Essential Dutch phrases

Ghent's central municipal counter, where registration, the eID and the driving licence are all handled. In Flanders the administrative language is Dutch — unlike Brussels you have no right to be served in French.

The paper slip proving your registration is under way. Not an identity card, but for a few weeks it is your only proof of legal presence in the country.

The neighbourhood police officer who calls at your address, unannounced, to confirm you really live there. Nothing else moves until that report comes back positive.

The health insurance fund you must choose and join yourself. Membership is compulsory but enrolment is not automatic — nobody signs you up.

A rented student room, and the landlady who runs the house. With tens of thousands of students in a city of 272,000, the kot market is the entry point to Ghent housing and it empties and refills every September.

The car-free zone at the heart of the city. Since the 2017 circulation plan you cannot drive from one side of the centre to the other — you come back out to the R40 ring and go round.

The conformity certificate a Ghent landlord must hold for any rented home over thirty years old. Ask to see it before you sign; it is a legal obligation on them, not a favour to you.

Flanders' compulsory civic integration path. In Ghent it runs through Amal, the city's own agency, rather than the regional one — and since September 2023 it is no longer free.

'Noose-bearer'. In 1540 Charles V made rebellious Ghent's notables walk with nooses round their necks; the city adopted the humiliation as its badge and still wears the noose at the Gentse Feesten.

The purple cone-shaped sweet sold from carts on the Groentenmarkt, soft in the middle and impossible to keep. Ghent's own confection, and the subject of a genuine feud between rival sellers.

'Blimey'. Surprise, admiration or dismay depending entirely on the tone — the single most Flemish noise you can make, and one you will pick up within a month.

112 for ambulance or fire, 101 for urgent police, 1733 for the on-call GP in the evenings and at weekends. All free from any phone. 1722 is the separate non-urgent fire brigade line for storm damage.