Localize Nl

Localize: Dutch (nl → Nederlands)

Distilled from the production translation prompts and the West Germanic localization stack. Follow these rules verbatim — they produce consistent, native-quality Dutch output across nl-NL, nl-BE, and Caribbean Dutch contexts.

Mindset

> Je bent een uiterst veeleisende Nederlandse schrijver die een hekel heeft aan onnatuurlijke constructies, zoals letterlijke vertalingen uit het Engels of onhandige formuleringen.

You are a demanding Dutch native who rejects literal English calques and stiff phrasing. Preserve meaning, but restructure for natural Dutch. Well-established English loanwords (account, dashboard, app, email, download, upload) are acceptable when conjugated/integrated into Dutch (downloaden, geüpload, gemaild) — but Dutch verbs are preferred where they exist (verwijderen over deleten, opslaan over saven).

Scope & Variants

This skill covers Standard Dutch (nl / Nederlands / ABN — Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands) as written and spoken in:

| Variant | Region | Notes | |---------|--------|-------| | nl-NL | Netherlands | DEFAULT for this skill. ~17M speakers. Modern, direct, "je" is overwhelmingly the UI default. | | nl-BE | Belgium (Flanders / Vlaanderen) | ~6.5M speakers. Same written standard but distinct lexical preferences (gsm/mobiel, aanmelden/inloggen). More formal register — "u" is more common in business than in NL. | | nl-SR | Suriname | Dutch is the official language. Closer to nl-NL than nl-BE, with Surinamese loanwords. | | nl-CW / nl-AW / nl-SX | Curaçao / Aruba / Sint Maarten | Dutch is co-official alongside Papiamento/English. Use nl-NL standard. |

Variant Selection (run FIRST if user mentions BE/Flemish)

Default behaviour: assume nl-NL unless the source text or user mentions Belgium, Flanders, Vlaanderen, Brussels, België, or shows BE-specific cues (gsm, aanmelden, microgolfoven).

If the user explicitly mentions Belgium or Flanders, call AskUserQuestion before translating:

• Question: Which Dutch variant should I target?
• Header: NL variant
• Options:

1. Netherlands Standard Dutch (nl-NL) — Default. "je/jij" register, inloggen, mobiel, magnetron. (Recommended for most software/marketing.)
2. Belgian Dutch / Flemish (nl-BE) — "u" more common, aanmelden, gsm, microgolfoven. More formal default register.

If the user picks nl-BE, apply these deltas on top of the standard rules:

• Register default: lean toward u rather than je for business/professional UI. "je" is still acceptable for consumer apps but feels less common than in NL.
• Vocabulary deltas (use Flemish form in BE context):

| English | nl-NL | nl-BE (Flemish) | |---------|-------|-----------------| | log in | inloggen | aanmelden | | log out | uitloggen | afmelden | | mobile phone | mobiel / mobieltje | gsm | | microwave | magnetron | microgolfoven | | bag | tas | zak / tas | | sandwich (filled) | boterham / broodje | boterham / tartine | | French fries | frieten / patat | frieten / friet | | "you" (plural informal) | jullie | jullie / gij (colloq.) | | downstairs / ground floor | begane grond | gelijkvloers | | breakfast | ontbijt | ontbijt (same) | | dishwasher | vaatwasser / afwasmachine | vaatwas / afwasmachine | | wallet | portemonnee | portefeuille |

• Spelling: identical to nl-NL — same Taalunie orthography rules apply since the 1995 spelling reform.
• Number / date / currency formats: identical to nl-NL (1.234,56 — EUR — DD-MM-YYYY).
• Quotes, comma rules, V2 word order, de/het genders, diminutive system: unchanged.
• Time: BE more often uses 14u30 colloquially, but 14:30 and 14.30 are both standard written forms in both variants.

Everything else — 2 genders, V2 word order, separable verbs, comma rules, diminutives, lowercase months — applies unchanged from nl-NL.

If the user picks nl-NL (or didn't mention BE/Flanders), skip the deltas and use the full skill below as-is.

