Author Archives: Marc

Wind tegen

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against the wind Click to listen
Wind tegen
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Literally, "wind tegen" translates to "wind against". It is commonly used in combination with the verb "hebben" (to have): "wind tegen hebben" (to go against the wind, to have the wind blowing against you). Note the subtlety that the Dutch actually say "the wind" goes "against you", instead of "you" go "against the wind"…we respect THE WIND… 🙂

The opposite of "wind tegen" is "wind mee": before the wind. When there's no wind, it's "windstil".

In the Netherlands, there's usually a south-west wind blowing, but it seems that no matter which direction you go, you always have "wind tegen"…

Examples:
– "Ik had vandaag wind tegen op de fiets naar werk." 
("Today, when I was riding my bike to work, I had the wind blowing against me." Lit.: "…on the bike.")

– "Met wind tegen moet je harder trappen. bijna zwoegen…" 
("Against the wind, you have to pedal harder, almost toil…")

– "Ik ben helemaal uitgeput van de hele tijd wind tegen…" – "Dat valt toch wel mee? Het is bijna windstil nu." 
("I'm completely exahausted from having the wind against me all the time…" -"It's not so bad, is it? There's almost no wind now.")

Expressions:
– "De wind van voren krijgen": to get it good, to draw a storm on one's head.
– "Met alle winden meewaaien": to set one's sail to every wind, to bend with every wind.

Example:
– "Veel politici waaien met alle winden mee, verschrikkelijk!"
("Many politicians bend with every wind, terrible!")

Related words:
– Rukwind: squall, gust [noun] [de rukwind, de rukwinden].
– Tegen: against [preposition].

Example:
–
"Wiet roken is tegen de wet, maar wordt in Nederland onder bepaalde
omstandigheden gedoogd."
("Smoking weed is against the law, but is allowed
under certain conditions in the
Netherlands.")

– Waaien: to blow [verb] [waaien, waaide, h. gewaaid].
– Wind: 1. wind [noun] [de wind, de winden]. 2. fart [noun] [de wind, de winden].

Slaapkamer

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bedroom Click to listen

[noun]
[de slaap-ka-mer, de slaap-ka-mers]

bedroom-389254_640“Slaapkamer” is composed of “slaap” and “kamer”, which respectively translate to “sleep” and “room”. Hence literally, “slaapkamer” would translate to “sleep room”: a bedroom.

Check out the common bed sizes used in Dutch bedrooms here: DWOTD “Bed“.

Examples:
– “Waar is de kleine Max?” – “In zijn slaapkamer. Hij was uitgeput van het schoolreisje.” 
(“Where’s little Max?” – “In his bedroom. He was exhausted from the school trip.”)

– “Wat een lelijk behang in de slaapkamer…” – “Dat valt wel mee, toch?” 
(“The wallpaper in the bedroom is ugly…” – “It isn’t that bad, is it?”)

– “Frank! Heb jij stiekem zitten roken in de slaapkamer??” 
(“Frank! Have you been smoking secretly in the bedroom??”)

Expressions:
–
“Met het verkeerde been uit bed stappen“: to wake/get up on the wrong side of the bed.

Related words:
– Bed: [noun] [het bed, de bedden].
– Droom: dream [noun] [de droom, de dromen].

Example:
– “Ik heb een droom dat op een dag dit land zal verrijzen en zal leven naar de ware betekenis van haar credo.”
(“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.”)

– Gapen: to yawn [verb] [gapen, gaapte, h. gegaapt].
– Slaapverwekkend: mind-numbing, sleep-inducing, soporific [adjective].

Extra:Bedstee
In some old Dutch houses and farms you may find something called a “bedstede” or “bedstee”. A  “bedstee” is a more or less a compartment where you can sleep, integrated in the wall, in the form of a cupboard, closeable with doors or curtains for privacy. “Bedstedes” were used a lot up until the 19th century, particularly in farms at the countryside. (From: Wikipedia)

Meevallen

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to exceed one’s expectations (in a positive way) Click to listen
[verb]
[mee-val-len, viel mee, i. mee-ge-val-len]

“Meevallen” is composed of “mee” and “vallen”, which respectively translate to “along/with” and “to fall. Hence literally, “meevallen” translates to “to fall along”, but this makes absolutely no sense at all of course 🙂

“Meevallen” is used when your expectations about something are exceeded in a positive way. The opposite of “meevallen” is “tegenvallen”. Related noun is “meevaller” (or its diminutive “meevallertje”): a situation or occurrence in which your expectations are positively exceeded, see also Related words.

Examples:
– “De bank wordt binnen twee weken bezorgd.” – “Dat valt mee, normaal is het ten minste acht weken.” 
(“The couch will be delivered within two weeks.” – “That’s all right, normally it’s at least eight weeks.”)

– “Frank heeft heel rustig gereden.” – “Dat valt mee, normaal houdt hij erg van bumperkleven.” 
(“Frank drove real quietly.” – “That’s not bad, normally he’s really into tailgating.”)

