Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

Hoofd

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1. head [noun] [het hoofd, de hoofden]

Examples:
– "Ik heb hoofdpijn."
("I have a headache.")

– "Hoofd, schouders, knie en teen, knie en teen."
("Head, shoulders, knee and toe, knee and toe". Dutch children song where all kids touch the respective body parts while singing.)

– "Tijdens het hardlopen heb ik altijd een leeg hoofd."
("During running I always have an empty mind." The verb "hardlopen" is typically used for "athletic running".)

– "Een paar jaar geleden ben ik door een duif op mijn hoofd gescheten."
("A few years ago a pigeon shat on my head." Literally: "… I was shat on my head by a pigeon.")

-"Frank heeft al maanden te veel aan zijn hoofd."
("For months Frank has too many things to deal with." Literally: "… has too much at his head.")

Expression:
– "Geen haar op mijn hoofd die daar aan denkt!": no way that I’m going to do that! Literally: "No hair on my head that thinks of that!"

Related word:
– "Kop": head of an animal, slang for the human head. "Kop" can also mean "cup" but then usually in its diminutive form.

2. main [adjective]

Examples:
– "Het hoofdonderwerp van vanavond is de morele achteruitgang van de samenleving."
("Tonight’s main topic is the moral decline of society." Lit. "The main topic of tonight is…")

– "In deze baan moet je hoofdzaken van bijzaken kunnen onderscheiden."
("In this job one has te be able to distinguish main issues from side issues.")

– "De hoofdoorzaak van het gaslek is menselijk falen."
("The main cause of the gas leak is human failure.")

Betweterig

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pedantic, clever-clever [adjective]

The adjective "betweterig" is derived from the noun "betweter". A "betweter", composed of ‘bet’ and ‘weter’ (pronounced: bet-waiter), is a person who ‘knows it better’. In Dutch, ‘to know’ translates to ‘weten’, and ‘better’ to ‘beter’.
If you want to create an adjective that describes that something or somebody has the characteristics of a noun or verb, you can often do this by replacing the ‘-en’ at the end with ‘-erig’ (translated: ‘-y’) in case of a verb, or add ‘-ig’ in case of a noun, like "betweterig". See ‘Extra’ for more examples.

Examples:
– "Wat ben jij betweterig!"
("You’re so pedantic!" or "How pedantic you are!")

– "Ik vind hem nogal betweterig overkomen op het werk."
("I think he comes across as quite pedantic at work.")

– "Tijdens de vergadering gedroeg Frank zich behoorlijk betweterig.")
("During the meeting, Frank acted quite pedantically.")

– "Die nieuwe productmanager vind ik een bijdehante betweter."
("I think (that) that new product manager is a know-it-all wise-guy.")

Related words:
– "Betweter": someone who knows it better all the time, wise-guy.
– "Bijdehand": bright, sharp, quick-witted.
– "Wijsneus": wise-guy (literally: wise nose).

Extra:
Here are a few examples of words ending with "-ig". See if you can think of the corresponding verbs:
– "zweterig": sweaty.
– "beverig": shaky.
– "rillerig": shivery.
– "slaperig": sleepy.

The following words are derived from nouns:
– "aardig": friendly, nice.
– "gezellig": cosy/’nice atmosphere’-like (typical and well-known Dutch word that is hard to translate).
– "krenterig": stingy. Literally: currant-like.
– "kattig": catty.
– "mistig": foggy.
– "vettig": greasy.

Bijdehand

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bright, sharp, quick-witted [adjective]

"Bijdehand" is a contraction of "bij de hand", the latter meaning "at hand" (see ‘Related words’). The ‘d’ at the end sounds like a ‘t’, and when conjugating this adjective declining this adjective by adding an ‘e’ to the end, Dutch people get confused; should we write "bijdehande" or "bijdehante"? The first does not sound right, and the second looks strange since now the ‘d’ that belongs to ‘hand’ has disappeared. However, the latter is the correct way of spelling (but it is still a bit weird; see ‘Examples’).

This word is quite often used in a derogatory or ironic way.

Examples:
– "Dat jongetje is behoorlijk bijdehand voor zijn leeftijd!"
("That boy is pretty quick-witted for his age!")

– "Het bijdehante meisje stak bij elke vraag van de leraar haar vinger in de lucht."
("The bright girl raised her hand at every question from the teacher." Literally: "… stuck her finger in the air.")

