# Netherlands, Holland, Dutch



## Outsider

This thread was inspired by this other one.

Are there different words for "Netherlands" and "Holland" in your language? How often is each used? And what about words for "Dutch"?

In Portuguese, there is "Holanda" (Holland) and "Países-Baixos", a translation of "Netherlands", but the former is the most commonly used.

For "Dutch", you say "holandês" or, less frequently, "neerlandês".


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## übermönch

To Russians, the Netherlands are Нидэрлянд*ы*, Neederl'and*y*; The *ы* indicates plural; Holland is Golandiya; The _Dutch _are *Golandcy*, while the _Danes _are called _"Datch*'anye*"_, where _"-'anye" _means _"-ians". _The Germans refer to themselves as _Deutsche_, while the _Dutch _are *Holländer*, t_he Netherlands_ are *"die Niederlande"*, also in plural; and Holland is... *drums*... *Holland*. In both languages it is quite common to refer to NL as "Holland", while the official name is still NL.


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## Mutichou

In French, Netherlands is Pays-Bas (literaly "low lands") and Dutch is néerlandais.

But many people say Holland/hollandais instead of these words, although Holland is just a region of Netherlands.


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## Frank06

Hi,


Outsider said:


> In Portuguese, there is "Holanda" (Holland) and "Países-Baixos", a translation of "Netherlands", but the former is the most commonly used.



In *Persian *there is only one name:
country: Holand هـُلـَند
language: Holandi هـُلـَندی

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Whodunit

übermönch said:


> The Germans refer to themselves as _Deutsche_, while the _Dutch _are *Holländer*, t_he Netherlands_ are *"die Niederlande"*, also in plural; and Holland is... *drums*... *Holland*. In both languages it is quite common to refer to NL as "Holland", while the official name is still NL.


 
The official name is "die Niederlande" in German, while almost no one would say that. It's common to use "Holland" (there are some German songs about Holland).

People from Holland or the Netherlands are most often called "die Holländer," while "die Niederländer" would be the official term.

The language is usually "Niederländisch," but some people use "Holländisch" instead.


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## Stéphane89

In French, *Netherlands* is *Pays-Bas* though a lot of people call it _Hollande_. *Dutch* is *Néerlandais* though a lot of people in Belgium call it_ Flamand_ (which actually means _Flamish_). *Holland* is *Hollande* (and the _H_ is prnounced! So one must say _En Hollande_ and not _En nHollande_ like so many people do!)


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## Chazzwozzer

*Turkish:
**Holland/the Netherlands:* Hollanda _(no alternative)
_*Dutch (language): *Hollandaca*
Dutch (people): *Hollandalı


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## ronanpoirier

Hungarian:

Holland/The Netherlands = Hollandia
Dutch (language) = Hollandul / Holland nyelv
Dutch (people) = Holland (sing.) / Hollandok (pl.)


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## Hakro

*Finnish:
*Country: *Alankomaat *(lowlands) or *Hollanti
*Language: *hollanti* (no capital letter)
People or adjective: *alankomaalainen, hollantilainen*


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## natasha2000

In Serbian/Croatian

_*Holandija*_ - Holland
*Nizozemska* - The Netherlands
Dutch (language) - holandski
Duch (people) :Holandjani
In Serbia, the term Holland is used. The term Nizozemska is not compeltely unknown, but it is almost never used for this country.
I think that the term Nizozemska is more used in Croatia, but I am not sure.


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## übermönch

natasha2000 said:


> In Serbian/Croatian
> 
> _*Holandija*_ - Holland
> *Nizozemska* - The Netherlands
> Dutch (language) - holandski
> Duch (people) :Holandjani
> In Serbia, the term Holland is used. The term Nizozemska is not compeltely unknown, but it is almost never used for this country.
> I think that the term Nizozemska is more used in Croatia, but I am not sure.


Adding to what has been said, *Nizozemska*, much like Finnish *Alankomaat,*means _*lowlands*._


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## natasha2000

übermönch said:


> Adding to what has been said, *Nizozemska*, much like Finnish *Alankomaat,*means _*lowlands*._


 
I thought netherlands also means lowlands.
That is why I didn't translate the word.


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## übermönch

natasha2000 said:


> I thought netherlands also means lowlands.
> That is why I didn't translate the word.


