Author Archives: Marc

Op rolletjes

Posted on by

like clockwork Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[op rol-le-tjes]Rollerskating

To express a general state of prosperity, the Dutch use the expression "op rolletjes". You can use it when things are going smoothly: like clockwork.

"Rolletje" is the diminutive of "rol": roll. "Op" is a very common preposition, usually translated with "on". "Op rolletjes" therefore literally translates to something like "on little rolls" or "on little wheels" (like under a desk/chair/table/rollerskates etc.)

Examples:
– "Geen files onderweg, het ging op rolletjes!" 
("No traffic jams on the way, it went like clockwork!")

– "Ik heb nog stapels met werk…" – "Wat klets je nou? Alles gaat op rolletjes!"
("I still have loads of work…" – "You’re talking nonsense, everything goes like clockwork!" )

– "Hoe gaat het met solliciteren?" – "Nou, nog niet echt op rolletjes…"
("How’s the job hunting going?" – "Well, not very well yet…")

Expressions:
– "Voor de wind gaan": to do well, to prosper.

Example:
– "Het gaat Frank voor de wind, zelfs in deze crisistijden."
("Frank is doing well, even in these times of crisis.")

Related words:
– Rol: role [noun] [de rol, de rollen].

Example:
– "Er zijn geen toiletrollen meer…" – "Dat zit er dik in, net nu ik serieus aan de diarree ben…"
("We’ve run out of (roles of) toilet paper…" – "Of course, just when I’m having a serious case of diarrhea…")

– Voorspoedig: prosperous [adjective].

Onderweg

Posted on by

on the way, en route, in transit, on the road  Iconspeaker_3
[adverb]
[on-der-weg]File_onderweg

Every morning a lot of people are "onderweg" to work. The Dutch "wegen" are packed with "files" (traffic jams).

"Onderweg" literally translates to "underway": in progress.

Examples:
– "Okee baas, ik ben onderweg." 
("Okay boss, I’m on my way.")

– "Deze regering is een aanfluiting, we zijn in dit land onderweg naar totale chaos…" 
("This government is a farce, we’re on our way to total chaos in this country…")

– "Er is altijd wel iemand onderweg naar iemand anders." 
("There’s always somebody on his way to somebody else.")

– "We zijn te laat, het veer is al onderweg naar Texel." 
("We’re too late, the ferry is already on its way to Texel.")

Related words:
– Weg: way, road [noun] [de weg, de wegen].

Extra:
Check out this clip: a song by the Dutch artist Abel. The song is called Onderweg. You may notice that Abel’s pronunciation is characterized by a ‘soft’ g, as most people have in the province of Noord-Brabant and Limburg 🙂

For the soapies: there are Dutch (competitive) soap operas on Dutch television: "Onderweg Naar Morgen – ONM" (broadcast on the public channel), and "Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden – GTST" (broadcast on a commercial channel). Literal translations are respectively "On the way to tomorrow" and "Good times bad times"…

Op de hoogte

Posted on by

informed Iconspeaker_3 Op_de_hoogte_2
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Literally, "hoogte" translates to "height" or "altitude". In general, "op de hoogte" translates to
"informed". It has a somewhat informal connotation, and can be used in combination with quite some verbs. Depending on context, the translations may vary. We’ll deal with most of them in the Examples.

"Op de hoogte" is also often used in combination with the preposition "van" – "op de hoogte van", which translates to "informed of".

Don’t confuse "op de hoogte" with "uit de hoogte", see Expressions.

Examples:
– "Het spijt me, ik ben niet op de hoogte van deze deal." 
("I’m sorry, I wasn’t informed of this deal.")

– "Het kan toch niet zo zijn dat Frank niet op de hoogte is van deze procedure." 
("It can’t possibly the case that Frank is not aware of this procedure.")

– "Kunt u mij op de hoogte stellen van de stand van zaken in het project?" 
("Can you inform me of the project status?")

– "Ik verwacht dat je me op de hoogte houdt van de meest recente ontwikkelingen." 
("I expect you to keep me posted on the most recent developments.")

– "Wat?? Yvonne en Claude hebben hun scheiding aangevraagd?? Daarvan was ik niet op de hoogte!" 
("What?? Yvonne and Claude have filed for divorce?? I wasn’t aware of that!")

Expressions:
– "Uit de hoogte": arrogant, haughtily, with an air.
– "Ergens geen hoogte van (kunnen) krijgen": to not be able to understand/grasp.

