Author Archives: Marc

Wonder boven wonder

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miraculously, by a miracle, for a wonder  Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
Wonderwoman

The Dutch word "wonder" translates to the english "wonder" or "miracle". The expression literally translates to "wonder above wonder": by a miracle / for a wonder.

Examples:
– "Wonder boven wonder zijn er geen mensen gewond geraakt bij die kettingbotsing." 
("Miraculously, no people got hurt in that multiple car collision.")

– "Wonder boven wonder heeft de oude man de hevige brand overleefd." 
("By a miracle, the old man survived the intense fire.")

– "De vrouw heeft bij haar val uit een raam vanaf de tweede verdieping wonder boven wonder niks gebroken." 
("Miraculously, the woman didn’t break anything when she fell from a window on the second floor.")

Expressions:
– "De wonderen zijn de wereld nog niet uit": wonders (will) never cease.

Related words:
– Wonder: wonder, miracle [noun] [het wonder, de wonderen].
– Verrassing: surprise [noun] [de verrassing, de verrassingen].
– Verbazing: astonishment [noun] [de verbazing, <no plural>].

Extra:
Check out the lyrics of a famous Dutch children’s song called "Ik zag twee beren broodjes smeren" (lit.: I saw two bears making sandwiches).

Ik zag twee beren broodjes smeren
Oh, het was een wonder
‘t Was een wonder, boven wonder,
dat die beren smeren konden
Hi hi hi, ha ha ha
Ik stond erbij en ik keek er naar

Gedogen

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to tolerate, to permit, to allow Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[ge-do-gen, ge-doog-de, ge-doogd]Wiet

Generally, "gedogen" translates to "to allow" or "to permit". Legally, – and that’s the context how it’s mostly used in Dutch – it refers to not enforcing certain laws. The Dutch authorities tolerate some offences. Some things like smoking marijuana are formally forbidden by law, but the Dutch authorities abstain from bringing criminal charges to these offenders. This policy is  commonly known as the Dutch "gedoogbeleid". The Dutch policy on soft drugs is the most well-know form of "gedoogbeleid", see also Wikipedia.

Examples:
– "We kunnen deze billenknijper niet langer gedogen!" 
("We can no longer tolerate this bottom squeezer!")

– "De burgemeester van Maastricht heeft gezegd dat hij coffeeshops in het centrum van de stad niet langer wil gedogen." 
("The mayor of Maastricht has said that he no longer wants to allow hash bars in the city center.")

– "Volgens sommigen leidt het gedoogbeleid tot drugstoerisme in de Nederlandse grensstreken." 
("According to some, the toleration policy leads to drug tourism in the Dutch border regions.")

Related words:
– Gedoogbeleid: toleration policy [noun] [het gedoogbeleid, <no plural>].
– Tolereren: to tolerate [verb] [tolereren, tolereerde, getolereerd].

Example:
– "Meneer, ik kan uw belachelijke gedrag niet tolereren."
("Sir, I cannot tolerate your ridiculous behaviour.")

– Toestaan: to allow [verb] [toestaan, stond toe, toegestaan].
– Coffeeshop: cannabis coffee shop, hash bar (where the sale of cannabis and hashish for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities) [noun] [de coffeeshop, de coffeeshops].

Extra:
Check out the view of Vincent Vega (played by John Travolta) on the Dutch "gedoogbeleid" 🙂

Vlinder

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butterfly Iconspeaker_3 Vlinder
[noun]
[de vlin-der, de vlin-ders]

A "vlinder" is a butterfly. There are over 50 day-flying butterfly species in the Netherlands, although it seems that their number has decreased during the last ten, twenty years.

And yes, the Dutch have butterflies in their tummies too 🙂

Examples:
– "Zij is als een vlinder…ik ben zo verliefd op haar…" 
("She’s like a butterfly…I’m so in love with her…")

– "Een witte vlinder op een rode roos…wat een romantisch beeld…" 
("A white butterfly on a red rose…what a romantic image…")

– "Het vlindereffect is de theorie die zegt dat het gefladder van een vlinder ergens anders ter wereld een tornado kan veroorzaken." 
("The butterfly effect is the theory which states that the fluttering of a butterfly can cause a tornado in another part of the world.")

