Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

Pakjesavond

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evening of presents [noun] [de pakjesavond, de pakjesavonden]

"Pakjesavond" (literally 'evening of packages'), or "Sinterklaasavond" is the traditional evening ("avond") of "Sinterklaas" which is celebrated at the 5th of December. Since there is only one "pakjesavond", there is no plural.
The tradition is much more than just this evening and you can read all about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas.

A "pakje" is a small package. This word is used to indicate a postal package (also "pakket(je)") or a present, especially if it is in the shape of a box. At "Sinterklaasavond", Sinterklaas and his "Zwarte Pieten" deliver presents to all houses (unless the children have been bad 🙂 ), hence the alternative name "pakjesavond".

Examples:
1. "Voor kinderen is pakjesavond ontzettend spannend!"
("To children pakjesavond is extremely exciting!")

2. "Sinterklaasavond wordt ook wel pakjesavond genoemd."
("Sinterklaasavond is also called pakjesavond." Or: "… is alternatively called…")

3. "Hopelijk slaat Sinterklaas jouw huis niet over op pakjesavond!"
("Hopefully Sinterklaas will not skip your house at pakjesavond!")

4. "Omdat iedereen op tijd thuis wil zijn voor pakjesavond, is het op 5 december 's middags al erg druk op de weg."
("On the 5th of December, already in the afternoon the roads are very crowded, because everybody wants to be at home on time for pakjesavond.")

Related words:
1. "Pepernoot": traditional candy that the "Zwarte Pieten" hand out to children.
2. "Kruidnoot": as in 1. but a different kind.
3. "Strooigoed": mix of candy that the "Zwarte Pieten" traditionally throw in the hall-way, through an open window or where ever possible, prior to delivering the presents. Basically "Zwarte Pieten" can throw candy at you whenever they want in the days leading up to "pakjesavond" 🙂 .
4. "Strooien": to scatter, to throw, to strew.

Extra:
Read more about Sinterklaas and his "Zwarte Pieten" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas .

References to the tradition of Sinterklaas were also made in "DWOTD 36. Kloppen", "DWOTD 72. Waaien" and "DWOTD 73. Hart".

Anders

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1. different (from) [adjective, predicative only]

Examples:
– "De lay-out van de DWOTD website is anders dan vorige week."
("The DWOTD website lay out is different from last week." Press Ctrl+F5 if you don’t see the layout change… 🙂 )

– "Het weer kan in Nederland elke dag anders zijn."
("In The Netherlands, the weather can be different every day.")

– <Ober>: "Wilt u misschien iets anders drinken meneer?"
(<Waiter>: "Would you (perhaps) like to drink something else, sir?" See also "DWOTD 69. Ober".)

– "Frank gedroeg zich vandaag anders dan anders op het werk."
("Frank was behaving unlike his usual self today at work.")

– "Hoe voel je je?" – "Ik weet het niet, gewoon… anders."
(<in a relationship crisis:> "How do you feel?" – "I don’t know, just… different.")

2. otherwise/differently [adverb]

Examples:
– "Het ging anders dan ik had verwacht."
("Things went differently than I had expected!")

– "Frank is waarschijnlijk ziek, anders was hij er wel geweest vandaag."
("Frank is probably ill, otherwise he would have been here today.")

– "In dictaturen worden andersdenkenden vervolgd."
("In dictatorships, dissidents are prosecuted." Literally: "…differently thinkers are prosecuted.")

Related words:
– "Verschillend": different.
– "Verschillen": to differ.
– "Afwijkend": deviant.

Goud

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Grammar: <goud> [adjective, noun] [het goud].

Translates to: gold.

The adjective “goud” is part of the group of “stoffelijke bijvoeglijke naamwoorden” or “material adjectives”, and is therefore declined differently (see example 3 below); read more in “Declining adjectives“.

Examples:
1. “Goud is een edelmetaal.”
(“Gold is a precious metal.”)

2. “Deze halsketting is gemaakt van 14-karaats goud.”
(“This necklace is made of 14-carat gold.”)

3. “De gouden Rolex van de bankdirecteur blinkt in de zon.”
(“The bank director’s golden Rolex glitters in the sun.”)

The Dutch word for “to shine/to glitter” is “blinken” and is pronounced a bit like “bling-can”. I wonder if there is a relation with the hip-hop slang term “bling-bling“!

Expressions:
1. “Een gouden hart hebben.”
To have a heart of gold.

Example:
“Isabelle heeft een hart van goud.”
(“Isabelle has a heart of gold.”)

