An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 26 most common Dutch idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Dutch idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, iets in de gaten houden literally means "to hold something in the holes" but is used to mean to watch something closely. This free page ranks the 26 most common Dutch idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 26 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
iets in de gaten houden
Literally to hold something in the holes
Means to watch something closely
English idiom keep an eye on something
Example De politie houdt het pand al weken in de gaten.
The police have been keeping an eye on the building for weeks.
de knoop doorhakken
Literally to cut through the knot
Means to make the final decision after a lot of doubt
Example Na lang twijfelen hakte ze eindelijk de knoop door.
After a lot of hesitation she finally made the decision.
iets onder de knie hebben
Literally to have something under the knee
Means to have mastered something
English idiom get the hang of something
Example Na veel oefenen heeft ze het Nederlands onder de knie.
After a lot of practice she has got the hang of Dutch.
de handen uit de mouwen steken
Literally to stick the hands out of the sleeves
Means to get down to work and put in real effort
English idiom roll up your sleeves
Example Genoeg vergaderd, tijd om de handen uit de mouwen te steken.
Enough meetings, time to roll up our sleeves.
ergens geen kaas van gegeten hebben
Literally to have eaten no cheese of something
Means to know nothing about a subject
English idiom not know the first thing about something
Example Vraag mij niets over auto's, daar heb ik geen kaas van gegeten.
Do not ask me anything about cars, I know nothing about them.
Note Informal and always negative, used with ergens or daar to say someone lacks any expertise.
de spijker op de kop slaan
Literally to strike the nail on the head
Means to be exactly right about something
English idiom hit the nail on the head
Example Met die opmerking sloeg ze de spijker op de kop.
With that remark she hit the nail on the head.
de kat uit de boom kijken
Literally to watch the cat out of the tree
Means to wait and see how things develop before acting
English idiom play a waiting game
Example Laten we de kat uit de boom kijken voordat we een beslissing nemen.
Let us wait and see how things develop before we make a decision.
met de deur in huis vallen
Literally to fall with the door into the house
Means to get straight to the point without any preamble
English idiom cut to the chase
Example Sorry dat ik meteen met de deur in huis val, maar we moeten praten.
Sorry for getting straight to the point, but we need to talk.
de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen
Literally the drop that makes the bucket overflow
Means the small final thing that makes a situation unbearable
English idiom the last straw
Example Zijn late aankomst was de druppel die de emmer deed overlopen.
His late arrival was the last straw.
de handdoek in de ring gooien
Literally to throw the towel into the ring
Means to give up and admit defeat
English idiom throw in the towel
Example Na drie mislukte pogingen gooide hij de handdoek in de ring.
After three failed attempts he threw in the towel.
de aap komt uit de mouw
Literally the monkey comes out of the sleeve
Means the hidden truth or the real motive finally comes out
English idiom the cat is out of the bag
Example Toen hij om geld vroeg, kwam de aap uit de mouw.
When he asked for money, his real motive came out.
van een mug een olifant maken
Literally to make an elephant out of a mosquito
Means to treat a tiny problem as if it were enormous
English idiom make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Doe niet zo dramatisch, je maakt van een mug een olifant.
Do not be so dramatic, you are making a mountain out of a molehill.
door de mand vallen
Literally to fall through the basket
Means to be exposed after pretending or lying
Example Hij loog over zijn diploma, maar viel al snel door de mand.
He lied about his degree, but he was soon found out.
een appeltje met iemand te schillen hebben
Literally to have a little apple to peel with someone
Means to have an unresolved grievance to settle with someone
English idiom have a bone to pick with someone
Example Ik heb nog een appeltje met jou te schillen.
I still have a bone to pick with you.
iets uit zijn duim zuigen
Literally to suck something out of one's thumb
Means to make something up and present it as fact
English idiom pull something out of thin air
Example Die smoes heeft hij duidelijk uit zijn duim gezogen.
He clearly made that excuse up.
Note Informal, and it implies deliberate invention rather than an honest guess.
de eindjes aan elkaar knopen
Literally to knot the little ends to each other
Means to have just enough money to cover the basics
English idiom make ends meet
Example Met deze huurprijs kan ze de eindjes nauwelijks aan elkaar knopen.
