What was this elusive L-Word of which she spoke? How could I discover it? Would it accept my bashful embrace? Love? Lust? Surely she’s just being cynical. I drew closer to a Dutch table…my heart sank. Amongst the laughing, finger-snapping, and general fratish-ness of the table was a word both amazing and annoying… What the flibbertigibbet is it?

‘Lekker.’ Understanding lekker is vital to understanding the Dutch. So liquor up, and prepare to be lectured on how to liker lekker.

Whether you want to comment on the good weather (as if!), describe the joy of staying at home, convey the enjoyment of sitting in a park, boast of your cleanliness after a shower, declare your comfortableness with humans, or tell someone that they’re utterly mad, all you need to know is one of two rules of lekker: put it in a sentence. The other being that lekker can also stand alone…

Everywhere I go, lekker follows. Someone buys some food, ‘lekkere broodjes!’ They spit out the food, ‘nou, lekker hoor!’ They feel ill, ‘Ik voel me niet lekker!’ The lekker list is literally endless! Such a word certainly saves on Dutch Dictionary space! And whilst many still believe that the Dutch don’t do sarcasm, little did they know that lekker supplies Dutch wit: ‘nou, lekker makkelijk is dat!’

Aha-ha!

But then, after only just having experienced lekker for the first time, my mind was blown. ‘Lekker gezellig’, someone whispered. The room went silent. Lekker ding-dong!

Among international students, however, lekker has only one real meaning: ‘you’re a sexy, hot, and highly lickable human being.’ At least, from my experience, that’s what they’re calling me. That or an ugly fekker… couldn’t quite tell. But take heed: overuse of lekker may result with a warranted fist in your pecker.