Surely it does; some language just *don't* translate it, Polish for instance, just uses Niderlandy. Germanic languages usually use an n- wort for _nether _even it isn't that common or even means something different. In english, for instance, "Lowlands", would normally be the translation, however, it usually means all of benelux. Some goes for Swedish, *låg* would be the common word for _low, *ned *_means *"lower"*, nevertheless the country's called "Nederländerna" in Swedish. It was just kind of surprising to me to hear a fully translated name, especially in a Slavic language.


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## natasha2000

übermönch said:


> It was just kind of surprising to me to hear a fully translated name, especially in a Slavic language.


 
Well be surprised again
In Spanish, it is also fully translated - Los Países Bajos, and according to Outsider, Portugese translates it completely, too.

As a matter fo fact, Nizozemska, is not exactly a full and exact translation. Zemska does not mean literally, lands. As a matter of fact, lands is said - zemlja. Zemska means... well it has something to do with lands, but I really did not hear this word anywhere except in this word in particular...
Anyway, at least in Serbian, Holandija is more used name for this country. To me, personally, Nizozemska sounds more Croatian, but I would like to hear some Croat to confirm it or to deny it, since I am not sure.


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## Outsider

Well, Natasha, the Spanish, Portuguese, and French names literally mean "Low Countries", rather than "Low/Nether Lands". 

English gets the best of all worlds, a usual.  

- Holland
- Netherlands
- Low Countries

You just have to take your pick.


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## Hakro

übermönch said:


> Some goes for Swedish, *låg* would be the common word for _low, *ned *_means *"lower"*, nevertheless the country's called "Nederländerna" in Swedish. It was just kind of surprising to me to hear a fully translated name, especially in a Slavic language.


*Ned* in modern Swedish means *down*, not *lower*. In  old or poetic language it's *neder*. Usually it means to *go down* but in certain contexts to *be  low*. Maybe the Swedish foreros can explain this more clearly.


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## übermönch

Oh  sorry for the mistake. And I was even planning to go studying in Swede. Guess i first'll to study it a lil more.


Hakro said:


> In  old or poetic language_ it's_ *neder*.


What? Lower, low or down?


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## Frank06

Hi,


natasha2000 said:


> I thought netherlands also means lowlands.
> That is why I didn't translate the word.


The moment you start about the Lowlands, things get even a bit _more_ complicated . 
It's really a mess, actually: the country 'The Netherlands' (plural in English) is called 'Nederland' (singular in Dutch).

'The Lowlands' as a term indicating a region (or a series of regions) is sometimes used to refer to everything between the North Sea and East Germany. This is not that relevant for our thread, so I'll only refer to this (enormously interesting) website, which does contain a load of information on The Netherlands, Dutch, Flemish, etc. anyway.

'The Lowlands' as a translation of (Dutch) _de Nederlanden_ can refer to The Netherlands, but can also mean something else: the name can refer to the set of regions which are _now_ know as Flanders (and even Belgium and Luxemburg) and The Netherlands. Wikipedia, not my fav, explains it quite well.

It's actually funny: a country so small with a terminological problem so big 


Groetjes,

Frank


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## natasha2000

Outsider said:


> Well, Natasha, the Spanish, Portuguese, and French names literally mean "Low Countries", rather than "Low/Nether Lands".
> 
> English gets the best of all worlds, a usual.
> 
> - Holland
> - Netherlands
> - Low Countries
> 
> You just have to take your pick.


 
You're right, Outisider. In my head I just made equal these two words land=coutry/tierra=país, because in some way, it does mark the same thing. In Spanish, people usually equal _tierra_ con _país_ (the land where someone comes from), and some immigrant would say : I am going back to visit my country - Voy a mi tierra = voy a mi país. 
In some broader and more loose level, land also can mean country, from my point of view. That is why I didn't pay attention to the difference to which you are pointing out.


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## Kraus

In *Italian*:

- Olanda, Paesi Bassi (country)
- Olandese (language, people)


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## Hakro

übermönch said:


> Oh  sorry for the mistake. And I was even planning to go studying in Swede. Guess i first'll to study it a lil more.
> 
> What? Lower, low or down?


Sorry, Herr Über, I didn't mean to embarrass you. According to my dictionary (a large three-volume Swedish-Finnish): *neder* (poetic, old) = ned. So I have to suppose it means *down*. Today it's only used in the word *nederbörd* = amount/quantity of rain, precipitation.


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## Setwale_Charm

In Russian one calls the country *Нидерланды*, especially, in formal language. Informally it is widely known as *Голландия*. And, officially, the language is called *нидерландский*. But in practice it is only referred to as *голландский*.
One peculiarity is however that the word for "Danish" is *"датский"* which sounds so similar to "Dutch". Therefore, many Russian learners of English make this mistake of saying "Dutch" when they actually mean Danish - *датский*. This slip of the tongue even creeps into my own speech sometimes.


