Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

299. Afwas

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1. dishes [noun] [de afwas, <no plural>] [‘af-was’]

"Afwas" can refer either to the dishes that are washed, or the activity of washing the dishes / washing up, see 2.

Examples:
– "Liefie, wil jij de afwas even naar de keuken dragen?"
("Sweetie, will you just carry the dishes into the kitchen?")

– "Dat is een heel grote afwas, zeker van een hele week!"
("That’s a lot of dishes, must be from an entire week!" Lit.: "…certainly from an entire week!" Note the use of "heel" and "hele": the first is an adverb, the second an adjective. Very often Dutch people will use "hele" in both cases, but this is wrong 🙂 .)

Related words:
– "Vaat": synonym for "afwas": dishes.
– "Afwasmachine": dishwasher.
– "Vaatwasser": dishwasher.
– "Afwasborstel": dishwashing brush.
– "Theedoek": tea towel, dishtowel.

2. doing/washing the dishes [noun] [de afwas, <no plural>] [‘af-was’]

Note that this translation can only be used when referring to the activity. For the actual activity we either say "de afwas doen", or "afwassen", see Related Words.

Examples:
– "Geen zin in de afwas? Blijf dan maar lekker liggen op de bank, scheetje van me. Ik doe het vanavond wel."
("Don’t feel like doing the dishes / washing up? Just keep lying on the couch/sofa, my (little) darling. I will do it tonight.")

Related words:
– "Afwassen": verb, synonymous to "de afwas doen": doing the dishes, to wash up.
– "Afdrogen": to dry (up) (the dishes).

298. Mat

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1. mat, canvas, carpet [noun] [de mat, de matten] [‘mat‘]

Examples:
– "Elke dag hoopt Frank nog dat er een brief van zijn ex op de deurmat zal vallen…"
("Each day, Frank still hopes that a letter from his ex will fall on the doormat… ")

– "De worstelaars vielen tijdens het gevecht van de mat af."
("The wrestlers fell off the canvas during the fight.")

Expression:
– "Op het matje roepen": to be put on the carpet, to be brought to account.

Example:
– "De minister-president heeft vandaag de ambassadeur van Iran op het matje geroepen in verband met de geplande executie van een mensenrechtenactivist."
("The ambassador of Iran has been brought to account by the prime-minister regarding the planned execution of a human rights’ activist.")

Related words:
– "Mattenklopper": carpet-beater.
– "De groene mat": an informal synonym that can be used for "the football pitch / soccer field".

2. mat, dull, dim, flat, tired, weary [adjective/adverb] [‘mat‘]

Examples:
– "Ik vind die matte kleur niet mooi bij die auto."
("I don’t like that flat color on that car.")

– "Franks matte uitstraling maakt zijn presentaties altijd uitermate saai."
("Frank’s dull appearance always makes his presentations extremely boring.")

– "Schat, je ziet een beetje mat uit, is er iets?
("Darling, you look a little weary, is something the matter?)

– "Weet jij wat er met Sander aan de hand is? Hij is een beetje mat de laatste tijd."
("Do you know what is wrong with Sander? He is a bit weary lately." Literally: "… what is on the hand? … the latest time.")

3. (check)mate [adjective] [‘mat‘]

In this context, instead of "mat", "schaakmat" is often used.

Example:
– " ‘Mat’ en ‘schaakmat’ zijn Nederlandse schaaktermen."
(" ‘Mat’ and ‘schaakmat’ are Dutch chess terms.")

Zeg maar

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let’s say / like [Dutch phrase of the week]

The use of "zeg maar" is a bit of a plague in the Dutch language. Many people use it constantly as a filler. Being a filler, "zeg maar" doesn’t really mean anything. In fact, one could argue that it only shows that people who use it, are not really sure of what they’re saying, or are only just babbling on.

