Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

Hoera

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hurray, hooray, hurrah [noun] [het hoera, de hoera’s]

Just like in English, “hoera” is used as an expression to cheer at somebody or something. It is a bit old-fashioned though and you will find it mostly in written language. Two common occasions where you will hear “hoera” are ceremonies in which the queen plays a central role and she is formally cheered at, and a common Dutch birthday song (see ‘Extra’).

Examples:
– “Hoera! Vandaag is de 100e Dutch Word Of The Day!!”
(“Hurray! Today is the 100th Dutch Word of The Day!!”

– “Driewerf hoera voor de koningin!”
(“Three cheers for the queen!”)

– “Lange leve de koningin!” – “Hoera! Hoera! Hoera!”
(“Long live the queen!” – “Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!”)

– “Hiep, hiep, hiep… Hoera!”
(“Hip, hip, hurray!”)

Related words:
– “Hieperdepiep”: informal corruption of “hiep, hiep, hiep”.
– “Vieren”: to celebrate.
– “Juichen”: to cheer.

Extra:
One of the formal ceremonies in which the queen plays a central role and you will hear the three “hoera’s” is “Prinsjesdag”, the opening of the Dutch parliamentary year and the day on which the government proposes its financial plans for the coming year. The queen will also read out her “troonrede” (“speech from the throne”), outlining the government’s plans for the coming year. Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prinsjesdag.

When a Dutch child has his or her birthday, it is common to sing the following song, pay attention to the “hoera’s”!

Lang zal ze leven,
Lang zal ze leven,
Lang zal ze leven in de gloria,
In de glo-ri-a, in de glo-ri-a!
Hiep hiep, hoera!! <all raise their arms up high on “hiep hiep”>
Hiep hiep, hoera!!
Hieperdepiep, hoera!!

This song is also still in use for adults, and you will hear it in restaurants now and then, usually the “birthday woman/man” being highly embarrassed.
In the first three sentences you have to replace ‘ze’ by ‘hij’ if it is a boy instead of a girl, and ‘zal’ by ‘zullen’ in case you sing for more kids at the same time.

Bijna

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almost, nearly, close to [adverb]

We have almost reached the 100th Dutch word of the day! When Sander first started to explain some of the intricacies of the Dutch language to some of his co-workers, he did not expect the rudimentary explanations of the first DWOTDs to grow into where we are now. After some time Marc joined in writing the DWOTD, since it does take some time! (even for the experienced Dutch like us 🙂 ).

Although we are sometimes pressed for time, we try our best to write an informative DWOTD with sentences that you can either use in daily life, or study to improve your Dutch.

Readers who wish to discuss the DWOTD can do so on the website, this is also the central repository for all DWOTDs. Don’t forget that you can always request a word by using the mailform (‘Mailformulier’) on the website (or just reply to the mailing).

We hope you still enjoy the DWOTD and if you do, please tell others about our website or the mailing list!!

Sander and Marc

Examples:
– “Hoe laat is het?” – “Het is bijna zes uur.”
(“What time is it?” – “It is close to six o’clock.”)

– “Het toiletpapier is bijna op!”
(“The toilet paper is almost used up!”)

– “Kom op! Niet opgeven, we zijn er bijna!”
(“Come on! Don’t give up, we’re almost there!”)

–  “Waar is Frank?” – “Ik weet het niet, hij zei dat hij bijna klaar was.”
(“Where’s Frank?” – “I don’t know, he said he was almost ready.”)

– “Vanwege file was ik vanochtend bijna te laat.”
(“Due to traffic jams, I was nearly too late this morning.”)

– “Mijn vriendin moest bijna huilen bij het zien van die film.”
(“My girlfriend was close to tears when seeing that movie.” Literally: “… almost had to cry…”)

– “Wat een slecht feest! Om elf uur was er al bijna geen bier meer…”
(“What a lousy party! At eleven o’clock already, there was hardly any beer left…” Literally: “… there was almost no more beer…”)

Laat

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late [adjective, adverb]

Examples:

– "Hoe laat is het?"
("What time is it?" Literally: "how late is it?")

– "Hoe laat begint de voorstelling?"
("At what time does the show begin?")

– "Beter laat dan nooit!"
("Better late than never!")

– "Vroeg of laat zal dit een keer misgaan!"
("Sooner or later this will go wrong (one time)!" Literally: "Early or soon…")

– "Is het nog laat geworden gisteravond?"
("Did you/people stay late last night?" Literally: "Has it become late last night?")