– “Het is niet makkelijk om Nederlands te leren…” – “Dat valt wel mee, Xavier.” 
(“It’s not easy to learn Dutch…” – “It’s not so bad as it seems, Xavier.”)

Expressions:
– “Een storm in een glas water”: a storm in a teacup, much ado about nothing.
– “Van een mug
een olifant maken”: to make a mountain (out) of a molehill, to
exaggerate. Lit.: “to make an elephant out of a mosquito”.

Example:
– “Frank heeft weer eens van een mug een olifant gemaakt…de schade aan zijn auto viel reuze mee…”
(“Frank has made a mountain out of a molehill again…the damage to his car wasn’t really all that much…” Note that “reuze” literally translates to “gigantically”: really much…)

Related words:
– Meevaller: piece of good luck, pleasant surprise, stroke of unexpected luck [noun] [de meevaller, de meevallers].

Example:
– “Ik heb gisteren vijftienhonderd euro gewonnen bij de loterij!!” – “Dat is te gek! Wat een financiële meevaller!”
(“I won fifteen hundred euros yesterday at the lottery!!” -“That’s great! What an unexpected financial surprise!”)

– Tegenvallen: to not meet one’s expectations, to exceed one’s expectations in a negative way [verb] [tegenvallen, viel tegen, i. tegengevallen].
– Vallen: to fall [verb] [vallen, viel, gevallen].

Bumperkleven

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to tailgate, tailgating Click to listen
[verb]
[bum-per-kle-ven, bum-per-kleef-de, h. ge-bum-per-kleefd]  Bumperkleven

"Bumperkleven" is composed of "bumper" and "kleven", which respectively translate to "bumper" and "to stick". Hence literally, "bumperkleven" would translate to "to bumperstick" or "bumpersticking". In English, this is called tailgating:  the practice of driving on a road too closely at a distance which does not guarantee that stopping to avoid collision is possible. [from Wikipedia]. A person who is tailgating is called a "bumperklever".

"Bumperkleven" is an example of a compound verb that cannot be separated when conjugated. So:
>> [correct] ik bumperkleef, ik bumperkleefde, ik heb gebumperkleefd
>> [incorrect] ik kleef bumper, ik kleefde bumper, ik heb bumpergekleefd

Examples:
– "Irritant als mensen bumperkleven." 
("De vertaling van bovenstaande zin.")

– "In geval van bumperkleven kan de politie je een bekeuring opleggen." 
("In case of tailgating, the police may give you a fine.")

– "Wat zullen we nou krijgen! Ik rij al 150 en die gast is nu al vijf minuten aan het bumperkleven." 
("What's going on here?! I'm driving 150 (km/h) already, and this dude is tailgating me for five minutes now.")

Expressions:
– "Haastige spoed is zelden goed": (lit.: hasty haste is seldom good) haste makes waste.

Related words:
– Auto: car [noun] [de auto, de auto's].
– Bumper: bumper [noun] [de bumper, de bumpers].
– File: traffic jam [noun] [de file, de files].
– Kleven: to stick [verb] [kleven, kleefde, h. gekleefd].

Example:
– "Er kleeft kauwgom aan de onderkant van de tafel."
("There's chewing gum sticking under the table.")

Stilte

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silence, quiet, stillness Click to listen
Stilte
[noun]
[de stil-te, de stil-tes/stil-ten]

A "stilte" is a silence. Related adjective is "stil": silent, quiet, still. There's also the verb "stillen", which would literally translate to "to make quiet". "Stillen" is never used in this literal sense though. In Dutch, you can say for example "je dorst/honger stillen": to quench your thirst / satisfy your hunger.

Examples:
– "Stilte! Ik vermoord je!" 
("Silence! I kill you!")

– "Er viel een grote stilte in de rechtszaal toen de moordenaar werd binnengebracht." 
("A great silence fell in the courtroom when the murderer was brought in.")

– "Dit is wat je noemt een ongemakkelijke stilte." 
("This is what you call an awkward silence.")

Expressions:
– "Een oorverdovende stilte": (lit.: an ear-numbing silence) a roaring silence.

Related words:
– Fluisteren: to whisper [verb] [fluisteren, fluisterde, h. gefluisterd].
– Lawaai: noise, tumult, uproar, racket [noun] [het lawaai, <no plural>].

Example:
– "Te veel lawaai hier, ik ben weg,
toedeledoki!" 

("Too much noise in here, I'm
gone, cheerio!")

– Stil: silent, quiet, still [adjective].

Extra:
In Dutch trains, you may see so called "stiltecoupés". They are train compartments whereStiltecoupe it's not allowed to make noise… "Stiltecoupés" have windows with "SILENCE [S] STILTE" on them, and each  compartment has stickers like the picture on the right. The exact "stiltecoupé" rules and rules of conduct are one of the best kept secrets in the Netherlands 🙂 and topic of many a discussion. The general idea is not to disturb your fellow passengers, but of course everybody has a different definition of "disturb"…