Author Archives: Dutch Gurus

Huis

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house [noun] [het huis, de huizen]

Houses in the Netherlands, of which there is great shortage, come in different styles. If one is lucky, one lives in a "herenhuis" – an old multi-storey house – or in a "grachtenpand" – a very big house at a canal -, but more common would be a "rijtjeshuis" – one of the many identical houses in a row.

Examples:
1. "Pannenkoekenhuis": pan cake house/restaurant. Only in this case it is common to use "huis" instead of "restaurant".

2. "Ik ga naar huis."
("I am going home.")

3. "Heb jij een koophuis of een huurhuis?"
("Do you have your own house or a rented house?")

Related words:
1. "Thuis": at home.

Example:
"Hoe laat ben jij thuis?"
("At what time will you be home?")

2. "Dakloos": homeless (literally: roofless).
3. "Makelaar": real estate agent, broker.

Extra:
For an overview of all "pannenkoekenhuizen" in the Netherlands, go to
http://pannenkoekenhuis.startpagina.nl

Gordijn

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curtain [noun] [het gordijn, de gordijnen]

One of the things noticed by expats is that Dutch people do not seem to bother with curtains (although they do have them). Some have plants in front of the window to obstruct the view of passers-by and others stick non-transparent plastic on their windows. And some do nothing to hide their private life 🙂

Examples:
1. "Veel Nederlanders houden hun gordijnen geopend."
("Many Dutch people keep their curtains opened.")

2. "Bij de HEMA kun je ook gordijnen op maat kopen."
("At HEMA one can also buy custom made curtains.")

3. "In mijn slaapkamer heb ik een rolgordijn."
("In my bedroom I have a (roller) blind/window shade.")

Related words:
1. "Lamellen": vertical blinds.
2. "Jaloezieen": venetian blinds.
3. "Luxaflex": common brand name by which "Jaloezieen" are also denoted.

Extra:
The "HEMA" is a well known Dutch department store where you can buy almost anything on which you don’t want to spend too much money. The name is an acronym for "Hollandse Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam" and it started out in 1926. The word "eenheidsprijzen" means "unit prices" and only after World War II the HEMA abandoned their pricing system in which everyhing costed 25, 50, 75 or 100 cents.
Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hema

Blikje

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can (of beverage) [noun] [het blikje, de blikjes]

"Blikje" is the diminutive of "blik", which has several meanings (as usual):
1. look, glance, glaze.
2. can.
3. tin(plate).

The diminutive "blikje", however, is almost always used for a can of beverage.

Examples:
1. "Verkoopt u blikjes bier?"
("Do you sell cans of beer?")

2. "Die man heeft een stoïcijnse blik."
("That man has a stoic look (on his face).")

3. "Jouw blik bevalt me niet!"
("I do not like the look on your face!" See also "DWOTD (57): Bevallen".)

Expression:
– "Als blikken konden doden…"
("If looks could kill…")

Related word:
– "Blikvanger": eye catcher.

Extra:
Blikvanger_2
Sometimes, near traffic lights you’ll find some kind of big scoop net with lots of junk in and around it where it says "blikvanger". This is a pun, since other than catching the eye, it also catches cans (and other trash). This is supposed to prevent people from carelessly throwing their trash out of the window, but it does not really make the point clear that one is not supposed to throw trash on the road anyway!

Bevallen

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1. to give birth [verb] [beviel, bevallen]

Examples:
– "Prinses Maxima zal in juli opnieuw van een kind bevallen."
("In July, Princess Maxima will give birth to a child again.")

– "Bevallen is voor een vrouw vergelijkbaar met het lopen van een marathon."

("For a woman, giving birth to / delivering a child is comparable to running a marathon.")

Expression:
"Dat was een zware bevalling!"
("That was tough / some tough business!" Literally: "That was a heavy delivery!")

Related word:
– "Bevalling": delivery (of a child).

2. to be to the liking of [verb] [beviel, bevallen]

Although
"to be to the liking of" sounds pretty formal in English, "bevallen" in
this translation is quite commonly used. It has more or less the same
meaning as "gustar" in Spanish.

Examples:
– "Deze situatie bevalt me niet."
("This situation is not to my liking." Or: "I don’t like this situation.")

– "Hoe bevalt het hotel? Bevalt het goed?"
("How is the hotel? Is it to your liking?")

– "Het bevalt Frank helemaal niet dat zijn collega meer verdient dan hij."
("It
is absolutely not to the liking of Frank that his colleague earns more
money than he." Or: "Frank does not like it at all that his colleague
earns more money than he.")

Related word:
– "Iemand aardig vinden": to like someone.

Example:
"Ik vind hem erg aardig."
("I like him very much.")

Herfst

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autumn, fall [noun] [de herfst, de herfsten]

The Dutch "herfstweer" (autumn weather) is notorious for being very bleak and wet, although this season, too, "suffers" from the changing climate.

Examples:
1. "Het is herfst."
("It is autumn.")

2. "De kleuren van de herfst hebben menig schilder geinspireerd."
("The autumn colours have inspired many a painter.")

3. "In de herfst hebben de treinen vaak vertraging omdat de geplette herfstbladeren gladde rails veroorzaken."
("In the autumn, the trains are often delayed because the squashed autumn leaves cause slippery railroad tracks.")

4. "Hij was in de herfst van zijn leven."
("He was in the autumn of his life.")

Related words:
1. "Winter": winter.
2. "Zomer": summer.
3. "Lente": spring.
4. "Jaargetijde" or "seizoen": season.

Example:
"’De Vier Jaargetijden’ is misschien wel het beroemdste werk van Antonio Vivaldi."
("’The Four Seasons’ might just be Antonio Vivaldi’s most famous work.")