– "Sorry, maar daar is het nu te laat voor!"
("(I’m) sorry, but it is too late for that now!")

– "Op dit late uur kunnen wij u niet van dienst zijn!"
("At this late hour we cannot be of service to you!")

– "Weer was Frank te laat op de vergadering vanochtend."
("Again, Frank was late for the meeting this morning.")

– "Regelmatig moeten er leerlingen nablijven omdat ze ‘s ochtends te laat op school zijn."
("Frequently pupils have to be kept in detention because they were late for school in the morning.")

Expression:
– "Goede raad komt nooit te laat."
("Good advice never comes too late .")

Related words:
– "Laatkomer": latecomer, late arrival.
– "Laatbloeier": late-bloomer (typically said of a person who starts engaging the opposite sex at an older age).
– "Verlaat": late, in the meaning of being late for an appointment.

Example:
"Mijn excuses, maar ik ben iets verlaat deze ochtend."
(<calling the dentist:> "My apologies but I am somewhat late this morning.")

Weer

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1. weather [noun] [het weer, <no plural>]

Examples:
– "Het weer is vandaag typisch Nederlands: grijs en nat."
("The weather today is typically Dutch: grey and wet.")

– "De weerman had een sombere (weers)voorspelling."
("The weatherman had a gloomy (weather) forecast.")

– "Ik ga met de auto naar het werk in plaats van met de fiets; het is echt hondenweer!"
("I’ll take the car to work instead of the bicycle; it is really bad weather!" Literally: "I go with the car …, it is really dog weather!")

Expression:
"Mooi weer spelen.": to pretend nothing has happened/everything is fine, to put on a show of friendliness.

Example:
"Frank speelde mooi weer tegenover het management toen hij de jaarcijfers presenteerde."
("Frank pretended everything was just fine when presenting the annual results to the management.")

2. again [adverb]

Examples:
– "Frank zat weer te zeuren tijdens de vergadering."
("Frank was nagging again during the meeting.")

– "Neeeee, niet weer…."
("Nooooo, not again….")

– "Het is weer slecht weer!"
("Again it is bad weather!")

3. back [adverb]

Examples:
– "Ik ben er weer!"
("I’m back!")

– "Heen en weer."
("Back and forth", literally: "forth and back" ;-))

Expression:
"Het heen-en-weer krijgen van iets of iemand.": to become nervous/tensed or to go crazy, because of something or someone.

Example:
"Ik krijg echt het heen-en-weer van mijn schoonmoeder!"
("My mother-in-law is really driving me crazy!")

Related words:
1. "Regen": rain.
2. "Zonneschijn": sunshine.

The word "weer" in the meaning of "weather" appeared earlier in "DWOTD 56. Herfst", "DWOTD 72. Waaien" and "DWOTD 74. Klimaat".

Raam

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window [noun] [het raam, de ramen]

Examples:
1. "De boze buurman gooide een baksteen door het raam."
("The angry neighbour threw a brick through the window." See also "DWOTD 9. Buurt".)

2. "Hebt u voor mij een stoel aan het raam?"
(<while booking a seat:> "Do you have a window-seat for me?" Literally: "… seat at the window… ")

3. "Die bejaarde man zit de hele dag voor het raam en doet niets anders dan uit het raam kijken."
("That elderly man sits in front of the window all day long and does nothing else than looking out the window." See also "DWOTD 82. Kijken".)

4. "Wil je voor mij even het raam dichtdoen?"
("Could you please close the window for me?" The word "even" means "for a short while" but here it has no real meaning and is used to make the request sound friendlier. It is also often used in conjuction with the imperative, to lessen it a bit.)

5. "In dit huis zijn alle ramen van dubbel glas."
("In this house, all windows are double paned.")

Related words:
1. "Ruit": the glass part of the "window", e.g. "voorruit" ("windscreen/shield" of a car).
2. "Venster": opening to let light into a room, often having a window to close it off. Also used for smaller windows, and windows that have the purpose for you to be able to see what is inside (something).
3. "Vensterbank": windowsill (literally: window bench).
4. "Kozijn": (window) frame.
5. "Gordijn": curtain. See also "DWOTD 59. Gordijn".

The word "raam" appeared earlier in "DWOTD 31. Fiets".