to tidy/clean up, to put away, to clear out [verb] [ruimde op, opgeruimd] [‘op-rui-mun‘]

“Opruimen” usually involves putting away or reordering objects 🙂 Cleaning in the general sense is translated with the verb “schoonmaken” (“to make clean”).
(Photo: Erik Vos (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

The noun “opruiming” is generally only used for the sale or clearance in a store. Note that it is very common to use the English “sale” signs in shops even though in speech it is mostly “opruiming”.

Examples:
– “Mamma mag ik buiten spelen?” – “Straks, eerst moet je je kamer opruimen!”
(“Mum/mom, can I go outside and play?” – “Later, first you need to tidy up your room!”)

– “Mijn directeur heeft altijd een heel opgeruimd bureau; het lijkt wel alsof hij helemaal niets doet!”
(“My manager/director always has a very tidy desk; it seems as if he doesn’t do anything at all!”)

– “Sommige stelletjes spenderen een deel van het weekend aan het opruimen van het huis.”
(“Some couples spend parts of the weekend on tidying up the house.” It is common to use the diminutive “stelletje” for a young couple (as opposed to “stel” in general).)

– “De opruiming is begonnen. Zullen we dit weekend gaan winkelen?”
(“Sale has started. Shall we go shopping this weekend?”)

– “Na het hardlopen heb ik altijd een heel opgeruimd hoofd.”
(“After running/jogging, I always have a clear/empty mind.”)

– “Opruimen is als meditatie voor mij, eerst is het een zooitje, maar daarna is alles netjes!”
(“Cleaning/tidying up is like meditation to me, first it is a mess, but afterwards everything is neat and tidy!”)

Expressions:
– “Opgeruimd staat netjes”: literally “cleaned/tidied up looks neat” this is said when having concluded your “opruimen”, or it can be used ironically when for example you got rid off somebody unwanted.

– “Een opgeruimd gevoel hebben”: to be in a relaxed mood (after having dealt with issues). Literally: to have a cleaned up feeling.

Related words:
– “Magazijnopruiming”: storage clearance.
– “Opslag”: storage. Derived from “opslaan”: to store.
– “Berging”: storage room. Derived from “opbergen”: to put away.
– “Opbergen”: to put away (with the aim of tidying up).
– “Voordeel”: advantage, benefit, discount.
– “Aanbieding“: special offer, discount.
– “Korting”: discount.
– “Ruimen”: to cull (when ill livestock or poultry have to be killed).
– “Schoonmaken”: to clean.

1. to fail an exam/test [verb] [zakte, gezakt] [‘za-kun‘]

Unlike its opposite “slagen“, “zakken” is mostly used with reference to the test or the exam, unless it is very clear from context.

(Photo: Alex Proimos (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

Examples:
– “Ik baal als een stekker dat ik gezakt ben voor dat examen!”
(“I’m really pissed off that I failed that exam!”)

– “Hoe vaak ben je al gezakt voor je rijexamen?”
(“How many times have you failed your driving test (already)?”)

Related words:
– “Slagen“: to pass an exam/test, to succeed.
– “Verprutsen”: to mess up.

Example:
– “Hoe ging je examen?” – “Ik weet niet, volgens mij heb ik het verprutst.”
(“How did the exam go?” – “I don’t know, I think I messed up.” Note that “verprutsen” needs the “het” to refer to the exam.)

2. to lower, to fall, to drop [verb] [zakte, gezakt] [‘za-kun‘]

Examples:
– “Een dag na de overstroming begon het waterpeil weer te zakken.”
(“One day after the flood, the water level started to drop again.”)

– ” ‘Laat je handen nu maar zakken’, zei de politieman tegen de schurk.”
(” ‘You can lower your hands now’, the policeman said to the villain.” Lit.: “Let your hands drop now…”)

– “Ik wacht nog wat langer met het kopen van een iPod, totdat deze in prijs gezakt is.”
(“I’ll wait a bit longer before I buy an iPod, until it has lowered in price.” Here one also uses the verb “dalen”.)

Expressions:
– “Daar zakt mijn broek van af”: “That really pisses me off”, usually when you are astonished by something (in a negative way). Lit.: That makes my pants fall down.
– “Door je enkels zakken”: to have one’s ankle give (way).
– “Het eten laten zakken”: to digest one’s food, to let one’s food go down.
– “Inelkaar zakken”: to collapse.

Related words:
– “Doorzakken”: to party/drink until late in the night.
– “Dalen”: to descend, to lower.

3. bags, pockets [noun; plural] [de zak, de zakken] [‘zak‘]

See also “Zakje“, for the use of the diminutive of “zak”.

Examples:
– “Haal je handen uit je zakken!”
(“Take your hands out of your pockets!”)

– “Kun jij de vuilniszak even buiten zetten?”
(“Could you take the garbage (bag) outside?” Lit.: “Can you put the garbage (bag) outside for a moment?” Note that “even” is not translated, but the present tense “Kun” is translated with the past tense “could” – instead of “can” – to achieve a similar subtlety.)

– “Wat ben jij voor een ontzettende zak dat je me dit flikt!”
(“Your such a bastard that you do this to me!” Lit.: “What kind of an appalling bag are you that you play this trick on me!” Here “zak” is derived from “klootzak”, a term of abuse, see ‘Related words’.)

Related words:
– “Klootzak”: informal synonym for “scrotum” (“kloot” is an informal synonym for “testicle”).
– “Balzak”: like “klootzak” but not used as a term of abuse.
– “Luchtzak”: air pocket/hole.
– “Zakkenroller”: pick pocket [noun].
– “Zakkenwasser”: loser, incompetent person. Lit.: bag/pocket washer.

to pass an exam, to succeed, to accomplish, to be successful [verb] [slaagde, geslaagd] [‘slaa-gun’]

This time of the year in the Netherlands, you often see houses where the Dutch flag is raised with a schoolbag attached to it. This indicates that the owner of the bag has passed his or her high/secondary school final exams. Sometimes you see the bag only, if they don’t have a flag.(Photo: evanstra (flickr.com) – some rights reserved.)