– "<spottend:> Zooo, bij-de-ha…and…"
("<mockingly:> Wooow, briiight…" … or something :-). "Zo" is a bit like "well" but it can also be used as an expression of astonishment. Remember, it sounds like "zoa", not "zoo".)

– "<ironisch:> Bijdehante actie zeg!"
("<ironically:> Smart move, eh!")

– "Doe niet zo bijdehand!"
("Don’t be smart now!")

Related words:
– "Bijdehandje": quick-witted person (often derogatory/ironic).

Example:
"Wat een bijdehandje!"
("What a know-it-all!")

– "Bij de hand": at hand.

Example:
"Heb je een schroevendraaier bij de hand?"
("Do you have a screwdriver at hand?")

Pendelen

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1. to commute, to shuttle [verb] [pendelde, gependeld]

Although the dictionary mentions “to commute”, this verb is more commonly used when talking about a shuttle service. It can also be used to say that you are travelling up and down between places.

Examples:
– “Marc pendelt vandaag tussen diverse bedrijfslocaties.”
(“Today, Marc travels up and down between several company locations.”)

Pendelbusje_1
– “Reis met de trein naar Lelystad. Er pendelen bussen tussen station Lelystad en het Lowlands festival.”
(“Travel to Lelystad by train. There is a shuttle service between Lelystad and the Lowlands festival.” Literally: “Busses shuttle between…”)

Related words:
– “Op en neer rijden”: to drive up and down.
– “Heen en weer reizen”: literally “to travel forth and back” this is the common Dutch translation for “to commute”.

Example:
“Frank reist elke dag heen en weer tussen zijn woon – en werkplaats.”
(“Frank commutes daily between home and work.” Literally: “… between his place of residence and place of work.” The ‘-‘ after ‘woon’ replaces the noun ‘plaats’. In Dutch it is common to do this in such combinations.)

– “Pendelbus/busje”: shuttle bus/van.
– “Pendeldienst”: shuttle service.

2. to answer questions by interpreting the rotation of a threaded object to dowse, to divine [verb] [pendelde, gependeld]

Ok, so this has nothing to do with computer science nor physics. We couldn’t find the proper name for the act of attaching an object of some weight to a thread that you hold between your fingers, and then asking a question and looking at the direction of rotation of the object 🙂

Update: the correct verb is “to dowse” (thanks Ramie), or “to divine” (thanks Jim).

The thread with the object attached to it for the described purpose is called a “pendel”.

Update: “pendel” is Dutch for “pendulum” in this context.

Example:
– “Sommige mensen beantwoorden vragen door middel van pendelen.”
(“Some people answer questions by means of dowsing/divining (with a pendulum).” You will often encounter the abbreviation ‘d.m.v.’ for ‘door middel van’.)

Beneden

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Instead of "beneden", the word "onder" is also often used. They translate to "beneath" and "under" respectively. The difference is only subtle.

1. beneath, down, downstairs [adverb]

Examples:
– "Gaat deze lift naar beneden?"
("Is this elevator going down?")

– "Ik ga naar beneden om voor jou een lekker ontbijtje te maken!"
("I’m going downstairs to prepare you a nice (little) breakfast!")

– "Wat er beneden ligt…"
("What lies beneath…")

– "Van onderen!"
(Literally "from beneath!" this is what construction workers yell as a warning when throwing down stuff.)

2. beneath, below [preposition]

Examples:
– "Beneden de grote rivieren spreken de meeste mensen met een zachte ‘g’."
("Beneath the great rivers, most people speak with a ‘soft g’." Even though the Dutch ‘g-sound’ is quite pronounced, in the southern provinces it sounds much softer and a lot more friendly 🙂 .)

– "Dat is beneden mijn standaard."
("That’s below my standard.")

– "Dat is onder mijn niveau."
("That is below my level/standard." This can also be used in a moral context.)

– "Lig jij tijdens het vrijen het liefst onder of boven?"
("When you make love, do you prefer to lie beneath or on top?")

Related words:
– "Onder": under.
– "Ondersteboven": upside down, wrong side up, upset, all shaken up.
This can also be used in a figurative way, as the two next examples
show:

Examples:
– "Ik ben er niet ondersteboven van!"
("I’m not all that impressed!")

– "Ik ben helemaal ondersteboven van die man/vrouw!"
("I’m completely put off my balance by that man/woman!")