Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

Boffen

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Grammar: <boffen> [verb] [bofte, h. geboft].

Translates to: to be fortunate, to be lucky.

The verb "boffen" is a perfectly normal Dutch verb and you should know it, however it is somewhat informal and is often used when talking to children.

Examples:
1. "Zo, jij boft maar!"
(<to a small child:> "Well, you are really lucky!", for example when after a birthday party there is also a visit to the zoo 🙂 )

2. "Jullie hebben niet geboft met het weer!"
("You have not been lucky with the weather!")

3. "Zij boffen met het uitzicht vanuit hun hotelkamer."
("They are lucky with the view from their hotel room.")

Related words:
1. "Bofkont": one who is lucky/fortunate, mostly used for children. Literally: "Lucky bottom"
2. "Boffer" or "Bofferd": like "bofkont".
3. "De bof": the totally unrelated childhood disease "Mumps", see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumps .
4. "Mazzelen": [verb] very informal equivalent of "boffen", derived from Yiddish "mazzeltov" (source Wikipedia).

Klimaat

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Grammar: <klimaat> [noun] [het klimaat, de klimaten].

Translates to: climate.

Examples:
1. "Nederland heeft een zeeklimaat."
("The Netherlands have a sea climate.")

2. "Vandaag is in Nairobi de klimaatconferentie van de Verenigde Naties begonnen."
("Today, the climate conference of the United Nations has started in Nairobi.")

3. "Het sociale klimaat in Nederland is de laatste jaren verhard."
("The social climate in The Netherlands has hardened in the last few years.")

Related Words:
1. "Broeikaseffect": the greenhouse effect, global warming.
2. "Weer": weather, see also "DWOTD 56. Herfst".
3. "Het gat in de ozonlaag": the hole in the ozon layer.
4. "Acclimatiseren": [verb] to get used to a different climate or surroundings.

Example:
<sitting down after having entered a friend’s house:> "Zo, even acclimatiseren!"
(Something like: "Well, let’s settle in for a bit now.")

Extra:
The Netherlands are called The Netherlands because the word "nether" translates to "neder" which means "low". The Netherlands used to be called "De Lage Landen": The Low Lands, because half of the country lies below sealevel. The Dutch have a long history of fighting the water overflowing their land. Here’s how The Netherlans would look like if there were no dikes and dams: http://brucop.com/millennium/nederlands/transgressions/hkaart.jpg

In 1953, the so called "Watersnoodramp" took place. In the last night of January, The Netherlands were hit by a flood disaster. The province of Zeeland, the islands of South-Holland and the south-west corner of the province of North-Brabant were hit very heavily by a severe storm roaring across the North sea and the Netherlands.
1835 people drowned and thousands of cattle met the same fate. To prevent this from happening ever again, the Deltaworks were built, a defence system of dams and dykes against high tides and floods.

http://www.deltawerken.com/English/10.html?setlanguage=en
http://www.deltawerken.com/Deltaworks/23.html

Dutch engineers have also been invited to advise on new water defence systems in New Orleans.

Hart

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heart
[noun] [het hart, de har-ten]

Not to be confused with "hard", which translates to "hard".

Examples:
1. "Hun vader moest een zware hartoperatie ondergaan."
("Their father had to undergo a major heart surgery.")

2. "Vol verwachting klopt ons hart."
("With expectation, our heart is pounding", from a well known "Sinterklaasliedje", see "DWOTD 36. Kloppen".)

3. "Hij heeft nog steeds een gebroken hart."
("He still has a broken heart.")

Expressions:
There are a lot of expressions with "hart"! Here's a selection:

1. "Een hart onder de riem steken."
("To hearten someone", literally: "to put someone a heart under the belt.")

2. "Zij heeft het hart op de juiste plaats."
("She's a good person." Literally: "She has her heart at the right place.")

3. "Zij is een vrouw naar mijn hart."
("She's a woman after my heart.")

4. "Uit het oog, uit het hart."
("Out of sight, out of mind." Literally: "Out of the eye, out of the heart.")

5. "Zij heeft het hart op de tong liggen."
("She wears her heart on her sleeve." Literally: "She has her heart lying on her tongue.")

6. "Zij heeft hart voor de zaak."
("She has her heart in the matter.")

7. "Waar het hart van vol is, loopt de mond van over."
("out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Literally: "The mouth runs over of which the heart is full.")

8. "Met hart en ziel."
("With heart and soul.")

9. "Iemand iets op het hart drukken."
("To urge someone to do something." Literally: "To press someone something to the heart.")

