Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

Plakband

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tape (adhesive) [noun, no plural]

A piece of the common office tape is often called a "plakbandje" and a roll of similar tape a "rolletje plakband". Since both are small, the diminutive is used.
Larger tape that is for instance used to close boxes is called "tape", just like in English.

Examples:
– "Heb jij een rolletje plakband voor mij? Die van mij is op."
("Do you have (a roll of) tape for me? Mine is finished/used up.")

– "Mijn favoriete merk plakband is Scotch."
("My favourite brand of tape is Scotch.")

Related words:
– "Lijm": glue.
– "Punaise": drawing pin, thumbtack.

Burgemeester

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mayor [noun] [de burgemeester, de burgemeesters]

"Burgemeester" is composed of "burger" and "meester", where the "r" of "burger" is lost. "Burger" translates to "citizen" and "meester" translates to "master". Hence "burgemeester" literally translates to "master of citizens". "Burgemeester" is a uni-sex word: it is used for both mayors and mayoresses.

Examples:
– "Gisteren is in Nijmegen een nieuwe burgemeester benoemd."
("Yesterday, a new mayor was appointed in the city of Nijmegen.")

– "Wim Deetman is de burgemeester van Den Haag."
("Wim Deetman is the mayor of The Hague.")

Related words:
– "Gemeentehuis": town hall, city hall (also "stadhuis" in Dutch).
– "Gemeente": municipality.
– "College van burgemeester en wethouders": (the bench of) Mayor and Aldermen, see ‘Extra’.
– "Gemeenteraad": local council, city council, see ‘Extra’.

Extra:
The Netherlands is currently divided in 443 municipalities. Municipalities are governed by the Mayor and his Aldermen. They have to answer to the (members) of the local council. Every four years, municipal elections are held.

Gaaf

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1. whole, intact, undamaged, perfect [adjective, adverb]

Examples:
– "Het tafelblad van de 500 jaar oude tafel was nog helemaal gaaf."
("The tabletop of the 500 years old table was still perfectly flawless."

– "Fotomodellen hebben over het algemeen een wit en gaaf gebit."
("In general, models have a white and perfect set of teeth.")

2. awesome, great, super, cool, brilliant [adjective, adverb]

Many other words than "gaaf" are in use to describe that something or someone is awesome or brilliant. It kind of depends on the person’s age and the region he or she lives or grew up in 🙂
Likewise there exist words that you can put in front of "gaaf" (or similar words). This then again can depend on region or age, see ‘Extra’.

Examples:
– "Wat vond je vond die film? – Hij was gaaf!"
("What did you think of that movie? – It was great!")

– "Wat vond je van de halsketting die Amanda gisteravond droeg? – Die was erg gaaf!"
("What did you think of the necklace Amanda was wearing last night? – It was really awesome!")

Related words:
– "Cool": cool, nice.
– "Fantastisch": fantastic.
– "Geweldig": great.

Extra:
In recent years it has become popular amongst youngsters to use the word "vet" ("fat" or "greasy") to describe that something is cool. This word can then be used as an adjective or as an adverb.

Examples:
"Het concert van U2 was echt vet!"
("The concert by U2 was really cool!")
or:
"Het concert van U2 was echt vet cool!"
("The concert by U2 was really super cool!" (or something) )

In the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant, it is common to use the adverb "kei" to strengthen the statement: "Het concert van U2 was echt keigaaf!". Likewise, "very good" usually translates to "keigoed".

Vuurwerk

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fireworks [noun] [het vuurwerk, <no plural>]

In the Netherlands it is common that people let off their own fireworks. Since fireworks is not cheap, some people complain about the waste of money that could have been spent on more useful things or on the less fortunate people on this planet.
Fireworks is usually sold in the Netherlands from the 28th of December till the 31st. Safety laws are strict for the shops that sell fireworks, and not all fireworks are allowed by Dutch law. For this reason border control between the Netherlands and Belgium is enforced in this time of the year, since more dangerous fireworks are allowed in Belgium and people try to bring it into the Netherlands.

Examples:
– “Op oudejaarsavond wordt om twaalf uur vuurwerk afgestoken.”
(“At New Year’s Eve, fireworks are let off at twelve o’clock.”)

– “Veel kinderen steken al eerder dan twaalf uur klein vuurwerk af, zoals rotjes.”
(“Many kids let off small fireworks earlier than twelve o’clock, like firecrackers.”)

– “In Nederland mag vuurwerk alleen worden afgestoken op 31 december vanaf 10 uur ‘s ochtends tot ‘s nachts 2 uur.”
(“In the Netherlands, fireworks are only allowed to be let off at December 31st from ten o’clock in the morning till two o’clock at night.”)

– “De discussie die ik gisteren met haar had, man…vuurwerk!”
(“The discussion I had with her yesterday, man…fireworks!”)

Related words:
– “Jaarwisseling”: turn of the year.
– “Rotje”: firecracker.
– “Strijker”: heavy (illegal) firecracker, literally “striker”.
– “Gillende keukenmeid”: whizzer, literally: “screaming kitchen maid” 🙂
– “Vreugdevuur”: bonfire.

Extra:
The Dutch city of Den Haag is notorious for its high amount of bonfires after New Year’s Eve. Some neighbourhoods are temporarily changed into warzones. Because not all fires can be prevented, the authorities allow bonfires at certain locations under certain circumstances. Not many people stick to those rules though…;-)

Every year the Dutch government makes an effort to warn teenagers for the dangers of fireworks. With all the “common” violence on tv and in videogames, realistic commercials with blown off fingers do not have so much impact anymore. This year, the Dutch government tries to get the message across by creating a web site with a fictitious Chinese guy explaining the dangers in YouTube like videos. Check it out at www.chinesefireworks.cn.

Kort

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1. short [adjective, adverb] (qualification of length / distance)

Examples:
– "In de winter zijn de dagen kort."
("During the winter, days are short.")

– "Dit is een korte DWOTD."
("This is a short DWOTD.")

– "Hoe was je weekend?" – "Veel te kort!"
("How was your weekend?" – "Way too short!")

– "Mijn broek is te kort!"
("My pants are too short!")

Expression:
"Aan het kortste eind trekken": to lose, literally: "to pull the shortest end".

2. brief [adjective, adverb] (qualification of time period)

Examples:
– "Ik hou het kort."
("I’ll keep it brief/short.")

– "Frank hield een korte presentatie voor het management."
("Frank held a brief presentation for the management.")

Related words:
– "Korten": to shorten, to cut (financially).
– "Inkorten": to shorten (of trousers for example), to cut down, to abbreviate.
– "Lang": long.
– "Klein": small.

The word "kort" appeared earlier in "DWOTD 38. Tram".