Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

370. Laat maar zitten

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That’s all right / OK, don’t mention it, forget about it, let’s drop it, just leave it [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_12

Literally translated "laat maar zitten" doesn’t make a lot of sense: "Just let it sit" 🙂

In speech "laat maar zitten" is used in the following cases:
– when someone thanks you and you want to say something like "don’t mention it, forget about it"; or
– when you ordered/wanted something, but you don’t want/need it anymore; or
– when you want to tell somebody to keep the change; or
– when you don’t want to discuss something any longer.

We have tried to capture this in the following examples, try to make your own!

Examples:
– "Wat aardig van je dat je de afwas doet!" – "Ach schat, laat maar zitten."
("How nice of you to the dishes / to wash up!" – "Oh honey, don’t mention it.")

– "Wil je je koffie nog?" – "Nee dank je, laat maar zitten."
("Do you still want your coffee?" – "No thank you, I’m/that’s all right.")

– "Mevrouw, laat dat broodje dat ik heb besteld maar zitten, want dit duurt veel te lang."
("Miss/madam, just forget about the sandwich that I ordered, this is taking way too long." Note that you can put the object that you don’t want anymore between "laat" and "maar zitten".)

– "Dat is dan 45 cent terug." – "O, laat maar zitten."
("That’s 45 cents change." – "Oh that’s all right / keep the change." Lit.: "That’s 45 cents back.")

– "Maar waarom wil je niet op bezoek bij mijn moeder?" – "Ach liefie, laat nou maar zitten."
("But why don’t you want to go on a visit to my mother?" – "O darling, just drop it." Note that the adding of the word "nou" strengthens the meaning and clearly indicates that you want to drop the subject. You will also hear "laat nou maar!")

Expressions:
– "Geen dank": don’t mention it.
– "Graag gedaan": you’re welcome.
– "Laat nou maar!": just drop it, just leave it!

369. Geit

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goat [noun] [de geit, de geiten] [‘geit‘] Iconspeaker_13

Unless
you are into animal farms, most likely you will not discuss "geiten"
much. However, there are a few things to say about the word "geit" 🙂

Examples:
– "Wat neem jij?" – "Hmm, ik denk de geitenkaassalade. Of misschien de eendenborst…"
("What are you having?" – "Uhm, I’m thinking the goat cheese salad. Or perhaps the duck breast…")

– "We zijn naar de kinderboerderij geweest. Daar waren heel veel lieve geitjes!"
("We
went to the children’s farm. There were many sweet kids!" Okay, maybe
this sentence is confusing now! 😉 Sometimes we say ‘babygeitje’ to
distinguish between just a small goat or its kid.)

Expressions:
–
"Vooruit met de geit!": this is a very common expression meaning "let’s
get moving/started". Literally it says "forward with the goat!"
– "Wat een geit zeg!": the word "geit" can be used for "giggly females" too.

Related words:
– "Bok": (male) goat, billy goat.
– "Blaten": to bleat.

Mierenneuker

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nitpicker [noun] [de mierenneuker, de mierenneukers] [‘mie-run-neu-kur’] Iconspeaker_14

detective-309445_640This word is composed of “mieren” (“ants”) and “neuker” – derived from “neuken”. Originally “neuken” meant “to knock / thrust” but is currently only known in its translation of “to f*ck”. That’s why some people may consider “mierenneuker” to be foul language. Although its use is mostly informal, this word is not meant to have an offensive connotation. In fact, a man was acquited after charges were pressed against him for calling a traffic warden a “mierenneuker”, see also Extra.

The related verb is “mierenneuken”: to nitpick.

Examples:
– “Ik vind Frank een enorme mierenneuker!”
(“I think Frank is a huge nitpicker!”)

– “Als het gaat om de lay-out van een DWOTD post, kan Sander een echte mierenneuker zijn.”
(“When it comes to the layout of a DWOTD post, Sander can be a real nitpicker.”)

– “Het nastreven van orde en precisie kan toch niet als mierenneuken bestempeld worden?”
(“Striving for order and precision can’t be called nitpicking, can it now?” This sentence was obviously added by Sander 🙂 )

– “Wat ben jij een ongelofelijke mierenneuker!” – “Je bent zelf een verschrikkelijke zeur!”
(“You’re such an incredible nitpicker!” – “You’re a terrible sorehead yourself!.”)

Related words:
– “Muggenzifter”: (lit.: “mosquito sifter”) niggler, hairsplitter. Synonymous to “mierenneuker” but never considered rude.
– “Kommaneuker”: (lit.: “comma f*cker”) nitpicker. Synonymous to “mierenneuker”, and equally informal.

