go Dutch

English

Etymology

A derivative of Dutch treat, from Dutch (“poor imitation; ersatz”), a derogatory term originally referring generically to German-speaking peoples as a whole; first attested 1914.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

go Dutch (third-person singular simple present goes Dutch, present participle going Dutch, simple past went Dutch, past participle gone Dutch)

1. (idiomatic, informal, slang) To pay for one's own food and bills, or split the cost, when eating at a restaurant or going out for entertainment.
   • 1958, Evelyn Ruth (Millis) Duvall, The Art of Dating, Associated Press, p. 138:

     GOING DUTCH Some girls are quite willing to pay part of the expenses on special dates. When something is planned which is beyond the boy's means. . . .

   • 2005, Rex Reed, reviewing De-Lovely in Mews Items: Amazing But True Cat Stories, by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun, p. 193:

     Ashley Olsen may be a teenage zillionaire, but when she's out on the town with pals, she goes dutch.

Translations

split the cost

• Arabic: وَزَّعَ الْمَصَارِيف (wazzaʕa l-maṣārīf)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (informal) AA制 (zh) (èièi zhì), (formal) 各自付帳／各自付帐 (gèzì fù zhàng)

• Finnish: maksaa omansa, jakaa lasku
• French: payer chacun sa part
• German: getrennte Kasse machen, getrennt zahlen (restaurant etc)
• Italian: fare alla romana
• Japanese: 割り勘する (ja) (わりかんする, warikan suru)
• Korean: 더치페이하다 (deochipeihada)
• Marathi: तुझे तु माझे मी (tujhe tu mājhe mī)
• Norwegian: spleise (no)
• Polish: płacić osobno
• Portuguese: dividir o custo, dividir a conta
• Romanian: plăti nemțește (literally “paying German-style”)
• Russian: устра́ивать скла́дчину impf (ustráivatʹ skládčinu), устро́ить скла́дчину pf (ustróitʹ skládčinu), плати́ть отде́льно impf (platítʹ otdélʹno), плати́ть ка́ждый за себя́ impf (platítʹ káždyj za sebjá)
• Spanish: ir a escote, pagar a escote, pagar a la inglesa, pagar a pachas
• Tagalog: kanya-kanyang bayad
• Turkish: Alman usulü ödemek
• Ukrainian: плати́ти ко́жен за се́бе (platýty kóžen za sébe), плати́ти в скла́дчину (platýty v skládčynu)

See also

• Dutch treat
• go halves