2. “Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud.”
Speech is silver, silence is golden.

3. “Iemand gouden bergen beloven.”
To promise someone the sun and the moon. Literally “to promise someone golden mountains”.

Example:
“De getrouwde man beloofde zijn vriendin gouden bergen.”
(“The married man promised his girlfriend the sun and the moon.”)

4. “Eigen haard is goud waard!”
There is no place like home. Literally: “one’s own hearth is worth gold”.

Related words:
1. “Goudsmid”: gold smith.
2. “Juwelier”: jeweller.
3. “Goudmijn”: gold mine.

The word “goudmijn” is often used figuratively.

Example:
“Het onlangs geopende koffietentje is een echte goudmijn voor de eigenaar!”
(“The recently opened coffee place is a true gold mine for the owner!”)

Extra:
One of the readers of the Dutch word of the day wondered if the Dutch city of Gouda has something to do with gold. Gouda is well-known for its cheese, the “Gouda kaas” or “Goudse kaas” (“cheese from Gouda”). The original settlement of Gouda was at the peat river “Gouwe” and a theory exists that says that this peat river had a golden glare and hence the name “Gouwe” originated. Read different theories at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouda.

The word “goud” appeared earlier in “DWOTD 37. Vis” and “DWOTD 83. Morgen“.

Groenten

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Grammar: <groenten> [noun, plural] [de groenten].

Translates to: vegetables.

Although the singular form "groente" is in fact used, you will more often encounter the plural "groenten". Don’t confuse this with the word "groeten"! (See "DWOTD 91. Groetjes".)

Examples:
1. "Andijvie is een groente en komkommer ook!"
("Endive is a vegetable, and so is cucumber!" See also "DWOTD 10. Komkommer".)

2. "Het gerecht wordt geserveerd met aardappelen en groenten."
("The course is served with potatoes and vegetables.")

Related words:
1. "Groenteboer": greengrocery or greengrocer. Literally "vegetable farmer".

Example:
"Voor verse groenten ga ik liever naar de groenteboer dan naar de supermarkt."
("For fresh vegetables I’d rather go to the greengrocery than to the supermarket.")

2. "Vegetarisch": vegetarian [adjective].
3. "Vegetariër": vegetarian [noun].

Groetjes

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regards [noun, plural diminutive]

frog-306795_640It is very common in Dutch to use a diminutive for informal use. “Groetjes” is derived from “groeten” (plural of the noun “groet”), which translates to “greetings”. So “groetjes” are “little greetings” 🙂

The word “groetjes” is often used when saying goodbye or as a closing for informal written communication. In general, when you are unsure whether or not the informal “groetjes” would be acceptable when saying goodbye, you can use “tot ziens” (literally: till seeing). See below for formal alternatives in written communications, and see the Extra for a list with alternative ways to say goodbye.

Examples:
– “Tot de volgende keer! Groetjes!!”
(<informal:> “Until the next time! Bye bye!!”)

– “Doe de groetjes aan Iris!”
(<while leaving:> Say hi to Iris!”. Literally: “Do the little greetings to Iris!”)

– “Doe de groeten aan je ouders!”
(<while leaving:> “Give my regards to your parents!” The use of “groeten” here is appropriate if your intentions are more formal.)

– “Groetjes, “
(<to end a letter or e-mail informally:> “Regards, “)

– “Met vriendelijke groeten, “
(<to end a letter or e-mail more formally:> “With kind regards, “. Literally this translates to: “with friendly greetings”. Quite often the word “met” (with) is omitted.)

Related words:
1. “Groet”: greeting.
2. “Groeten” <verb>: to greet.
3. “De groeten doen aan”: give regards to, say hi to.
4. “Hoogachtend, “: formal way to end letter or e-mail. Something like: “Sincerely yours, “. Literally: “Highly esteeming, “.

Extra:
There are numerous ways to say goodbye in an informal manner. Here’s a selection:
– “tot ziens!” (till seeing — not too informal, not too formal)
– “doei!” (bye!) See also DWOTD Doei.
– “doeg!” (bye!)
– “houdoe!” (bye! — Used in the province of Brabant)
– “hoihe!” (bye! — Used in the province of Limburg)
– “toedels!” (bye! — A bit nerdy)
– “toedeledoki!” (bye! — A bit nerdy)
– “dag!” (Goodbye! — A bit formal)
– “doedoei!” (byebye!)
– “mazzel!” (bye! — From the hebrew “mazzeltov”: good luck)
– “later!” (later!)
– “laters!” (later!)
– “tot later(s)!” (till later)