Wat betekent “natuurlijk niet” in het Nederlands?

Natuurlijk niet is the Dutch denial that comes with a faint eye-roll built in. Natuurlijk means "naturally" or "of course"; with niet, the construction signals "the answer is obvious, why are you even asking." Dutch speakers use it when they want to emphasize that the question presupposed something silly.

The phrase is the inverse of natuurlijk wel (of course yes), and like its twin, it carries a slight tonal edge. Dutch teens use it as a sarcastic deflection ("did you do your homework? natuurlijk niet"). Dutch adults use it more sincerely, to wave off worry or to confirm that an outlandish claim is false. The pragmatic specialization is denial of a presupposition: the speaker is rejecting not just the answer but the idea that the question was reasonable.

A subtle register note: natuurlijk niet between intimates is friendly and dry; with strangers in service contexts, it can feel curt. Tone disambiguates.