With this rent she can barely make ends meet.
iemand een hart onder de riem steken
Literally to stick a heart under someone's belt
Means to encourage someone who is having a hard time
Example Ze belde haar vriendin om haar een hart onder de riem te steken.
She called her friend to give her some encouragement.
iets op de lange baan schuiven
Literally to push something onto the long track
Means to keep postponing something instead of dealing with it
English idiom put something on the back burner
Example De gemeente schuift de verbouwing weer op de lange baan.
The council is putting the renovation on the back burner again.
in de wolken zijn
Literally to be in the clouds
Means to be extremely happy about something
English idiom be over the moon
Example Ze was in de wolken met haar nieuwe baan.
She was over the moon about her new job.
een oogje op iemand hebben
Literally to have a little eye on someone
Means to be romantically interested in someone
English idiom have a crush on someone
Example Volgens mij heeft hij al maanden een oogje op haar.
I think he has had a crush on her for months.
Note Light and informal, used about crushes rather than serious relationships.
boter op zijn hoofd hebben
Literally to have butter on one's head
Means to be guilty of the very thing you criticize in others
English idiom the pot calling the kettle black
Example Hij bekritiseert anderen, maar heeft zelf boter op zijn hoofd.
He criticizes others, but he is guilty of the same thing himself.
Note Short for the saying wie boter op zijn hoofd heeft, moet uit de zon blijven, and a staple of Dutch political commentary.
met de gebakken peren zitten
Literally to sit with the baked pears
Means to be stuck with the mess that someone else caused
English idiom be left holding the bag
Example Hij vertrok halverwege het project en wij zaten met de gebakken peren.
He left halfway through the project and we were left holding the bag.
Note Implies the mess was created by someone else and dumped on you.
de dans ontspringen
Literally to escape the dance
Means to escape trouble that hit everyone else
English idiom dodge a bullet
Example Onze afdeling ontsprong de dans bij de reorganisatie.
Our department escaped the reorganisation unscathed.
een rib uit je lijf zijn
Literally to be a rib out of your body
Means to be painfully expensive
English idiom cost an arm and a leg
Example Die nieuwe wasmachine was een rib uit mijn lijf.
That new washing machine cost me an arm and a leg.
Note Reserved for painfully large expenses, not for everyday prices.
de moed zinkt iemand in de schoenen
Literally the courage sinks into someone's shoes
Means to lose heart and become discouraged
English idiom one's heart sinks
Example Toen hij de resultaten zag, zonk de moed hem in de schoenen.
When he saw the results, his heart sank.
Note Also heard with zakt instead of zinkt, and the pronoun changes with the person (hem, haar, mij).
iets de kop indrukken
Literally to press the head of something in
Means to stop something before it can spread
English idiom nip something in the bud
Example Het bedrijf wilde de geruchten meteen de kop indrukken.
The company wanted to quash the rumours right away.
Note Mostly used about rumours and speculation, and common in news writing.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Iets in de gaten houden comes out as "to hold something in the holes", which makes no sense until you know it means to watch something closely.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Dutch sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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The most common Dutch idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with iets in de gaten houden, de knoop doorhakken, iets onder de knie hebben, de handen uit de mouwen steken, ergens geen kaas van gegeten hebben. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 26 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Dutch, "iets in de gaten houden" translates literally as "to hold something in the holes", but it actually means to watch something closely. The closest English idiom is "keep an eye on something". Example: De politie houdt het pand al weken in de gaten. ("The police have been keeping an eye on the building for weeks.")
The Dutch equivalent is "iets in de gaten houden", literally "to hold something in the holes". Example: De politie houdt het pand al weken in de gaten. ("The police have been keeping an eye on the building for weeks.")
In Dutch, an idiom is called uitdrukking, and a proverb is spreekwoord. An uitdrukking (also called a gezegde) is a fixed figurative phrase you fit into your own sentence, while a spreekwoord is a complete stand-alone sentence carrying a piece of folk wisdom.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Iets in de gaten houden translates literally as "to hold something in the holes", yet it means to watch something closely. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Dutch with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.