The Dutch word for passing an exam is “slagen”, it can be used with or without a reference to the exam. “Slagen” in general has the meaning of succeeding in something, see the ‘Examples’.

Examples:
– “Ik ben zo blij dat ik geslaagd ben, ongelofelijk gewoon!”
(“I’m so happy that I have passed my exams, just unbelievable!”)

– “Natalia is vanmiddag wezen winkelen, ik ben benieuwd of zij geslaagd is.”
(“Natalia went shopping this afternoon, I wonder if she found what she was looking for.”)

– “En, zijn jullie geslaagd??”
(“And, have you been successful?” Here it is implied that one went out to buy something, look for something etc. Of course it can also mean “And, have you passed your exams?”))

– “Het Nederlands voetbalelftal is er niet in geslaagd zich te kwalificeren voor het WK.”
(“The Dutch football/soccer team did not succeed in qualifiying for the World Championship.” This is of course purely hypothetical! When you hear somebody talk about the “WK”, it is always the World Championship football/soccer.)

– “<dokter:> Meneer, ik kan u gelukkig melden dat de operatie is geslaagd.”
(“<doctor:> Sir, fortunately I can tell you that the operation was successful.”)

– “Hé, was het gisteravond nog leuk?” – “Ja, het was een bijzonder geslaagde avond!”
(“What about last night, was it fun? – “Yes, it was a really nice night!”)

– “Het team-building uitje werd door velen als een geslaagd initiatief beoordeeld.”
(“The team-building outing was judged by many as a successful initiative.” Note that “uitje” is also the diminutive of “ui“, but here it is derived from “uit”.)

Related words:
– “Zakken”: to fail an exam.
– “Fiasco”: fiasco, disaster.
– “Falen”: to fail.

1. pipe, tube [noun] [de pijp, de pijpen; ‘pijp’]

Quite often, objects or actions related to sex are named with words that describe similar form or movement (see for example the ‘Extra’ in 139. Vrijen). This is not the case with “pijp” 🙂 However, we did derive a verb “pijpen”. And yes, it is the informal translation of “to fellate”.

(other) Examples:
– “Er blijft telkens water op het dak liggen. Ik denk dat de regenpijp verstopt is.”
(“Water keeps collecting on the roof. I think the drainpipe is clogged.” Literally: “Each time water remains lying on the roof. I think that the rain pipe is clogged.”)

– “De afvoerpijp van de gootsteen lekt. Wat nu?”
(“The drain(pipe) of the (kitchen) sink is leaking. Now what?”)

– “Ik heb mijn auto weggebracht voor een APK-keuring. Ik ben bang dat de uitlaatpijp vervangen moet worden.”
(“I have taken my car to the garage for a motor vehicle test. I’m afraid the exhaust (pipe) will have to be replaced.” It is common to shorten “uitlaatpijp” to “uitlaat”. APK stands for “Algemene Periodieke Keuring”: general periodical inspection. It is the mandatory motor vehicle test, currently once a year, but there is talk that this will be changed to two years.)

Expressions:
– “De pijp uit gaan”: to die. This is an informal expression. Literally: “to exit through the pipe.”

Example:
-“Ik heb zo’n vermoeden dat het niet lang meer kan duren eer de overbuurman de pijp uit gaat.”
(“I suspect that it will not take long before the opposite neighbour will die.” Note that the neighbour is male.)

– “De pijp uit zijn”: to be dead.

– “Het regent pijpenstelen”: it is raining cats and dogs. A “pijpensteel” is the stem of a pipe.

Related words:
– “Mergpijp”: a piece of cake wrapped in marzipan and chocolate (or in the meaning of “mergbeen”: marrowbone.)
– “Buis”: tube, pipe, conduit.
– “Loodgieter”: plumber.
– “Pijpenla”: long narrow room (like the “Pijpenla” bar in the Hague, the only bar in the Hague that is open until early in the morning.)
– “Pijpje”: bottle of beer (only the smaller ones).

Extra:
Check out the trucker song “Met de vlam in de pijp scheur ik door de Brennerpas” by Henk Wijngaard. It is an example of the Dutch sing-a-long genre (which is best described as cheesy or tacky 🙂 ).

There is a quarter in Amsterdam called “de Pijp”. However this probably refers to small ditches called “pijpen” that were abundant in the polder on which the quarter was built.

2. pipe [noun] [de pijp, de pijpen; ‘pijp’]

Here we mean the pipe that you can smoke.

Examples:
– “Mijn opa rookt pijp.”
(“My grandfater smokes the pipe.”)

– “Het rookverbod dat onlangs in Groot-Brittanie is ingevoerd, betreft ook gelegenheden waar men waterpijp rookt.”
(“The smoking ban that was recently introduced in Great-Britain, also affects establishments where one smokes the water pipe/hookah.”)

Expression:
– “De pijp aan Maarten geven”: to quit. Literally: “To give the pipe to Maarten.”

3. leg (of a pair of trousers/pants) [noun] [de pijp, de pijpen; ‘pijp’]

Example:
– “Verkoopt u ook spijkerbroeken met wijde pijpen?”
(“Do you sell jeans with wide legs / flare jeans?”)

– “Heb jij een leren broek of heb jij leren pijpen?”
(This is a bad Dutch pun you might hear. It translates to: “Do you have leather pants, or have you learned how to give head?”)