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## elroy

Outsider said:


> English gets the best of all worlds, a usual.
> 
> - Holland
> - Netherlands
> - Low Countries


 But "Low Countries" usually refers to the entire Benelux, whereas "Netherlands" refers to one country.  "Holland" is only part of the Netherlands, but most people are not aware of the distinction.

In Arabic, there is only one word each for the country and the language: 

هولندا (_Hólanda_)
هولندي (_Hólandi_) or الهولندية (_al-Hólandiyya_)


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## pickypuck

In Spanish, people refer to the people and the language as "holandés". The term "neerlandés" is normally used in academic contexts. For example, in Spain, at the University or the Official School of Languages, this is the word to name the language. Same with the country. Países Bajos is used in formal contexts, while in everyday speech people say Holanda.

¡Olé!


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## betulina

In Catalan, it's the same as in Portuguese or Spanish. We have *Holanda* and *Països Baixos* for the country, but the former is the one most used. Then, we have *holandès* for Dutch, which is far more used than *neerlandès.*


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## amikama

Hebrew:

Holland = *הולנד* (transliteration)

Netherlands = *ארצות השפלה* (translation, literally more or less "countries of the plain") (rarely used)

Dutch (the language) = *הולנדית*


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## vince

An interesting question:

How do you say "I live in the Netherlands, but not in Holland." in your languages?


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## Stéphane89

vince said:


> An interesting question:
> 
> How do you say "I live in the Netherlands, but not in Holland." in your languages?


 
*Je vis aux Pays-Bas, pas en Hollande!*


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## Frank06

Hi Amika,


amikama said:


> Hebrew:
> Holland = *הולנד* (transliteration)
> Netherlands = *ארצות השפלה* (translation, literally more or less "countries of the plain") (rarely used)
> Dutch (the language) = *הולנדית*



Could you please transcribe/romanise the Hebrew words .

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Honour

Although *felemenkçe* (flamish) is a dialect of *hollandaca* (dutch) that is spoken in Belgium, we also name the language spoken in Netherlands as *felemenkçe* or with its newer synonym *flamanca*.


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## Kraus

*Italian*: Vivo nei Paesi Bassi, non in Olanda!


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## amikama

Frank06 said:


> Hi Amika,
> 
> Could you please transcribe/romanise the Hebrew words .


הולנד - _holand_
הולנדית - _holandit_
ארצות השפלה - _artsot ha-shfela_


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## natasha2000

Serbian:
Živim u Nizozemskoj, ali ne u Holandiji.


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## amikama

vince said:


> An interesting question:
> 
> How do you say "I live in the Netherlands, but not in Holland." in your languages?


Hebrew: *.אני גר בהולנד, אבל לא במחוז הולנד*
Literally: "I live in Holland, but not in Holland County."   


(Sorry, no transliteration this time - sentence too long for me...)


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## Setwale_Charm

Russian: *Я живу в Нидерландах, а не в Голландии*.


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## MingRaymond

Chinese:

Holland
荷蘭 (pronunciation is Hé Lán in Mandarin, Ho4 Lan1 in Cantonese)

Dutch = Holland + people
荷蘭人 = (pronunciation is Hé Lán rén in Mandarin, Ho4 Lan1 yan4 in Cantonese)


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## Lugubert

elroy said:


> But "Low Countries" usually refers to the entire Benelux, whereas "Netherlands" refers to one country.


There is also in Dutch the old name _De Lage Landen_, meaning of course "The Low Countries", which was used for the area of approximately today's Belgium and the Netherlands before those countries emerged, and sometimes still is used. _De Lage Landen_ may also be called _de Nederlanden_. It might very well be that the "Neder" of the official Swedish name (as mentioned, _Nederländerna_) is not only a translation but a direct loan. Medieval Swedish was heavily influenced by (Low) German, and there are many words borrowed into Swedish from that time that still would be instantly recognised by Dutch and German people.


> "Holland" is only part of the Netherlands, but most people are not aware of the distinction.


There used to be a province _Holland_. In 1840, it was split in _Noord-Holland_ and _Zuid-Holland_.

Not only joking, a Swedish professor of Dutch says that if she ever overhears somebody using "Holland" when meaning the Netherlands, that person will never get a pass in her subject.


