C2 · Lesson 296 · Spelling, media & street language (C2)
Youth language & street slang
Understand straattaal and chat abbreviations — and know why you probably shouldn't use them yourself.
Grammar
Straattaal: Dutch grammar, borrowed words
- Straattaal (street language) grew up in the multi-ethnic neighbourhoods of the big cities and spread through rap and social media. The grammar is Dutch; many words come from Sranan Tongo (Suriname), Papiamento, Moroccan Arabic and Berber, and English.
- Some origins: mattie (mate, Sranan mati), osso (house, Sranan oso), wollah (I swear, Arabic wallah), faya (fire → great). Many words get the friendly ending -ie: mattie, gappie, waggie.
- English verbs are conjugated as Dutch: flexen (show off): Hij flext met zijn nieuwe horloge. Chat abbreviations: ff (even), sws (sowieso), idd (inderdaad), egt (echt).
- Register warning: slang marks group membership and dates fast — some of these words may already sound old to teenagers, and meanings vary by city and group. From an adult or a learner it often sounds forced. Understand it; use it only among friends who use it too.
| slang | standard Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|
| mattie / gappie | vriend, maat | mate |
| doekoe | geld | money |
| osso | huis | house, home |
| waggie | auto | car |
| skeer | blut | broke |
| bezem! | wegwezen! | get lost! / let's go! |
Vocabulary
12 new words
- de mattiemate / friend
- de gappiemate / pal
- ossohouse / home (slang)
- doekoemoney (slang)
- skeerbroke (slang)
- de waggiecar (slang)
- wollahI swear (slang)
- fayagreat / fire (slang)
- flexento show off
- bezem!get lost! / let's go! (slang)
- ffeven (chat abbreviation)
- de straattaalstreet language / slang