General
Differences between Flemish and Dutch
In Belgium they also speak Dutch (Flemish), so you would think there won't be much of a difference, right? Yet Belgians have different words for some things and these cause confusion between the two countries.
Aanrijden
This is what we say in Brabant too when we have left by car. But in the rest of the Netherlands they will think you have been hit by a car when you say this.
De bal misslaan
In Flanders they say 'miss the ball' while in the Netherlands we say 'miss the plank' or ‘de plank misslaan’. This means that you’re wrong.
Ik zie je graag
You might be able to fill in what it means yourself. Belgians don't say 'I love you' or 'I like you', but: I like to see you.
Op kot
In Belgium, they don't say "op kamers gaan", they're going 'op kot'. Which means they're going to live on their own.
Tas
Here in the Netherlands we call it a kopje, for coffee, but the Belgians call it a tas. What we of course know as a bag, which you carry around and put your stuff in.
Broodjes
Someone on Twitter revealed that a Dutchman in Belgium couldn't quite figure it out when he wanted to buy 'bolletjes'. We sometimes call airy buns bolletjes, but in Belgium they don't and they think you mean something completely different: XTC.
So now you know: pay attention when you are in Belgium, because even though we speak the same language, sometimes we still don't understand each other.