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## Aleco

*Norwegian:* 
Holland / Nederland = the country
Hollender / Nederlender = Dutchman (Hollender do also mean a spesific boat)
Hollandsk / Nederlandsk = language


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## zaigucis

Latvian:

Netherlands - Nīderlande
Holland - Holande 
​Dutch - holandiešu valoda 
​


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## nv1962

vince said:


> How do you say "I live in the Netherlands, but not in Holland." in your languages?


Spanish:

Vivo (or: resido) en los Países Bajos, pero no en Holanda.

Now, unless you clarify that you're referring to the either of the two _province_s of Holland you're bound to see puzzled faces whenever you say that...

Also, I find it interesting how for example in the case of the USA, the adjective in Spanish is _estadounidense_; however, there's no equivalent _paísbajense_ for Países Bajos (i.e., Netherlands). It's curious, because as was pointed out before, there's _neerlandés_ as a common adjective (aside from _holandés_) but there's no analogous proper name, like _Neerlanda_ (which doesn't exist).

Hmmm... Puzzling lot, we Spanish speakers are.


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## moldo

> How do you say "I live in the Netherlands, but not in Holland." in your languages?


 
As a native of the Netherlands I like to add a comment.
In the past _Holland_ used to be synonymous to _Nederland._
For example, a famous old song for cheering the Dutch national soccer team goes:
"Hup Holland hup, laat de leeuw niet in zijn hempie staan" 
As a kid, when i sent a postcard from abroad, I adressed it to the country Holland.

It has been noted that Holland is a part of Nederland. Actually Holland as such does not exist. We have two separate provinces, one called Zuid-Holland, the other called Noord-Holland. 
In the last decades especially people living in other provinces of Nederland did not like the use of the word Holland in stead of Nederland, felt a bit put down or neglected or whatever.

Nowadays it is politically correct to use Nederland and not using Holland anymore. 
One of the latest national soccer songs goes:
"Nederland oh Nederland, jij bent mijn kampioen."
My country adress and nationality is now Nederland.

Regards, Moldo


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## SoyChino

In Chinese :
荷兰（nation)
荷兰人（people)
荷兰语（language)


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## apmoy70

Greek:

Country: *«Ολλανδία»* [olanˈði.a] (fem.) or *«Κάτω Χώρες»* [ˈkato ˈxoɾes] (both fem. nom. pl.) --> _Low Countries_.
*«Ολλανδία»* prevails by far in the vernacular.

Language: (1) *«Ολλανδική (γλώσσα)»* [olanðiˈci (ˈɣlosa)] (fem. nom. sing.) --> _Dutch_ ("language" is omitted).
(2) *«Ολλανδικά (γράμματα)»* [olanðiˈka (ˈɣramata)] (neut. nom. pl.) --> _Dutch_ ("letters" is omitted).
(1) is formally used, (2) is used in the vernacular.

People: *«Ολλανδός»* [olanˈðos] (masc.) --> _Dutchman_, *«Ολλανδή/Ολλανδέζα»* [olanˈði] (fem.) & [οlanˈðeza] (fem.) --> _Dutchwoman_; in plural *«οι Ολλανδοί»* [i olanˈði] (masc. nom. pl.) --> _the (masc. definite article in nominative pl.) Dutch-people_.


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## bibax

In Czech we officially distinguish:

*Nizozemské království* (the Kingdom of Netherlands) = Nizozemsko + Aruba + Curaçao + Svatý Martin;

*Nizozemsko* = the Netherlands;

*Severní, Jižní Holandsko* = Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland (two provinces, capitals: Haarlem, Haag);

Official languages:

*nizozemština* (Dutch),* fríština* (Frisian);

However, we informally use *Holandsko* (for the Netherlands, maybe except the Caribbean islands, who knows them?) and *holandština* (for the language).

There is also *Nizozemí* (roughly a region of present-day Benelux), used only in historical context, e.g. *Španělské Nizozemí* (Spanish Netherlands, 1581–1714).


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## Stoggler

In Welsh:

Netherlands = *Yr* *Iseldiroedd* (literally “The Low Countries”, from isel (low) and tiroedd (plural of tir (land)).
Holand is also used.

Dutch language = *Iseldireg* (the -eg suffix is the usual welsh marker when naming languages cf. Saesneg = English language)

Dutchman = *Iseldiwr* (from Isel + tir + gŵr)
Dutchwoman = *Iseldirwraig* (from Isel + tir + gwraig)


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## ilocas2

From my personal experience, I can tell that Czech people use both *Nizozemsko* and *Holandsko* in the everyday language.

And *Nizozemí* is not used only in historical context. And it's also used in the everyday language.


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