Een restaurantgesprek in het Nederlands

What does “plat water” mean when ordering in a Dutch restaurant?

A short restaurant-Dutch dialogue asks the classic question: plat water of bruisend water?, “still or sparkling water?” Plat literally means “flat,” describing water with no bubbles at all, while bruisend (“fizzing,” from bruisen, “to fizz, foam”) is the carbonated kind. Order in any Dutch restaurant and this is one of the first choices you’ll be asked to make, right after they hand you the menu.

Plat water is standard Dutch everywhere, but it’s especially common in Belgium. In the Netherlands you’ll also hear Spa blauw, the still water of the Spa brand used as a general name, or simply water zonder prik (“water without fizz”). Either way, a one-word answer, “plat” or “bruisend,” is completely normal.