Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

314. Na-apen

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to imitate, to mimic, to ape [verb] [aapte na, nageaapt] ['naa-aa-pun']

An ape in Dutch is an "aap". The Dutch word "aap" translates as "monkey". The similar English "ape" translates to "mensaap" (a "mens" is a "human"). The preposition "na" usually means "after" but also indicates behaviour or movement of "following something/somebody". Even though the non-existent verb "apen" could already mean "to imitate" – based on the behaviour of apes – we still put "na" in front of it: "na-apen".

The hyphen in "na-apen" is necessary to avoid ambiguity in pronunciation since "aa" is also a Dutch vowel combination. However, the advanced readers might say that if a long "aa" was meant in the first place, then one should have written "napen". This is correct, but the rule is still as applied 🙂 .
You might also see "naäpen" – this used to be the spelling until 1995 (when a big change in spelling occurred).

"Na-apen" is mostly used informally and can sometimes have a stronger meaning than just imitation, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Toen ik klein was, aapte mijn zus mij altijd na."
("When I was little, my sister always imitated me.")

– "Een rage kan ontstaan als mensen elkaar gaan na-apen."
("A craze/mania can happen when people start to imitate each other.")

– "Mijn presentatie leek op die van Frank, en nu beweert de leraar dat ik hem heb nageaapt!"
("My presentation was similar to Frank's, and now the teacher claims that I stole his ideas!")

Related words:
– "Na-aper": an imitator.
– "Imiteren": to imitate.
– "Nadoen": to imitate.

313. Beker

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mug, cup, beaker [noun] [de beker, de bekers] [‘bee-kur’]

"Beker" is most common in the translation of "mug". In case of "cup of coffee" people will use "kop" or even better "kopje". In sports we do use "beker" for the trophy that you’ll take home if you are lucky.

Mind that a plastic cup is always denoted by the diminutive "bekertje".

Examples:
– "Ik gebruik geen bekertjes, maar een gewone beker. Dat is beter voor het milieu."
("I do not use plastic cups, but a normal mug instead. That’s better for the environment.")

– "Vroeger nam ik altijd een beker mee naar school, want ik moest voldoende drinken van mijn moeder."
("I used to bring a mug to school, because my mother told me to drink enough." Here "van mijn moeder" is not "from/of my mom", but in combination with the verb "moeten" translates to "my mother wants me to…" or "my mother tells me / says…".)

Uefacup2002 – "Het wordt weer eens tijd dat Feyenoord de beker wint."
("It is about time for Feyenoord to win the cup again.")

Related words:
– "Kopje": cup (for coffee/tea).
– "Bekertje": plastic cup.
– "Bekeren": the act of competing for the national cup in football/soccer.

312. Sap

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juice, fluid, sap [noun] [het sap, de sappen] [‘sap‘]

"Sap" in the translation of "fruit juice" is most common. Of course there are many different kinds of juice, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "In het weekend drink ik vers sap bij het ontbijt."
("In the weekends I have fresh juice with my breakfast." Literally: "… I drink fresh juice at the breakfast.")

– "Wat wil je drinken?" – "Doe maar een sapje."
("What would you like to drink?" – "I’ll have some juice." Of course "sapje" is informal.)

– "Wat voor sap wil je dan?" – "O, even denken… Sinaasappelsap alsjeblieft."
("(Then,) what kind of juice would you like?" – "Oh, let me think… Orange juice please." The word "sinaasappelsap" is easily misspelled, since it sounds like "sinasappelsap". An orange in Dutch is "sinaasappel" derived from "China’s appel" or "apple from China", China being one of the countries the orange originated.)

– "Ik vind perensap lekkerder dan appelsap."
("I think pear juice is tastier than apple juice.")

Related words:
– "Vruchtensap": fruit juice.
– "Sappig": juicy.

Example:
– "Sanders vader wist altijd wel een sappig verhaal te vertellen."
("Sander’s father was always able to tell a juicy story.")

– "Persen": to squeeze (fruit).

Example:
– "Hebt u ook vers geperst sinaasappelsap?"
("Do you also have freshly squeezed orange juice?")

311. Zo kan-ie wel weer

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That’s enough now [Dutch Phrase Of The Week]

"Zo kan-ie wel weer" is used if one wants to make a stop to what’s been/being said or done by someone else. The phrase is used direcly towards that other person, and its use is mostly informal. The phrase is sometimes followed by "met" to link to the subject that should be made a stop to, commonly translated with "of", see the first example.

Examples:
– "Zo kan-ie wel weer met die vieze praat van je!"
("That’s enough of that dirty talk of yours now!")

– "Zo kan-ie wel weer, jonge dame! Je hebt genoeg limonade gehad."
("That’s enough of that lemonade, young lady! You’ve had plenty." Lit.: "That’s enough, young lady! You’ve had enough lemonade.")

310. Vragen

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to ask, to inquire [verb] [vraagde, gevraagd] [‘vraa-gun’]

The noun that goes with "vragen" is "vraag": question. Note that "to ask a question" in Dutch is not "een vraag vragen" but "een vraag stellen".

Examples:
– "Pardon meneer, mag ik u iets vragen?"
("Excuse me sir, can/may I ask you something?")

– "Er is gelegenheid tot het stellen van vragen."
("There is opportunity to ask questions.")

– "Wist je dat je Sander en Marc altijd een vraag kan stellen over de Nederlandse taal?"
("Did you know that you can always ask Sander and Marc a question about the Dutch language?")

– "Als je een vraag stelt aan de DWOTD, dan wordt deze op de blog beantwoord als weekendvraag."
("If you ask the DWOTD a question, it will be answered on the blog as the weekend question.")

– "Er zijn geen domme vragen, alleen domme antwoorden."
("There is no such thing as stupid questions, there are only stupid answers.")

Expressions:
– "Erom vragen": to ask/call for it.
– "Om moeilijkheden vragen": to ask for trouble.

Related words:
– "Een vraag stellen": to ask a question.
– "Informeren": to inquire.
– "Beantwoorden": to answer.