Identity Guardrail

Dutch is West Germanic — closest living relatives are Frisian, Low German dialects, and German. Despite the proximity, Dutch is NOT a German dialect and NOT Afrikaans:

| Feature | Dutch | German | Afrikaans | |---------|-------|--------|-----------| | Genders | 2 (de / het) | 3 (der / die / das) | 0 (no gender) | | Cases | 0 (lost) | 4 (Nom/Acc/Dat/Gen) | 0 | | Verb conjugation | -t/-en endings, simple | -e/-st/-t/-en/-t/-en | invariable (loop loop loop) | | V2 word order | Yes (less rigid than DE) | Yes (strict) | Yes | | Definite article | de / het | der / die / das | die (only) | | Past participle prefix | ge- (with exceptions) | ge- (with exceptions) | ge- (with exceptions) | | Verb-final in subord. | Yes | Yes (stricter) | No (SVO) | | Spelling: ice | ijs | Eis | ys | | Spelling: out | uit | aus | uit | | Spelling: time | tijd | Zeit | tyd | | Noun capitalization | NO (only proper nouns) | YES (all nouns) | NO | | Double negation | NO | NO | YES (Afrikaans: "nie ... nie") |

Common cross-language errors to avoid:

• ❌ Capitalizing nouns like German: het Huis, de Computer → ✅ het huis, de computer
• ❌ Three genders: introducing *den or *dem articles (don't exist in Dutch)
• ❌ German spelling drift: *zeit, *ein (for "a"), *haus → ✅ tijd, een, huis
• ❌ Afrikaans simplification: *ek loop (Afrikaans for "I walk") → ✅ ik loop
• ❌ Treating Dutch as just "easier German" — different gender system, different word distribution, no case marking

Dutch has its OWN ~1500 years of evolution from Low Franconian. Respect it.

Pre-Translation Setup

Lock in before translating:

1. Variant — nl-NL (default) or nl-BE (if user signalled Flanders).
2. Formality (je vs u) — Default to je / jij for modern Dutch UI (nl-NL). Default to u for nl-BE or formal/financial/legal contexts. NEVER mix within a file.
3. Two genders — Every noun is either de-word (common — historical masc + fem merged) or het-word (neuter). Diminutives (-je, -tje, -pje, -kje) are ALWAYS het. Plurals are ALWAYS de.
4. V2 word order in main clauses, verb-final in subordinate clauses (dat, omdat, wanneer, als, terwijl, hoewel, zodat).
5. No cases — Unlike German, no Nominative/Accusative/Dative declension on nouns or articles. (A few fossilized expressions remain: "in naam der wet", "ter beschikking", but these are not productive.)
6. Placeholders — Preserve {variables} and ICU plural syntax exactly. Restructure around them if needed to avoid de/het ambiguity.

Register Auto-Detection (run after Pre-Translation Setup, before translating)

If the user has NOT explicitly specified je or u, infer from source register. Match output to source.

Formal source signals → output u / uw / u (object)

• Polite modals: "please", "kindly", "we recommend", "could you", "would you mind"
• Passive / impersonal constructions: "users are advised", "applicants must", "it is recommended"
• No contractions: "do not", "cannot", "we will"
• Domain vocabulary: legal, financial, healthcare, insurance, government, enterprise B2B, automotive
• Third-person distance: "the user must", "customers should", "members can"
• Brand voice: bank, insurance, government, B2B SaaS, healthcare, premium retail
• Belgian/Flemish source (default lean toward u)

Informal source signals → output je / jij / jouw

• Contractions: "don't", "you'll", "it's", "we're", "I'd"
• Casual greetings: "hey", "hi there", "what's up", "hi 👋"
• Exclamations and emoji (🎉 😎 🚀 ✨)
• Slang: "cool", "awesome", "no worries"
• Consumer-app voice: gaming, social, lifestyle, dating, fitness, food delivery, kids
• Sentence fragments, conversational filler
• Dutch consumer apps (Bol.com, Coolblue tone — all use je)

Mixed / ambiguous source → default to je for nl-NL, u for nl-BE

For nl-NL: "je" is the modern default in 80% of Dutch software. Reads warm but professional. Most B2B SaaS in NL uses je (Mollie, Adyen marketing UI, Booking.com). For nl-BE: "u" reads as default-professional and "je" can read as slightly casual in business contexts.

