In many countries, cultures, and languages, it is normal to ask your waiter, the cashier at the supermarket or the busdriver how they are doing. This, however, is considered a bit odd in the Netherlands. We tend to use this question only with people we already know. So, if you ask your cashier “Hoe gaat het?,” you might get a weird look, or the cashier’s entire life story.
There are 3 ways to ask how someone is doing:
Hoe gaat het? Hoe is het?
Hoe gaat het ermee?
Hoe is het met je/jou? Hoe gaat het met je/jou/u?
In the first video of our new series, Joska explains the ins and outs of when to use each of these questions in the Dutch context…