From the perspective of a fellow southern European living in NL, there’s definitely a different way of interpreting it. Gezellig is also… an atmosphere, a vibe

From the perspective of a fellow southern European living in NL, there’s definitely a different way of interpreting it. Gezellig is also… an atmosphere, a vibe. You are sitting alone in your garden at dusk in a summer evening, there’s a cool breeze, very soft garden lights are on, just enough to let you read your book… that can be gezellig, even if you’re alone. Or you’re in a pub with 10 friends, chugging beers… also gezellig. Dining in a southern European restaurant with bright lights… not very gezellig, you’ll probably need people around to make up for that :) In a sense, Dutch people are more convivial than us: they can find conviviality without having people around. But that’s the point I guess: “convivial” is a limiting translation to begin with.