC]

If you are going to live in another country, always learn the local language

[flitsertheo]

The company you will be working for may be English speaking but outside that company you will need both Dutch and French. Which one most will depend on where you are living and/or working.
Administrations will only use the official language(s) of their region. Maybe you will find a civil servant willing to speak English with you but normally they will ask you to bring a translator if you don't master the local language. Documents will be in that language anyway.
Flemish in general will be more able and willing to speak English or other foreign languages as they are used to the Walloons who are more unwilling to speak any other language.
German can be neglected unless you are working or living in that small region or working for a German company. We like "our" Germans to stay in their corner of the country, because history happened.
Add-on : I had to call our IT helpdesk recently and they are based in India. Though I understand English very well I could hardly understand his Indian English. In the end someone had to come to the office to fix the problem.

[belstar]

Yea you do in Flanders most people know English but you can always run into random people that don't and this could get very annoying. in Wallonia and brussels most people don't know English so knowing French is a must

[montana]

In Flanders you might get by without Dutch, as people speak English very well. But speaking the language will as always improve your experience.

[benu_bird]

If you live in Flanders, learn Dutch. If you live in Wallonia, learn French. Practically, you can get by with just French in Brussels. But if you really want to get ahead in your work, you'll need both.

[hamzakhurram]

In brussels, is it better to know French or Dutch, particularly asking for marketing and sales field

[stephanobarbosa]

And if I communicate in Walloon, Picard, Norman or Italian... Will people be able to understand me?

[istoppedcaring]

dutch is better but in truth labour oriented jobs in flanders will accept french speakers (generally) as many from northern france work here

in wallonia you would need french as they don't speak dutch or much english either, but then again the economy is much weaker there

for brussels it should be both but in truth french is better for brussels

[stephanobarbosa]

i love the Belgium numbers ! Septante, Octante, Nonante

[imtipusultan]

I have applied for bachelors in Cyber security, Automotive technology and Business management what are the provability to get job in this field after completing my bachelors
with dutch proficiency of A2

[jaapfolmer]

Economically Flanders is a lot stronger. Belgians who only spoke French often left for the region around Paris when unemployment hit after the 2008 slump.

[ReiKakariki]

Joshi I like your video very informative, Belgium speaks 2 germanic langs flemish dutch and deutsch, i guess if a person do harmonic living in Bélgica its important to speak english, afrikaans, flemish dutch, in walloon area speak walloon and interlingua to transit inside latine countries on Europe very well.

[pcmsd]

What would you suggest to someone who is looking to work in Circular economy sector or HR sector in Belgium? Are there enough opportunities for such area?

[ramakrishnanvenkat]

IT SOFTWARE TESTING AVAILABLE IN BRUSSEL OR ANTWERPEN.

[shafinrahman]

Bhai what kind of job prospects can I get from a BBA degree in Belgium? Considering I'm only fluent in English by then.

[ishadabas]

Hello! Could you please tell me that while applying for a Belgium student visa is it necessary to apostille my documents?

[ishadabas]

Hello! I saw your video on YouTube about study in Belgium. I just want to ask about Artevelde University of Applied Sciences. I got an offer letter from them. Is this university legitimate?
If you could tell that would be great help.