Author Archives: Marc

Ellende

Posted on by

misery, distress [noun] [de ellende, <no plural>] Iconspeaker_klein

In Dutch, “ellende” does not always have a weighty connotation (e.g. like in “the misery of war…”) . Also the insignificant occurrences of life’s distress are referred to as “ellende”, see the Examples.Ellende

Examples:
– “Ik word echt chagrijnig van alle ellende in deze wereld…”
(“All the misery in this world really makes me cranky…” Lit.: “I really get cranky because of all the misery in this world…”)

– “Het Nederlands elftal heeft afgelopen zaterdag verloren van Australië…ellende…”
(“The Dutch were beaten by Australia last Saturday…misery…”)

– “Eerst kreeg ik een lekke band, daarna begon het te regenen.” – “Jongen, wat een ellende!”
(“First I got a flat tyre, then it started to rain.” – “Dude, what a distress!”)

Expressions:
– “Na regen komt zonneschijn”: After rain comes sunshine.

Related words:
– “Balen“: to be fed up with.
– “Belabberd“: lousy, terrible, miserable.
– “Ellendig”: [adjective] miserable.
– “Ellendeling”: [noun] [de ellendeling, de ellendelingen] wretch, villain.

Ding

Posted on by

thing [noun] [het ding, de dingen] Iconspeaker_klein_2

The use of “ding” in Dutch is almost identical as the use of “thing” English.

Examples:Thing
– “Zie je dat rare ding? Wat is dat?”
(“Do you see that funny thing? What’s that?”)

– “Ik heb veel dingen gezien, maar dit slaat nergens op!”
(“I’ve seen many things, but this makes no sense at all!”)

– “Doe je ding!”
(“Do your thing!”)

– “Dat meisje is helemaal doorweekt.” – “Arm ding.”
(“That girl is completely soaked.” – “Poor thing.”)

Expressions:
– “Lekker ding”: hot little thing, (hot) babe.

Example:
– “Hee lekker ding, wil je met me dansen?”
(“Hey babe, do you wanna dance with me?”)

– “Het zijn de kleine dingen die het doen”: The difference is in the little things.
– “<verzuchtend:> Dat zijn van die dingen…”: <sighing:> These things…

Related words:
– “Zaak”: case, affair [noun] [de zaak, de zaken].
– “Dinges/Dingetje”: what’s his/her name? [Used when you can’t think of someone’s name, see this funny Dutch commercial)

Extra:
In early nineties Dutch artist “Dingetje” (lit.: little thing) scored a modest hit with the song “Kaplaarzen” (jackboots). The song is (supposed to be) funny, because the lyrics are pretty stupid (about the purchase of a pair of jackboots), whereas the music has a tough housebeat accompanying a moaning woman….ah well….the nineties…:-)

Tussendoortje

Posted on by

(little) snack [noun] [het tussendoortje, de tussendoortjes] [‘tus-sun-door-tju’] Iconspeaker_klein

And we’re back! Well…at least for the next three weeks of our summer schedule 🙂

In a certain way, you could consider this DWOTD to be a "tussendoortje": something that is consumated quickly between two main activities/meals…usually a food snack, though "tussendoortje" can also beKroket used figuratively.

Examples:
– "Ik ben op dieet, dus dat betekent geen tussendoortjes meer…"

("I’m on a diet, so that means no more snacks…")

– "<De ene vampier tegen de andere:> We boffen…deze jonge maagd is een lekker tussendoortje!"
("<One vampire to the other:> We are fortunate…this young virgin will be a tasty snack!")

– "Wat heeft Frank een dikke buik gekregen!" – "Tja, dat krijg je van al die tussendoortjes…"
("Frank’s belly has become really big!" – "Well, that’s what you get from all those little snacks…" Lit.: "What a big belly has Frank gotten!" – …)

Related words:
– "Tussen": (in) between.
– "Door": through.
– "Tussendoor": in between, through.
– "Snack": snack.
– "Dieet": diet.

Extra:
Did you know that diminutives always have the neuter gender? So, for example, it’s:
– "het tussendoortje, de tussendoortjes": the (little) snack.
– "het meisje, de meisjes": the girl.
– "het huisje, de meisjes": the little house.
– "het scheetje, de scheetjes": the little fart.
The plural form of a diminutive always ends on "s".

Vluggertje

Posted on by

quickie [noun] [het vluggertje, de vluggertjes] [‘vlu-gur-tju’] Iconspeaker_klein

"Vluggertje" is derived from "vlug": quick, fast, rapid. "Vluggertje" is mostly used in a sexual context, but also applies to more general contexts where something is done quickly, like writing a Dutch Word Of The Day, for example… 🙂Klok

Its use is informal, sometimes derogatory.

Examples:
– "Marc, kun jij even snel een DWOTD schrijven?" – "Nou, dat wordt dan een vluggertje."
("Marc, can you write a DWOTD just quickly?" – "Well, that’s going to be a quickie then.")

– "Zullen we nog een afzakkertje doen?" – "Een vluggertje dan."
("Shall we have one for the road?" – "A quickie then.")

– "Schat, heb je zin in een vluggertje?"
("Babe, do you fancy a quickie?")

Related words:
– "Vlug": quick, fast, rapid.
– "Snel": quick, swift, fast.
– "Nummertje": [noun] shag. Lit.: "little number".

Mij best

Posted on by

Fine with me [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_klein

This phrase is used to say that you have no problems with something, almost as if you don’t care. Its use is informal.Mij_best

Sometimes you will see/hear the even shorter "Best.": Fine.

Also check out "Het moet maar", which is used when you actually do have problems with something, but agree unwillingly nevertheless.

Examples:
– "Marc, schrijf jij vandaag een DWOTD?" – "Mij best."
("Marc, will you write a DWOTD today?" – "Fine with me.")

– "Doen we nog een afzakkertje?" – "Best."
("Shall we have one for the road?" – "Fine.")

– "Zullen we aanstaande vrijdag afspreken?" – "Mij best."
("Shall we meet next Friday?" – "Fine with me.")

Expressions:
– "Geen probleem": no problem.
– "Het moet maar": oh well allright, I guess it just has to be done.

Related words:
– "Onverschillig": Indifferent.
– "Okee": okay.