lang niet gezien
The English phrase "long time no see" is translated into Dutch as lang niet gezien.
lang niet gezien is an idiomatic way to express that you have not seen someone for a long time. It is a common way to greet someone you haven't encountered in a while.
Meaning: idiomatic: I (or we) have not seen you for a long time (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a literal shortening of Ik heb je lang niet gezien, which means "I haven't seen you for a long time".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
lang niet gezien is used in informal or semi-formal settings. For informal situations, you might say Lang niet gezien, zeg! or Echt lang niet gezien! If you need to be formal, you can use Het is lang geleden dat we elkaar hebben gezien. or Het doet me genoegen u na lange tijd weer te zien.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the past participle gezien (seen), functioning as a shortened version of a perfect tense construction. The full grammatical structure is lang niet gezien hebben, meaning "to have not seen for a long time".
Did you know?
- The word niet is an old combination of ne for 'not' and wiht for 'thing'. It originally meant 'not a thing' before it became a standard way to say 'not'.
- While lang niet gezien is the standard greeting, Dutch speakers often add zeg at the end. This doesn't add a new meaning but acts as an emotional intensifier to show genuine surprise.
- In the Netherlands, a greeting like lang niet gezien is often accompanied by a brief hug or a handshake, but the level of physical contact depends heavily on the gender and relationship of the speakers.
Examples in context
- Lang niet gezien.Long time, no see.This sentence is useful for expressing the greeting lang niet gezien.Tatoeba #466294 by Dorenda, translation #417003 by CK
- Goedemiddag, meneer Jansen! Het is lang geleden dat we elkaar hebben gezien. Hoe gaat het met u?Good afternoon, Mr. Jansen! It has been a long time since we last saw each other. How are you?
- Hé, lang niet gezien, zeg! Hoe gaat het met jou?Hey, long time no see! How have you been?
- Echt lang niet gezien! Het gaat goed met mij, dank je. En met jou?Really haven't seen you in a long time! I'm doing well, thank you. And you?
- We hebben elkaar lang niet gezien.We haven't seen each other for a long time.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Levi bump into each other at a cafe.
- EmmaHoi Levi, ik heb je lang niet gezien!Hi Levi, I haven't seen you for a long time!
- LeviDat klopt, Emma. Hoe gaat het?That's true, Emma. How are you?
- EmmaGoed, dank je. En met jou?Good, thank you. And with you?
- LeviOok goed, het is leuk je te zien.Also good, it's nice to see you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “long time no see” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lang, niet, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
