The word “modaal” has two main meanings in Dutch:
1. Most common:
- Modal is the adjective form of modus, which means “mode” in statistics.
- The modus of a set of data is the value that appears most often.
- Therefore, modaal inkomen (modal income) is the most common income in a particular group, such as all employees in the Netherlands.
2. Average or typical:
- In everyday language, modaal can also be used to mean average or typical.
- For example, you might say “Jan Modaal” to refer to an average person in the Netherlands.
Examples:
- “Het modale inkomen in Nederland is €38.500 per jaar.” (The modal income in the Netherlands is €38,500 per year.)
- “Jan Modaal is een man van middelbare leeftijd met een gezin en een baan in de fabriek.” (Jan Modaal is a middle-aged man with a family and a factory job.)
Here are some other words in Dutch that are similar in meaning to “modaal”:
- Gemiddeld: average
- Typisch: typical
- Normaal: normal
- Gewoon: ordinary