Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

365. Lekker belangrijk

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As if I (we) care / Who cares [Dutch phrase of the week]

The use of "lekker" in the Dutch language is ubiquitous and
difficult to master at first. That’s why we still haven’t covered it
explicitly as a DWOTD 🙂

"Lekker belangrijk" literally translates to "nicely/tastily
important" which of course does not make sense. "Lekker" – used as an
adverb – can have the meaning of "quite" or "really". For example
"lekker druk" translates to "quite busy" (in a pleasant way).

However, "lekker belangrijk" is always used ironically and, in
addition to the translations given above, can be translated to phrases
such as "Really important…NOT!", "Whatever!" or "I can’t be
bothered". It is also used to immediately express your disinterest in
whatever somebody is talking about. For example in the daily radio show
"Evers staat op" with DJ
Edwin Evers on Dutch Radio538, the "lekker belangrijk" tune is played
when either he or one of the sidekicks is talking nonsense or goes on
too long on the same topic.

 Examples:
– "Vanavond is Dancing With The Stars op tv." – "O ja? Lekker belangrijk zeg…"
("Dancing With The Stars is on TV tonight." – "Oh really? As if I care…")

– "Premier Balkenende spreekt vandaag het volk toe, lekker belangrijk…"
("Prime minister Balkenende addresses the people today, as if we care…")

Related words:
– "Boeien": to captivate, to fascinate, to
be bothered/interested. "Boeien!" or "boeiend!" can be used in the same
way as "lekker belangrijk" and you will also here "wat boeit het" or
"wat boeit mij dat/het".

Example:
– "Dit weekend speelt PSV tegen Feyenoord." – "Boeien! Ik hou niet van voetbal."
("This weekend, PSV plays against Feyenoord." – "Can’t be bothered! I don’t like football/soccer.")

Extra:
One of the characters in The Catherina Tate Show –
Lauren – has become known for her frequent use of her catch phrase "Am
I bothered?!", which can sometimes be translated with "lekker
belangrijk!" or "boeien!". Watch this funny video of a sketch with Lauren talking to her friends about Beyonce 🙂

364. Visitekaartje

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business card [noun] [het visitekaartje, de visitekaartjes] [‘vie-sie-tu-kaart-ju’]

"Visitekaartje" is composed of "visite" and "kaartje", which respectively translate to "visit" and "little card". Sometimes "visite" is left out, which would obviously translate to just "card".

"Visitekaartje" is also used in a figurative way: someone or something can be the "visitekaartje" of something, indicating a positive ambassador’s function, see the examples.

Examples:
– "Sander heeft DWOTD visitekaartjes ontworpen."
("Sander has designed DWOTD business cards.")

– "Mag ik u mijn kaartje aanbieden?"
("Can I offer you my card?")

– "Ik heb geen visitekaartjes meer, waar kan ik die laten drukken?"
("I’m out of business cards, where can I have them printed?")

– "Het Lange Voorhout is een van de visitekaartjes van Den Haag."
("The Lange Voorhout is one of The Hague’s frontpieces/highlights.")

Expression:
– "Je visitekaartje afgeven": literally to hand out your business card, this is said when you do something that makes you leave a good impression.

Extra:
The DWOTD business card: highly popular collector’s item 🙂

Dwotd_card_3

363. Vogelvrij

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outlawed [adjective] [‘voo-gul-vrij’]

"Vogelvrij"
is composed of "vogel" ("bird") and "vrij" ("free"). Although it sounds
like being free as a bird, the real meaning of "vogelvrij" is that you
are not protected by law.

Today in the Netherlands this word is mainly used in its figurative
sense, most often in the expression "iemand vogelvrij verklaren": to
outlaw somebody.

Examples:
– "Velen vrezen dat Geert Wilders zichzelf vogelvrij verklaart als hij zijn film over de Koran uitbrengt."
("Many
fear that Geert Wilders outlaws himself if he releases his film about
the Koran." Here we refer to the Dutch politician Geert Wilders who plans
to release a critical film about the Koran titled ‘Fitna’. There are
already protests against this film (in the Netherlands but also abroad)
even though it has not been released yet.)

– "In het wilde Westen was het niet ongebruikelijk dat iemand vogelvrij werd verklaard."
("In the Wild West it was not uncommon for somebody to be outlawed.")

– "Er is onlangs een document gevonden uit de negentiende eeuw
waarin de onschuldige wetenschapper Giordano vogelvrij werd verklaard."
("A document from the nineteenth century has recently been found in which the innocent scientist Giordano was outlawed.")

Related words:
– "Rechteloos": lawless.
– "Straffeloos": unpunished.