Explicit user override

If the user says "use je" / "use u" / "formal" / "informal", their instruction overrides auto-detection.

Worked examples

| Source | Detected | Dutch output (nl-NL) | Dutch output (nl-BE) | |--------|----------|----------------------|----------------------| | "Please review the terms of service before proceeding." | formal | Lees de algemene voorwaarden door voordat u verdergaat. | Lees de algemene voorwaarden door voordat u verdergaat. | | "Hey! Tap here to get started — it's super quick 🚀" | informal | Hey! Tik hier om te beginnen — gaat supersnel 🚀 | Hey! Tik hier om te beginnen — gaat supersnel 🚀 | | "Submit your application by the deadline." | formal | Dien je sollicitatie in vóór de deadline. (consumer-job NL) / Dien uw aanvraag in vóór de deadline. (formal) | Dien uw aanvraag in vóór de deadline. | | "Don't forget to save your work!" | informal | Vergeet niet je werk op te slaan! | Vergeet niet uw werk op te slaan! |

After detection: keep the chosen form consistent. NEVER mix pronouns, possessives, OR imperatives.

Register (je / jij / u — full forms)

je-form (informal) — DEFAULT for nl-NL UI

| Function | Form | |----------|------| | Subject pronoun (unstressed) | je | | Subject pronoun (stressed/emphatic) | jij | | Object pronoun (unstressed) | je | | Object pronoun (stressed) | jou | | Possessive (unstressed) | je | | Possessive (stressed) | jouw | | Reflexive | je | | Plural ("you all") | jullie (subject + possessive + object) |

Examples:

• Je kunt je instellingen wijzigen. (You can change your settings.)
• Heb jij jouw bestand opgeslagen? (Did YOU save YOUR file? — emphatic)
• Welkom! Voer je e-mailadres in. (Welcome! Enter your email.)
• Jullie kunnen je werk delen. (You all can share your work.)

u-form (formal) — DEFAULT for nl-BE, formal contexts in nl-NL

| Function | Form | |----------|------| | Subject pronoun | u | | Object pronoun | u | | Possessive | uw | | Reflexive | u / zich (both accepted; "zich" feels more formal-written) | | Plural ("you all") | u (or restructure with "iedereen") |

Examples:

• U kunt uw instellingen wijzigen. (You can change your settings.)
• Welkom! Voer uw e-mailadres in.
• Heeft u uw bestand opgeslagen? (Note: u takes 3rd-person verb conjugation — heeft, not hebt. Both are accepted, but heeft is more formal.)

Jij Inversion Rule — t-drop

When jij (or je) appears AFTER the verb (in inversion or questions), the -t ending DROPS:

| Statement | Inversion / Question | |-----------|----------------------| | Jij werkt hier. | Werk jij hier? (NOT Werkt jij) | | Je slaat het bestand op. | Sla je het bestand op? (NOT Slaat je) | | Je kunt verdergaan. | Kun je verdergaan? (or "Kan je"; both accepted) |

This rule applies ONLY to jij/je. Other pronouns keep -t (Werkt hij? Werkt u?).

Mixed-register errors (CRITICAL — auto-fail)

| Wrong | Correct | |-------|---------| | U kunt je instellingen wijzigen. | U kunt uw instellingen wijzigen. | | Voer je e-mailadres in. ... Klik vervolgens op de knop om door te gaan, uw wachtwoord ... | Voer je e-mailadres in. ... Klik vervolgens op de knop om door te gaan, je wachtwoord ... | | Upload uw bestanden + Klik hier + Vergeet niet je werk op te slaan | Pick ONE register and apply throughout |

Infinitive button forms (Opslaan, Verwijderen, Annuleren) work with EITHER register — that's why they're the safest UI default.

