flu, influenza

[noun]
[de griep, <no plural>]

The mexican flu is all over the Netherlands now, at least in the news… Mexican flu translates to "Mexicaanse griep". It used to be "varkensgriep": swine flu, lit.: pig flu.

If you have the flu, you can tell your Dutch doctor: "ik heb griep" (lit.: I have flu) or "ik heb de griep" (lit.: I have the flu). Of course, we wish you "beterschap": get well soon (lit.: improvement, change for the better).

If you’re not sure you have the flu, you can say you feel a bit "grieperig": (lit.) flu-y/ish.

Examples:
– "Ik ben ziek, volgens mij heb ik de griep." 
("I’m ill, I think I have the flu." Lit.: "According to me, I have the flu.")

– "Heeft Frank de gewone griep of de Mexicaanse griep." 
("Does Frank have the normal flu or the Mexican flu.")

– "Ik heb last van een verkoudheid." – "Pas maar op, voor je het weet heb je de griep." 
("I have a cold." – "Just be careful, you’ll have the flu before you know it." Lit.: "I’m burdened with a cold")

– "Heeft Marianne alweer de griep? Ze blijft maar kwakkelen." 
("Does Marianne have the flu again? She just keeps on being under the weather.")

Expressions:
– "Zo ziek als een hond": very sick, sick as a dog.

Related words:
– Ziek: sick, ill [adjective].
– Inenten: to vaccinate [verb] [inenten, entte in, ingeënt].

Example:
– "Over twee weken zullen alle kinderen tussen zes maanden en vijf jaar ingeënt worden."
("In two weeks, all children between six months and five years will be vaccinated.")

– Verkoudheid: cold [noun] [de verkoudheid, de verkoudheden].
– Grieperig: (lit.) flu-y/ish [adjective].

Example:
– "Ik voel me een beetje grieperig…" – "Onzin, je hebt gewoon een kater!"
("I feel a bit like I’m getting the flu…" – "Nonsense, you just have a hangover!")

to saw

[verb]
[za-gen, zaag-de, h. ge-zaagd]

"Zagen" translates to "to saw". Related noun is "zaag": a saw. There are different kinds of "zagen" (saws), see the Related words. A small variation on "zagen" is "afzagen": to saw off.

Sometimes you may hear the idiom "over iets zagen": to harp on a subject. There’s also "doorzagen", which has two meanings: 1. (literal) to saw through (e.g. a log), 2. (figurative) to keep on harping on a subject, or: – in case of "iemand doorzagen – to question a person thoroughly,

And last but not least: "zagen" is also used as a synonym for "snurken".

Examples:
– "Pas op voor je handen als je gaat zagen." 
("Be careful with your hands if you’re going to saw.")

– "Ken je de film ‘Saw’ ? Verschrikkelijk…iemand moet zijn eigen been afzagen om te ontsnappen aan de moordenaar." 
("Do you know the movie ‘Saw‘ ? Awful, somebody has to saw off his own leg to get away from the killer.")

Expressions:
– "De poten onder iemands stoel zagen": to undermine someone’s position. Lit.: to saw the legs from under one’s chair.

Related words:
– Hamer: hammer [noun] [de hamer, de hamers].
– Afgezaagd: dull, boring, dreadful, tedious, dreary, lit.: sawed off [adjective].

Example:
– "Die film heeft bij mij een gevoelige snaar geraakt…" – "Kom op, die film was ongelofelijk afgezaagd!"
("That movie has touched a nerve with me…" – "Come on, that movie was incredibly dull!")

– Kettingzaag: chainsaw [noun] [de kettingzaag, de kettingzagen].
– Cirkelzaag: circular saw [noun] [de cirkelzaag, de cirkelzagen].
– Figuurzaag: fretsaw [noun] [de figuurzaag, de figuurzagen].
– Houthakker: lumberjack, lit.: woodchopper [noun] [de houthakker, de houthakkers].
– Timmerman: carpenter [noun] [de timmerman,de timmermannen].

Extra:
From 1990 to 2005, the show "Jiskefet" was broadcast on the Dutch
television. It was a show with various humoristic and absurdistic
sketches. One of the recurring sketches was "Debiteuren Crediteuren", in which the boring life at the (Dutch) office was ridiculed. There’s one sketch that introduces "Zaagmans, die de week doormidden komt zagen": Mr. Saw, who comes to saw the week in half…Check out the clip (@ 1m35s, in Dutch) at YouTube.

string
[noun]
[de snaar, de sna-ren]

A "snaar" is a string. "Snaar" is commonly used in the context of a stringed instrument. The snares in a snare drum are also called "snaren" in Dutch.

Be careful, don’t mix up "snaar" with the Dutch "string", which is a thong…

Examples:
– "Een viool heeft vier snaren, een gitaar heeft er zes." 
("A violin has four strings, a guitar has six." See also Extra)

– "Ken jij de Snaartheorie?" – "Zeker, ik heb natuurkunde gestudeerd." 
("Do you know the String theory?" – "Sure, I studied physics.")

– "Je gitaar is vals, misschien moet je er nieuwe snaren opzetten." 
("Your guitar is out of tune, maybe you should put new strings on it.")

Expressions:
– "Een gevoelige snaar raken": to touch (upon) a tender string, to strike a sensitive chord.

Example:
– "Heb je hem al gevraagd of hij wil trouwen?" – "Nee, dat raakt een gevoelige snaar…"
("Have you already asked him if he wants to get married?" – "No, that touches upon a tender string…")

Related words:
– Touw: rope [noun] [het touw, de touwen].
– Stemmen: to tune [verb] [stemmen, stemde, h. gestemd].

Example:
– "Gebruik jij voor het stemmen van je gitaar een stemapparaat of een ouderwetse stemvork?"
("Do you use a tuning device or an old-fashioned tuning fork for tuning your guitar?")

– Snaarinstrument: stringed instrument (lit.: string instrument, e.g. a harp) [noun] [het snaarinstrument, de snaarinstrumenten].
– Strijkinstrument: stringed instrument (lit.: stroke instrument, e.g. a cello) [noun] [het strijkinstrument, de strijkinstrumenten].
– De sectie strijkinstrumenten (in een orkest) / de strijkers: the string section in an orchestra / the strings.
– Spanning: tension [noun] [de spanning, de spanningen].
– Fijnbesnaard: tender, susceptible, sensitive, delicate, subtle [adjective].

Extra:
To memorize the standard tuning of a guitar, there’s a simple mnemonic in Dutch: Een Aap Die Geen Bananen eet: E – A – D – G – B – e. Literally: a monkey that doesn’t eat bananas 🙂