Extra:
Calling an overzealous traffic warden a “mierenneuker” is allowed in The Netherlands. This was the verdict of judge in Alkmaar. A driver had parked his car on the sidewalk for quickly withdrawing some cash from an ATM (“pinnen“). When the man got back to his car, a traffic warden was already writing out a fine (“bon“). The man got angry and called the traffic warden a “mierenneuker”, at which the traffic warden felt offended and threatened, so he had the driver arrested by the police. The driver refused to pay the 220 euro fine and went to court with it…
The judge decided that the driver was right! Based on the authorative Dutch dictionary Van Dale, he concluded that the word “mierenneuker” is not offensive. According to the judge, a “mierenneuker” or a “muggenzifter” is a person who is very meticulous at his job. The judge found the remark inappropriate, but the traffic warden coud have interpreted “mierenneuker” as a compliment too…

367. Steen

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stone, rock, brick, pebble [noun] [de steen, de stenen] [‘steen‘]  Iconspeaker_14

"Steen" can be used for the material, or a specific kind of stone. See the Examples. Check out the Expressions for figurative use of "steen".

Examples:
– "Heb je het al gehoord? Bij de buren is er een steen door het raam gegooid!"
("Have
you heard the news? A stone was thrown through the neighbours’ window!"
Lit. "Have you already heard it? At the neigbours a stone was …")

– "Er is een kostbare edelsteen gestolen uit de etalage."
("A precious stone / gemstone was stolen from the shop window.")

– "Vandalen hebben op de begraafplaats grafstenen omgegooid."
("Vandals have knocked over gravestones at the cemetery.")

– "Gisteravond was ik mijn sleutel vergeten, maar toen heb ik een
steentje tegen het raam gegooid om mijn vriendin wakker te maken."
("Last night I had forgotten my keys, but (then) I threw a small stone against the window in order to wake up my girlfriend.")

– "Zij heeft zo veel ellende meegemaakt dat haar hart nu van steen is."
("She has been through so much misery that by now her heart is of stone.")

Expressions:
– "Steengoed!": very good, very capable.
– "Steen en been klagen": to complain bitterly/loudly.
– "Zijn/haar steentje bijdragen": to contribute to something.
– "Een huishouden van Jan Steen": when your household is a mess, or
badly organised, one may compare it to "Jan Steen’s household". Well
not really: Jan Steen is a Dutch painter from the 17th century who is
well-known for his paintings of chaotic household scenes from those
times. These were quite popular and hence the proverb originated. You can also use it figuratively, i.e. not specifically for a household.

Related words:
– "Stenigen": to stone, to lapidate.
– "Baksteen": brick.
– "Kei": cobble(-stone), boulder.
– "Kiezel" or "Kiezelsteen": pebble.
– "Tegel": tile.
– "Rots": rock, boulder.
– "Beton": concrete.

Uitstekend

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1. excellent, outstanding [adjective] [‘uit-stee-kunt’]  Iconspeaker_3

Literally, “uitstekend” translates to “sticking out” (see 2). It is however frequently used in its figurative meaning: “outstanding” or “excellent”.

Examples:
– “Hoe gaat het?” – “Uitstekend, dank je!”
(“How are you?” – “Excellent, thank you!”)

– “Uitstekend Smithers, uitstekend…”
(“Excellent Smithers, excellent…”)

– “Rosalie heeft gisteren een uitstekende presentatie gehouden.”
(“Rosalie gave an outstanding presentation yesterday.” Note that in Dutch the verb “houden” (to hold/keep) is used, but you can also use “geven”.)

– “Te koop: Peugeot 306, 1999, in uitstekende staat.”
(“For sale: Peugeot 306, 1999, in excellent condition.”)

Related words:
– “Schitterend”: brilliant.
– “Voortreffelijk”: excellent, superb.
– “Prima”: terrific, excellent, great.

2. sticking out, protruding [adjective] [‘uit-stee-kunt’]

“Uitstekend” comes from the verb “uitsteken”: to stick/put out. For some reason, when using it in its literal context, the emphasis shifts from the second syllable (see 1.) to the first…

Examples:
– “Pas op voor dat uitstekende randje.”
(“Watch out for that (little) edge sticking out.” Note the emphasis on the first syllable. If you would say: “…uitstekende randje” this would translate to “…excellent little edge” 🙂 )

– “Het buitenaardse wezen had allerlei rare uitstekende knobbels op zijn hoofd.”
(“The extraterrestial/alien had all kinds of weird protruding knobs on its head.” Lit.: “The extraterrestrial being…”)

Expression:
– “Zijn nek uitsteken”: to stick one’s neck out.

Related words:
– “Uithangen”: to hang out, to put out.
– “Uitsteken”: to protrude, to stick/put out.

Example:
– “Op 30 april steekt iedereen de vlag uit, want die dag is het Koninginnedag!”
(“Everybody puts out the flag on April 30th, because that day it’s Queen’s Day!”)