#learning dutch

It’s a free language learning app called Lingo Legend, and I’m honestly a bit surprised by how much I’m enjoying it.

It’s basically just a vocab game where you’re a farmhand. The game is split between working on your farm and going on adventures.

You can choose what theme of vocab — though it doesn’t seem to be possible to put in your own — and set the pace you wish to play. There’s a daily energy limit, which you can refill by watching ads but there are no ad interruptions.

Supported languages are:

French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Dutch, German, Italian and Portuguese.

Maybe I’m just late to the party and everyone already knows about it but I rarely see it talked about.

Doing a list of goals for my language studies helped me a lot last year, so i want to continue doing that this year.

I've tried to set more realistic goals this year and put some of them in parentheses to show that they're optional goals.

So here they are, wish me luck!

Swedish 🇸🇪 (B1/B2)

Read at least 1 (more advanced) book in Swedish ✅️

Study my Swedish vocab lists (until i've looked at every vocab word at least once)

Continue the exercise book i've worked with before (preferably by joining a class again) OR find another exercise book that allows for self-learning ✅️

Find at least 3 Swedish Punk/Ska/etc. bands to add to my playlists

(Buy the additional advanced vocab words from the online programme i'm using)

French 🇫🇷 (B1)

Continue the Busuu French course & reach level B1

Study my French vocab lists (until i've looked at every vocab word at least once)

Start the French exercise book on grammar & verbs

Find at least 3 French-speaking Youtubers for regular listening comprehension practice ✅️

Read at least 1 book in French

Czech 🇨🇿 (A1)

Read 1 (very simple) children's book in Czech (e.g. Hungry Caterpillar, Krtek)

Join the follow-up course of my Czech class (only if i'm able to money-wise and time-wise) ✅

Continue/finish the exercise book Čeština expres A1/1 ✅️

Study my Czech vocab lists (until i've looked at every vocab word at least once)

Dutch 🇳🇱 (beginner)

Finish level A2 on Busuu

Find a good exercise book for self-learners (and/or a language course)

Study my Dutch vocab lists (until i've looked at every vocab word at least once)

(The joke is that "the bill" in Dutch (de rekening) is spelt and said very similarly to the reckoning in English)

ive seen learning a language on multiple posts and articles of hermes devotional acts and wanna know how popular it actually is.

het lichaam – the body

het skelet – the skeleton

de botten – the bones

het hoofd – the head

het haar – the hair

het gezicht – the face

het oog – the eye

de neus – the nose

de mond – the mouth

het oor – the ear

de hals – the neck

de borst – the chest

de rug – the back

de buik – the stomach

de arm – the arm

de hand – the hand

de vinger – the finger

het been – the leg

de voet – the foot

Another fun Dutch tv show for children (that I totally forgot about until @helshollowhalls mentioned it) is Alfred Jodocus Kwak.

The cartoon series was created by Herman van Veen, who is a talented and well-known artist in the Netherlands for his music, theatre plays and movies. Herman van Veen originally created the character of Alfred for a theatre play, with part of the proceeds being donated to Unicef. It also came out in the form of an lp, and later a CD.

Between 1989 until 1991, a 52-part cartoon series based on the character was broadcast in the Netherlands, Germany and Japan. Afterwards, the series became more and more popular, eventually being broadcasted in 48 different countries. In the meantime, 3 comic series based on the cartoon series were also released.

Some of the characters of the series;

Alfred Jodocus Kwak = main character, a duck (kwak is the sound a duck makes)

Henk de Mol = his father (mol = mole)

Dolf de Kraai = enemy of Alfred (kraai = crow)

Winnie Wana = Alfred's love interest

Some "fun" facts I found while researching;

Herman van Veen found the idea for this character after he hit a duck with his car, and saw 7 baby ducks with their mother the day after in his garden.

The character of Dolf is based off of Hitler. (Note: Herman van Veen grew during WWII)

The character of Winnie is named after the wife of Nelson Mandela (at that time)

Alfred's adoptive dad is Henk de Mol, because Alfred's parents and siblings died after being hit by a car.

Some videos;

Intro | Afleveringen | Ik ben vandaag zo vrolijk (song) | Spetter pieter pater (song)

January 22nd, 2025

revising my Dutch notes and organizing my Notion

The political climate of the US is concerning, but I'm trying to stay informed and keep a physical journal of eventful things, especially as content is being censored on certain apps.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Yet, even amidst the hatred and carnage, life is still worth living. It is possible for wonderful encounters and beautiful things to exist.” ― Hayao Miyazaki