Sure, you can order a pommes-frites with curry ketchup and pronounce Dries Van Noten's name without a hitch. But can you really get by in Belgium? Our Slang Dictionary will make sure of it.
We'll be rolling out more Belgian slang throughout the month of June! Submit your own words to webstore@openingceremony.us with the subject line "Belgian Slang".![]()
The frietkot, or baraque à frites in French-speaking Belgium, is one of the most recognizable staples of the Belgian landscape, so ingrained in Belgian culture that last year, it was officially recognized as part of our “immaterial cultural heritage.” Every village, no matter how small, has one of these stalls, which comes in every possible size or set-up, from little trailers to full-on restaurants. On the menu: fries, a seemingly inexhaustible list of sauces (ketchup is boring), and any type of fried meat imaginable. It’s the quintessential Belgian fast food, loved by young and old, and everyone’s go-to spot after a good night of drinking.
Example sentence: I’m hungry, why don’t we go to the frietkot? / Ik heb honger, gaan we niet naar ‘t frietkot?