– "Vorige week had Frank nog vlinders in zijn buik. Gisteren heeft hij weer een blauwtje gelopen." 
("Last week, Frank still had butterflies in his tummy. Yesterday he was turned down again.")

Related words:
– Insekt: insect [noun] [het insekt, de insekten].
– Mot: moth [noun] [de mot, de motten].
– Rups: caterpillar [noun] [de rups, de rupsen].
– Vlieg: fly [noun] [de vlieg, de vliegen].

Example:
– "Ober, er zit een vlieg in mijn soep."
("Waiter, there is a fly in my soup.")

– Bij: bee [noun] [de bij, de bijen].
– Wesp: wasp [noun] [de wesp, de wespen].
– Vlinderdas: bow tie [noun] [de vlinderdas, de vlinderdassen].
– Vlindermes: butterfly knife, balisong [noun] [het vlindermes, de vlindermessen].

Kapsalon

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hairdresser’s (salon), hair salon Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de kap-sa-lon, de kap-sa-lons]Droogkap

"Kapsalon" is composed of "kap" (from "kappen") and "salon". A "kapsalon" is mostly frequented by women. Men would go to a "kapper" (hairdresser, barber (shop) ).

A "kapsalon" is also the name of a snack/dish, which is on the menu of most shoarma snackbars in the region of Rotterdam, see Extra…

Examples:
– "Waar is Maria?" – "Ze heeft een afspraak bij de kapsalon." 
("Where is Maria?" – "She has an appointment at the hairdresser’s.)

– "Kapsalon Elle…wassen, knippen & föhnen voor slechts 15 euro." 
("Elle Hair Salon…wash, cut & blow-dry for only 15 euros.")

Related words:
– Kappen: to cut (a tree) / to do someone’s hair [verb] [kappen, kapte, gekapt].
– Wassen: to wash [verb] [wassen, waste, gewast].

Example:
– "Eerst je handen wassen voor het eten!"
("First wash your hands before dinner.")

– Knippen: to cut (with a pair of scissors) [verb] [knippen, knipte, geknipt].
– Föhnen: to blow-dry [verb] [föhnen, föhnde, geföhnd].
– Nagelsalon: nail salon [noun] [de nagelsalon, de nagelsalons].

Extra:Kapsalon2
A "kapsalon" is also the name of  a snack/dish, which is on the menu of most shoarma snackbars in Rotterdam, and which is gaining popularity in the Randstad, and all over the Netherlands. It’s an aluminium dish filled with layers of: fries, kebab, salad, (lots of) garlick sauce, and with cheese on top. The whole is put briefly in the oven until the cheese has melted.

The name apparently originates from some local hair salon which always ordered this dish with these specific ingredients…

Buigen

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to bow, to bend Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[bui-gen, boog, ge-bo-gen]Buiging

"Buigen" can be translated with "to bow" or "to bend". The related noun is "buiging": bow.

Examples:
– "De priester boog zijn hoofd toen hij de paus zag." 
("The priest bowed his head when he saw the pope.")

– "Dit metaal buigt niet." 
("This metal doesn’t bend.")

– "De weg buigt over 100 meter naar links." 
("The road takes a bend to the left in 100 meters.")

– "Buig uw hoofd in schaamte, ongelovige!" 
("Bow your head in shame, infidel!")

Expressions:
– "Buigen of barsten": Bend or break, to give in or get into trouble.
– "Buigen als een knipmes": to take a rigid and deep bow. Lit.: to bow like a jack knife.

Example:
– "De chinese kok boog als een knipmes toen wij hem bedankten voor het klaargemaakte eten."
("The Chinese cook took a deep bow when we thanked him for the prepared food.")

Related words:
– Bocht: bend, curve [noun] [de bocht, de bochten].
– Buiging: bow [noun] [de buiging, de buigingen].

Example:
– "De ober maakte een lichte buiging toen hij de eerste gang had geserveerd."
("The waiter made a small bow after having served the first course.")

– Knielen: to kneel [verb] [knielen, knielde, geknield].
– Barsten: to burst, to crack [verb] [barsten, barstte, gebarsten].
– Breken: to break [verb] [breken, brak, gebroken].