gezellig
Syllables: ge·sell·ig/həˈzɛlə/UK/ɡəˈzɛlɪɡ/
gezellig adjective: having a cosy or pleasant, or sociable atmosphere; convivial and inviting.
Adjective
gezellig (comparative more gezellig, superlative most gezellig)
- Having a cosy or pleasant, or sociable atmosphere; convivial and inviting.
- Learning to tolerate the continual close presence of other people is important for living in Holland. Taking gezellig pleasure in the presence of all these others is the Dutch way. […] Gezellig is the end which justifies social activity. Whatever is not gezellig is on its face unpleasant, and to be...1996, Loren S. Barritt, “The Netherlands and Its System of Education”, in An Elementary School in Holland: Experiment in Educational Practice, Utrecht,: International Books, →ISBN, page 22
- But the square used to be better, it was very gezellig, when everybody […] sat outside […] always chatting, and it's still a bit like that, like how are you, neighbour, but it's not like in the past when they sat outside all evening.2003, Talja Blokland, “The Neighbourhood in the Imperfect Past”, in Lee K. Mitzman, transl., Urban Bonds: Social Relationships in an Inner City Neighbourhood, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Polity Press...
- Antonyms:
- ongezellig
Examples of gezellig in a sentence
- Taking gezellig pleasure in the presence of all these others is the Dutch way. […] Gezellig is the end which justifies social activity.1996, Loren S. Barritt, “The Netherlands and Its System of Education”, in An Elementary School in Holland: Experiment in Educational...
- But let me say that my first visit to the Netherlands has been truly gezellig. (Laughter.)2014 March 25 (date delivered), Barack Obama, “Press Conference with President Obama and Prime Minister [Mark] Rutte of the Netherlands...
Antonyms of gezellig
Forms of gezellig
| comparative | more gezellig |
|---|---|
| superlative | most gezellig |
Origin of gezellig
Borrowed from Dutch gezellig, from Middle Dutch gesellich, from geselle (“companion”) + -ich (suffix forming adjectives). Geselle is derived from Old Dutch gisello, from Proto-Germanic *gasaljô (“companion; housemate”), from *ga- (“prefix denoting association or togetherness”) (from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; near; with”)) + *saljô (“companion; roommate”) (from *salją (“building; chamber, room”), from *salą (“dwelling, house; hall, (main) room”), or *saliz- (“dwelling, house; hall, room”), both from Proto-Indo-European *sel- (“dwelling; human settlement, village”)).
Words that rhyme with gezellig
Questions about gezellig
- What does gezellig mean?
- Gezellig means having a cosy or pleasant, or sociable atmosphere; convivial and inviting.
- How do you use gezellig in a sentence?
- Taking gezellig pleasure in the presence of all these others is the Dutch way. […] Gezellig is the end which justifies social activity.
- What part of speech is gezellig?
- Gezellig is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce gezellig?
- Gezellig is pronounced /ɡəˈzɛlɪɡ/ (UK).
Words near gezellig in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gezellig (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-gezellig.wav.
Cite this entry: “gezellig.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gezellig. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.