welkom!
The English phrase 'welcome' is translated into Dutch as welkom!
The word is used as a greeting given upon someone's arrival. It can also function as an adjective to describe something that is desirable, such as een welkom bericht (a welcome message). To perform the act of greeting someone's arrival, you can use the nouns verwelkoming, begroeting or ontvangst. To affirm or greet someone's arrival, you can use the verbs verwelkomen or the phrase welkom heten.
Meaning: greeting given upon someone's arrival (intj)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the word as an adjective to describe something as being welcome or desirable, use welkom without the exclamation mark.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use welkom to say 'you're welcome' in response to 'thank you'. Instead, use graag gedaan.
Did you know?
- While English speakers use 'welcome' as a response to gratitude, a Dutch person saying welkom in that situation would actually be inviting the person to enter a room.
- In Dutch, the phrase welkom heten literally means to 'call' or 'name' someone welcome. This is the standard way to describe the act of welcoming someone in literature.
- The Dutch word welkom is a cognate of the English 'welcome', as both words share the same Germanic roots meaning 'desirable' or 'pleasing'.
Examples in context
- Welkom!Welcome.This example shows the simple greeting welkom!Tatoeba #375832 by megamanenm, translation #138919 by CM
- Waarheid is niet altijd welkom!The truth isn't always welcome!This sentence uses welkom! to describe how a concept like the truth is received.Tatoeba #540662 by rabbel, translation #3250345 by Vincinho
- De koude winter is nabij, een sneeuwstorm zal komen. Kom in mijn warme huis, mijn vriend. Welkom! Kom hier, zing en dans, eet en drink. Dat is mijn plan. We hebben water, bier en melk vers van de koe. Oh, en warme soep!The cold winter is near, a snowstorm will come. Come into my warm home, my friend. Welcome! Come here, sing and dance, eat and drink. That is my plan. We have water, beer and milk fresh from the cow. Oh, and hot soup!This passage uses welkom! as an invitation into a home.Tatoeba #13080842 by rdgscratch, translation #13080843 by rdgscratch
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daan arrives at Sophie's house for the first time.
- SophieHoi Daan, welkom!Hi Daan, welcome!
- DaanDank je, Sophie.Thank you, Sophie.
- SophieKom maar binnen.Come on in.
- DaanJe hebt een leuk huis.You have a nice house.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “welcome” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