"Zeg maar" is used by people of all ages in any kind of setting, informal and at the office, even during presentations. Dutch Guru Marc has colleagues that use "zeg maar" almost every other word…

There’s no literal translation of "zeg maar", it is best translated with "let’s say". Literal translation of "let’s say" is "laten we zeggen", which is also often used as a bit of a more formal filler, but not as often as "zeg maar".

When young people use "zeg maar", we think the best translation would be "like", as in: "You know, it’s, like, you know, like I don’t know what to say, like, you know…" 🙂

Examples:
– "Als ik naar dat schilderij kijk, krijg ik een warm gevoel, zeg maar."
("When I look at that painting, I get like a warm feeling.")

– "Snap je, zeg maar, wat ik bedoel?"
("Do you understand, like, what I mean?")

– "Als je na een hete sauna een koud bad neemt, is het, zeg maar, alsof je even niet kunt ademen."
("When you take a cold bath after a hot sauna, it’s – let’s say – as if you cannot breathe for a moment.")

Related expressions:
– "Laten we zeggen": (lit.) let’s say.
– "Weet je": you know.

Related word:
– "Stopwoord": filler. Literally "stop word". You also often hear ‘stopwoordje’.

296. Uitermate

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extremely, greatly, exceedingly [adverb] [‘ui-tur-maa-tu’]

"Uitermate" is good candidate to bring some variation in your Dutch. Try to use it as a substitute for "heel erg" (as an adverb).

Examples:
– "Ik heb uitermate genoten van de gezellige avond uit!"
("I greatly enjoyed the nice evening out!")

– "Ik denk dat Frank een uitermate geschikte kandidaat is voor deze functie."
("I think that Frank is an extremely suitable candidate for this position.")

– "Wij zijn uitermate geschokt door het plotseling overlijden van…"
("We are extremely shocked by the sudden death of…" Literally: "…by the sudden decease of…")

– "Ben je al buiten geweest? Het is uitermate lekker weer!"
("Have you already been outside? It is exceedingly pleasant weather!")

Related words:
– "Bijzonder": [adverb] extraordinarily.
– "Enorm": [adverb] enormously.

295. Honger

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1. appetite, hunger [noun] [de honger, <no plural>] [‘ho-ngur’]

When Dutch people want to express that they are hungry, they do not say they they "are hungry", but that they "have hunger". It is not incorrect to say "ik ben hongerig" instead of "ik heb honger" but it it would be very strange :-).

Examples:
– "Ik heb honger, ik ga een boterham eten."
("I’m hungry, I’m going to eat a sandwich.")

– "Mamma, ik heb honger!" – "Nee, jij hebt geen honger, jij hebt trek. De kindertjes in Afrika hebben honger!"
("Mommy, I am hungry!" – "No, you are not hungry, you have an appetite/you feel peckish. The children in Africa are hungry!" The Dutch version is a classical statement made by parents to counter the whining of their child. Note the diminutive of "kinderen": these are even smaller children 🙂 ).

Expression:
– "Honger hebben als een paard": to be hungry like a wolf. Literally: to have hunger like a horse.

Related words:
– "Trek": appetite.
– "Dorst": thirst.

2. lust, greed [noun] [de honger, <no plural>] [‘ho-ngur’]

We do have a specific word for lust and greed, see the Related words, but sometimes "honger" can be translated in the same way.

Examples:
– "De sultan had een onverzadigbare honger naar materiële zaken."
("The sultan had an insatiable lust for material things.")

Related words:
– "Lust": lust.
– "Hebzucht": greed.
– "Hunkering": yearning.

3. famine, hunger, starvation [noun] [de honger, <no plural>] [‘ho-ngur’]

Examples:
– "Het kan toch niet zo zijn dat vandaag de dag nog mensen sterven van de honger!"
("It can’t possibly be the case that these days people are still dying of starvation!" The expression "vandaag de dag" is an expression for "current times/today/these days", as opposed to a certain period of time in the past.)

Related word:
– "Hongersnood": famine. (Lit.: hunger emergency)