10."Ik hield mijn hart vast."
("My heart missed a beat / I had my heart in my mouth/throat." Literally: "I was holding my heart.")

Related Words:
1. "Hartendief": darling, sweetheart. Literally: "heart's thief".
2. "Hartenbreker": heartbreaker.
3. "Hartverwarmend": heartwarming.
4. "Hartig": tasty, hearty, well-seasoned, piquant.
5. "Barmhartig": merciful, clement, charitable. Used in "de barmhartige Samaritaan": "the good Samaritan".

Extra:
"De Nederlandse hartstichting": The Dutch Heart Association.
http://www.hartstichting.nl

Waaien

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Grammar: <waaien> [verb] [waaide, h. gewaaid].

Translates to: to blow (by the wind).

The verb "waaien" usually has the wind as its implicit subject. Variations on "waaien" exist that involve other subjects than the wind, see ‘Related words’.

Examples:
1. "Het heeft hard gewaaid afgelopen nacht."
("It was very windy/There was a strong wind last night." Literally: "It has blown hard …")

2. "Hoor de wind waait door de bomen…"
("Hear, the wind blows through the trees…" First sentence of a well-known "Sinterklaasliedje". See "DWOTD 36. Kloppen" for other Sinterklaasliedjes and information on "Sinterklaas".)

Expressions:
1. "Laat maar waaien!": let it go, don’t bother about it!
2. "Zoals de wind waait, waait zijn jasje.": he has no opinion of his own. Literally: like the wind blows, so does his jacket/coat.

Related words:
1. "Omwaaien": to be blown over (by the wind).

Example: "Mijn fiets is omgewaaid." ("My bicycle …")

2. "Wegwaaien": to be blown away (by the wind).

Example: "Mijn pet is weggewaaid." ("My cap …")

3. "Uitwaaien": to be blown out (by the wind).

Example: "De kaars is uitgewaaid." ("The candle …") See also "DWOTD 32. Kaars".

Another use of the verb "uitwaaien" is to walk in the wind and clear your mind, typically at the coast.

4. "Overwaaien": to blow over (by the wind) and figuratively: arrive somewhere quickly from somewhere else, usually a phenomenon.

Example: "Grunge is overgewaaid van Amerika naar Europa."
("Grunge came to Europe from America.")

Another use of this verb is to say that a bad mood or a hard time will go past (eventually). Typical usage: "Het waait wel weer over!" ("It will pass!")

5. "Aanwaaien": to be blown at you/in your direction by the wind.

Example: "Kijk, er komt een ballon aanwaaien!"
("Look, a balloon is blown in our direction (by the wind)!")

Expression:
"Het komt hem allemaal maar aanwaaien.": He succeeds without effort, he does not have to put energy into something and still has success.
Usually when this expression is used it expresses some degree of envy.

And then there are more verbs with "waaien", but we thought this would be enough 🙂

Engel

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angel [noun] [de engel, de engelen]

The word “angel” also exists in Dutch but it translates to “sting” (of a bee or wasp, for example).

Examples:
1. “Ramie, je bent een engel!”
(<gratefully:> “Ramie, you are an angel!”)

2. “Die moeder van vijf kinderen heeft echt engelengeduld!”
(“That mother of five children really has the patience of a saint!”)

3. “De aartsengel Gabriel komt zowel in het christendom als in de islam voor.”
(“The archangel Gabriel exists in Christianity as well as in the Islam.”)

4. “In de film ‘City of Angels’ speelt Nicholas Cage een engel die verliefd wordt op een sterfelijke vrouw, gespeeld door Meg Ryan.”
(“In the movie ‘City of Angels’, Nicholas Cage plays an angel who falls in love with a mortal woman, played by Meg Ryan.”)

5. “Daar hoorden zij d’engelen zingen.”
(“There, they heard the angels sing”, a line from a famous Dutch Christmas song ‘De herdertjes lagen bij nachte’ (‘The little shepherds lay by night’),see http://www.liedjesland.com/Liedjes/Kerstliedjes/DeHerdertjes/DeHerdertjesLagenBijNachte.htm)

Related Words:
1. “Vleugel”: wing.
2. “Hemel”: heaven.
3. “Hel”: hell.
4. “Duivel”: duivel.
5. “Demoon”: demon.

Example:
” ‘Angels and Demons’ van Dan Brown is in het Nederlands niet vertaald met ‘Engelen en demonen’ maar met ‘Het Bernini Mysterie’.”
(“Dan Brown’s ‘Angels and Demons’ has not been translated into Dutch with ‘Engelen en Demonen’ but with ‘Het Bernini Mysterie’ “).