Critical Hard Rules

1. de / het — the #1 source of bugs (severity 2.0)

Dutch has TWO grammatical genders that determine the article:

• de-words (common gender, ~75% of nouns): historical masculine + feminine merged. Article: de in singular, de in plural.
• het-words (neuter, ~25% of nouns): Article: het in singular, de in plural.
• All plurals use de regardless of singular gender. het bestand → de bestanden. het kind → de kinderen.

You CANNOT reliably predict gender from the noun's meaning — you have to memorize. The most common errors in software UI:

High-frequency het-words (memorize)

| het-word | English | Common error | |----------|---------|--------------| | het bestand | the file | ❌ de bestand | | het systeem | the system | ❌ de systeem | | het probleem | the problem | ❌ de probleem | | het account | the account (usually het; "de account" exists in some BE usage) | ❌ de account (in nl-NL) | | het wachtwoord | the password | ❌ de wachtwoord | | het scherm | the screen | ❌ de scherm | | het venster | the window | ❌ de venster | | het veld | the field | ❌ de veld | | het overzicht | the overview / dashboard | ❌ de overzicht | | het netwerk | the network | ❌ de netwerk | | het apparaat | the device | ❌ de apparaat | | het pictogram | the icon | ❌ de pictogram | | het menu | the menu | ❌ de menu | | het formulier | the form | ❌ de formulier | | het rapport | the report | ❌ de rapport | | het tabblad | the tab | ❌ de tabblad | | het bericht | the message | ❌ de bericht | | het project | the project | ❌ de project | | het document | the document | ❌ de document | | het wachtwoord | the password | ❌ de wachtwoord | | het beeld / het plaatje | the image | ❌ de beeld | | het pad | the path | ❌ de pad | | het abonnement | the subscription | ❌ de abonnement | | het profiel | the profile | ❌ de profiel | | het kind | the child | ❌ de kind (de kinderen plural!) | | het meisje | the girl (diminutive → het) | ❌ de meisje |

High-frequency de-words (memorize)

| de-word | English | Common error | |---------|---------|--------------| | de map | the folder | ❌ het map | | de gebruiker | the user | ❌ het gebruiker | | de computer | the computer | ❌ het computer | | de service | the service | ❌ het service | | de server | the server | ❌ het server | | de pagina | the page | ❌ het pagina | | de link | the link | ❌ het link | | de URL | the URL | ❌ het URL | | de app | the app | ❌ het app | | de plug-in | the plug-in | ❌ het plug-in | | de website | the website | ❌ het website | | de browser | the browser | ❌ het browser | | de instelling | the setting | ❌ het instelling | | de e-mail | the email | ❌ het e-mail | | de melding / de notificatie | the notification | ❌ het melding | | de knop | the button | ❌ het knop | | de balk | the bar (toolbar etc.) | ❌ het balk | | de tekst | the text | ❌ het tekst | | de vraag | the question | ❌ het vraag | | de fout / de foutmelding | the error | ❌ het fout | | de gebruikersnaam | the username | ❌ het gebruikersnaam | | de naam | the name | ❌ het naam | | de taal | the language | ❌ het taal | | de status | the status | ❌ het status | | de versie | the version | ❌ het versie | | de tabel | the table | ❌ het tabel | | de afbeelding | the image | ❌ het afbeelding | | de datum | the date | ❌ het datum (yes, even though it ends like a het-word) |

Heuristics (not perfect — verify each noun)

• Diminutives (-je, -tje, -pje, -kje) → always het. Even when the base noun is de-: de tafel → het tafeltje, de computer → het computertje, de man → het mannetje.
• Verbal nouns ending in -en used as noun → het: het lopen (walking), het opslaan (saving — when used as noun).
• Most loanwords from Latin/Greek ending in -isme, -ment, -aat, -eum, -ium → het: het racisme, het document, `het ap

…

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: i18n-agent
• Source: i18n-agent/i18nstack
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://i18nagent.ai

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.