Brussels City Guide - Language

Brussels has two official languages: French and Flemish. All street names are bilingual: owing to space restrictions in this guide, only the French appears in the main body of the text. However, the region is largely (about 90%) French-speaking, a trend increasing as the grip of the EU tightens. Commuters increase the percentage of Flemish speakers during the day, but in the evening, the city settles down to speak French.

French is spoken with a distinctive accent and vocabulary, enriched with a peppering of English and Flemish words. The Flemish spoken differs from Dutch largely in terms of pronunciation. The Bruxellois dialect Bruesselse Sproek or Marollien is a rich medley of Flemish and French, some Spanish and even Hebrew. Hence 'toffe' from the Hebrew 'tov' means good.

Certain colloquial phrases are baffling to all but locals – 'non peut-être' (literally translated as 'no maybe') actually means 'yes, definitely' and 'Ça, t'as vu!' (literally translated as 'did you see that!') means 'no, not at all!'

English is increasingly becoming the accepted language for business, not only because of multinationals or the presence of ex-pats, but simply because it is a neutral language. Some signposts even appear in Latin.

Phrases

French is given first with Flemish in brackets

Yes - Oui (Ja)
No - Non (Neen)
Hello - Bonjour (Dag)
Goodbye - Au revoir (Tot ziens)
Please - S'il vous plaît (alstublief)
Thank you - Merci (Dank U)
My name is … - Je m'appelle … (Mijn naam is …)
How are you? - Comment ça va? (Hoe gaat het?)
I'm very well - Ça va bien (Het gaat goed)
I feel ill - Je ne me sens pas bien (Ik voel me niet well)
How much does it cost? - Combien est-ce que ça coûte?
(Hoeveel kost het?)
Do you speak English - Est-ce que vous parlez anglais? (Spreekt u engels?)
I don't understand - Je ne comprends pas (Ik verstaat niet)
Where is …? - Où est …? (Waar is …?)
Entrance - Entrée (Ingang)
Exit - Sortie (Uitgang)
Danger - Danger (Gevaar)
Open - Ouvert (Open)
Closed - Fermé (Gesloten)
Toilets - Toilettes (Toiletten)
Doctor - Docteur (Docteur)
Hotel - Hôtel (Hotel)
Restaurant - Restaurant (Restaurant)
Beer - Bière (Bier)
Wine - Vin (Wijn)
Menu - Menu (Menu)
Today - Aujourd'hui (Vandaag)
Tomorrow - Demain (Morgen)
Monday - Lundi (Maandag)
Tuesday - Mardi (Dinsdag)
Wednesday - Mercredi (Woensdag)
Thursday - Jeudi (Donderdag)
Friday - Vendredi (Vrijdag)
Saturday - Samedi (Zaterdag)
Sunday - Dimanche (Zondag)
One - Un / Une (Een)
Two - Deux (Twee)
Three - Trois (Drie)
Four - Quatre (Vier)
Five - Cinq (Vijf)
Six - Six (Zes)
Seven - Sept (Zeven)
Eight - Huit (Acht)
Nine - Neuf (Negen)
Ten - Dix (Tien)
Twenty - Vingt (Twintig)
Thirty - Trente (Dertig)
Forty - Quarante (Viertig)
Fifty - Cinquante (Viftig)
Sixty - Soixante (Zestig)
Seventy - Soixante-dix (Zeventig)
Eighty - Quatre-vingt (Tachtig)
Ninety - Nonante (Negentig)
One Hundred - Cent (Honderd)
One Thousand - Mille (Duizend)

View Our Airport Guides for Brussels:

     Brussels Midi
     Brussels Airport