Dutch vs Flemish: the words that change when your site crosses the border

Flemish is not a different language from Dutch: it is the same standard language with the same spelling and grammar, but with different words for business, money and law. The Dutch Language Union recognises a standard for Belgium and one for the Netherlands, and the differences show up exactly where a company's website lives: a Dutch reader runs an "mkb" with a "KvK-nummer", a Flemish reader a "kmo" with an "ondernemingsnummer".

For a brand that orders "a Dutch translation", that is the catch. A translator in the Netherlands writes Dutch for the Netherlands; a Flemish reader understands every word and still knows in two sentences that the site was not written for him. The same happens the other way around. Neither is wrong, as long as you choose on purpose.

We write websites in Ghent for both markets. This guide lists thirty business words side by side, explains how each market addresses its readers, shows how prices, phone numbers and search terms differ, and helps you decide between one Dutch version and two. The Dutch version of this guide, with forty words, is het verschil tussen Nederlands en Vlaams.

Thirty words that give your site away

Business and work

Money and payment

Daily life and contact

Most Flemish readers know the Dutch words from television and the internet. Recognising a word is not the same as feeling addressed, and on a page that sells, the second one counts.

Je or u: how each market addresses readers

Dutch has an informal "je" and a formal "u". Most Dutch business sites, banks and government sites included, address visitors with "je". In Flanders "u" is more common on business sites, and "je" can feel too familiar for part of the audience, especially older customers and the liberal professions. Young brands, tech companies and web shops in Flanders often use "je" too. Choose one per audience and keep it across the whole site.

Prices, phone numbers and addresses

Both use a full stop for thousands and a comma for decimals, the opposite of English. A price written as "€1,500.00" reads as one euro fifty in both markets.

Search terms: people type what they say

Google suggests different completions in Belgium and the Netherlands, because people type the words they use. In our own measurement of Google suggestions on 24 October 2026, "website laten maken" (have a website built) was followed first by "kosten" (costs) in the Netherlands and by "prijs" (price) in Belgium. A Flemish business owner is more likely to look for an accountant for "zelfstandigen", a Dutch one for an accountant for "zzp'ers". If you want to be found in both markets, the titles and headings of each version carry the words of that reader. The same text with the same words ranks in one market at best.

One Dutch version or two

• Choose one version ifmost of your sales are in one of the two markets and the other is a bonus. Write for your main market and avoid the words that stand out most: "freelancer" instead of "zzp'er", "mobiel nummer" instead of "gsm". Offer both iDEAL and Bancontact at checkout.
• Choose two versions ifboth markets bring real customers, prices, payment methods or legal details differ, or you want to rank in both on the same search terms. Each version gets its own words, its own footer and hreflang with nl-NL and nl-BE, so Google shows the right one in each country.
• Choose French as well ifyou want Brussels and Wallonia. That is a third language on your site, not a variant; our blog on a website in French and Dutch covers how.

The payment side for Dutch shoppers is in iDEAL payment in the Netherlands. For business customers in Belgium, invoices travel over Peppol since 2026: see e-invoicing in Belgium.

How to adapt Dutch copy for Flanders

1. Start with headings and titles. That is where Google and your reader look first, and where kmo, zelfstandige and prijs belong.
2. Run through the tables above. Find the Dutch words in your copy and replace the ones a Flemish reader says differently.
3. Choose your form of address. Je or u, and keep it through to your forms and confirmation emails.
4. Change the footer and contact details. A Belgian number, or one that is cheap to call from Belgium, your register, the VAT note.
5. Put the right payment button first. Bancontact for Flanders, iDEAL for the Netherlands.
6. Have a Flemish reader check it. A native speaker sees in five minutes what you miss in an hour.

What to tell your translator

Do not ask for "a Flemish translation". Say who the copy is for: a Flemish small-business owner, a Dutch freelancer, or a buyer in both countries. Give the words you want in the titles, with the search terms per country, and say whether you want je or u. A writer who knows those three things writes copy that sounds local to the reader, even when the writer comes from the other side of the border.