Example:
– "Frank deed erg vaag vandaag, ik kon geen hoogte van hem krijgen."
("Frank was acting very vague today, I couldn’t make him out.")

Related words:
– Hoogte: height, altitude [noun] [de hoogte, de hoogtes].
– Bijpraten: to catch up [verb] [bijpraten, praatte bij, h. bijgepraat].

Example:
– "Lang niet gezien! Heb je even tijd om bij te praten?"
("Long time no see! Do you have a moment to catch up?")

– Informeren: to inform [verb] [informeren, informeerde, geïnformeerd].

Scheiding

Posted on by

separation, divorce, parting  Iconspeaker_3
Parting_hair
[noun]
[de schei-ding, de schei-din-gen]

In general, "scheiding" translates to "separation". In a specific context, the translation may be different. For example: in the context of a marriage, "scheiding" translates to "divorce". In the context of a haircut, "scheiding" translates to "parting".

"Scheiding" is often followed by the preposition "tussen" – "scheiding tussen" – which usually translates to "separation of".

Examples:
– "Ik ben voor een duidelijke scheiding tussen kerk en staat." 
("I’m in favour of a clear separation of church and state.")

– "De scheiding van Vanessa is groot nieuws in showbizland." 
("The divorce of Vanessa is big news in the world of showbiz.")

– "In Franks haar zit een vreemde scheiding…hij kan zijn hoofd beter kaal scheren…" 
("Frank’s hair has a funny parting…he’d better shave his head (bold)…")

Expressions:
– "Het kaf van het koren scheiden": to separate the wheat from the chaff, to separate the good from the bad.

Related words:
– Scheiden: to separate, to divorce [verb] [scheiden, scheidde, gescheiden].Divorce
– Echtscheiding: divorce [noun] [de echtscheiding, de echtscheidingen]. Mark that "echt" translates to "matrimony" in this context, so the literal translation would be: matrimony separation. You may sometimes see the pun "vechtscheiding", lit.: fighting divorce, meaning an ugly divorce.

Example:
– "Een echtscheiding in de wereld van BN’ers is  vaak een vechtscheiding…"
("A divorce in the world of famous Dutch people is often ugly…")

– Ex: ex [noun] [de ex, de exen].
– Huwelijk: marriage [noun] [het huwelijk, de huwelijken].
– Hereniging: reunion [noun] [de hereniging, de herenigingen].

Prullenbak

Posted on by

waste-paper basket, (office) bin Iconspeaker_3 Prullenbak
[noun]

[de prul-len-bak, de prul-len-bak-ken]

A "prullenbak" is a waste-paper basket. A "prullenbak" is not to be confused with its bigger brother: a "vuilnisbak" (waste container). A "prullenbak" is for "prullen" (small pieces of trash, scraps, paper, etc.). A "vuilnisbak" is meant for "vuilnis": general garbage, usually bigger/dirtier than just "prullen"…

You may often see the synonymous "prullenmand". "Mand" literally translate to basket, where "bak" literally translate to "container/cask".

Examples:
– "Kun je het snoeppapiertje in de prullenbak gooien, alsjeblieft?" 
("Can you throw the candy wrapper in the waste-paper basket, please?")

– "Onder mijn bureau staat een mooie roestvrijstalen prullenbak." 
("Under my desk, I have a nice stainless steel office bin." Lit.: Under my desk stands a…")

– "Wie heeft er batterijen in de prullenbak gegooid?! Jij, Marc? – "Ben je betoeterd?! Batterijen breng ik altijd naar de blauwe recycle bak in de supermarkt!" 
("Who has thrown batteries in the waste-paper basket?! You, Marc? – "Have you gone out of your mind?! I always take empty batteries to the blue recycle container in the supermarket!")

Related words:
– Prul: scrap, rag, piece of trash [noun] [de prul, de prullen].
– Mand: basket [noun] [de mand, de manden].

Example:
– "Liefie, waar staat onze picknickmand? Het is zulk mooi weer…"
("Sweetie, where’s our picnic basket? It’s such beautiful weather…")

– Bak: container, cask [noun] [de bak,de bakken].
– Papierversnipperaar: (paper) shredder [noun] [de papierversnipperaar, de papierversnipperaars].
– Vuilnis: garbage [noun] [het/de vuilnis, <no plural>].
– Troep: mess, rubbish, junk [noun] [de troep, <no plural>].