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".![]()
As you might have noticed, Europeans really aren’t the best tippers. However, if a Belgian is feeling generous, he might give his bartender or waiter some drinkgeld: literally, a little bit of money so the poor guy can buy himself a drink. The word can also be used for the €5 of pocket money your grandparents shove in your hands with a conspiratorial wink. French-speaking Belgians borrowed the word, but made it sound just a little more French. Et voilà: dringuelle.
Example sentence: Give that waiter some drinkgeld. / Geef die ober nog wat drinkgeld.
