Author Archives: Sander

Cultureel

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cultural Iconspeaker_3
Cultureel [adjective/adverb]
[cul-tu-reel]

"Cultureel" is used for anything "cultural" or "arts related". Be cultural and use today's DWOTD! 😉

Examples:
– "Volgende week is er een culturele avond op de school van onze zoon." 
("Next week there's a cultural evening at my son's school.")

– "We moeten respect hebben voor ons cultureel erfgoed!" 
("We must respect our cultural heritage!")

– "Michiel is een cultureel antropoloog." 
("Michiel is a cultural anthropologist.")

– "Bij ons in de buurt hebben we geen cultureel centrum; dat vind ik een gemis." 
("In our neigbourhood there is no arts centre; I think that's a shame." Literally "gemis" is something that you "miss" and you think it's bad that it's missing.")

– "Ik heb een boek gelezen over de Culturele Revolutie. Vind je me nu eindelijk een beetje cultureel?" 
("I've read a book about the Cultural Revolution. Now do you finally think I'm a bit cultural?")

Related words:
– Cultuur: culture [noun] [de cultuur, de culturen].

Example:
– "Jij mag dit raar vinden, maar in sommige culturen is het heel normaal!"
("You may think this is strange, but in some cultures it's very normal!")

– Cultuurbarbaar: Philistine, literally "culture barbarian", somebody who knows nothing about and doesn't care about anything cultural [noun] [de cultuurbarbaar, de cultuurbarbaren]. 

Example:
– "De nieuwe vriend van Sylvia is echt een cultuurbarbaar; hij heeft nog nooit van Bach gehoord!"
("Sylvia's new boyfriend is nothing but a Philistine; he has never heard of Bach!")

– Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau (SCP): the Netherlands Institute for Social Research [noun] [het SCP].

Scheef

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1. crooked, not level, slanting/sloping Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[scheef]

Scheef "Scheef" is the opposite of "straight" and you can use it for anything crooked, slanting or not level. It is also used in the meaning of "wrong", see the second translation below.

Examples:
– "Pas op, je houdt je beker scheef!" 
("Watch out, you are not holding your mug straight!")

– "Je schilderij hangt scheef volgens mij."  - "Nou en, het gaat toch om het schilderij zelf!" 
("I think your painting is crooked." – "So what, it's about the painting itself, isn't it?!")

– "In Amsterdam zijn er veel oude huizen met scheve gevels. Een verklaring is dat goederen op die manier makkelijker naar boven getakeld konden worden."
("In Amsterdam there are many old houses with leaning façades. One explanation for this is that it was easier to pull up goods that way.")

– "De vloer loopt een beetje scheef, maar dat is geen probleem, dat kunnen we compenseren." 
("The floor is slanting a bit, but that's no problem, we can compensate for that.")

Expressions:
– "Schots en scheef": messy, unorganized, cluttered.

Example:
– "Ik werk alleen nog maar met computers; het resultaat daarvan is dat mijn handschrift schots en scheef geworden is!"
("I only work with computers nowadays; the result is that my handwriting has become all spidery!").

– "Iemand scheef aankijken": to look askance at someone.
– "(dat geeft) Scheve gezichten/ogen": lit. "(that causes) crooked/bent faces/eyes", you can say this when something will make other people jealous.

Related words:
– Scheve hoek: oblique angle [noun] [de hoek, de hoeken].
– Waterpas: level [adjective].

Example:
– "Mijn wasmachine hobbelt heel erg!" – "Staat hij wel waterpas?"
("My washing machine really bounces up and down!" – "Are you sure it is level?")

– Recht: straight [adjective].

2. wrong, distorted, false Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[scheef] 

"Scheef" is typically used in case of distorted relationships or when you feel something is not fair.

Examples:
– "De verhouding tussen geven en nemen is helemaal scheef in zijn relatie." 
("The ratio between giving and taking is completely off in his relationship.")

– "Deze ontwikkeling zorgt voor scheve verhoudingen in de maatschappij." 
("This development causes distorted relationships in our society.")

– "Volgens mij gaat het scheef lopen als we op deze manier doorgaan."
("I think that things will go wrong if we continue this way.")

Related words:
– Fout: wrong, incorrect [adjective/adverb].

Ze kunnen me wat!

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they can forget about it, I don’t care what they want/think, to hell with them! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[ze kun-nen me wat]

Kat slaapt en heeft nergens zin in“Ze kunnen me wat” literally translates as “they can me something” and basically says that they can do/think whatever they want and you don’t care. Depending on the severity, translations vary from “they can forget about it” to “to hell with them!”.

You can also use other personal pronouns, or a specific person. see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Ze kunnen me wat, het is weekend, dat rapport komt maandag wel af!” 
(“I don’t care about what they want, it’s weekend, that report will have to be completed on Monday!” Note that the word “wel” calls for “will have to be”; without “wel” it would be “will be completed”.)

– “Zij laat niets van zich horen en nu moet ik contact opnemen? Ze kan me wat!” 
(“I hear nothing from her and now I’m the one who has to initiate contact? To hell with her!” Lit. “She does not let anything hear from her”.)

– “Ik ga echt niet opnieuw behangen, de huisbaas kan me wat! Toen ik het appartement kreeg was het behang ook al oud!” 
(“No way I’m going to re-paper the room, the landlord can forget about it! When I got the apartment/flat the wallpaper was old to begin with!”)

– “Hij kan me wat met zijn gezeur over wie de eer toekomt!” 
(“To hell with him with his complaining about who deserves the credits!”)

Expressions:
– “Ze bekijken het maar!”: they can forget about it! Lit. “they can look at it”.
– “Echt niet!”: no way!
– “Ze kunnen de pot op!”: I don’t care what they want; they can forget about it! Lit. “they can go on the potty”.
– “Schijt hebben aan”: to not care about something/someone, to not give a shit about something/someone. This informal expression literally means “to have shit on/at somebody/something”.

Example:
– “Ze kunnen me wat, ik heb schijt aan deze regels!”
(“They can forget about it, I don’t give a shit about these rules!”)

Hulp

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help, assistance Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de hulp, de hul-pen]

Hulp "Hulp" is the Dutch noun for "help", however the verb "to help" is "helpen" and not "hulpen", which is the plural of "hulp". Let's see if the examples will help 🙂

Examples:
– "Bedankt voor je hulp, zonder jou was het niet gelukt!" 
("Thanks for your help, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you!" Lit.:"…, without you it would not have succeeded.")

– "Als een Nederlander om "hulp" roept, dan schreeuwt hij 'help!' " 
("When a Dutch person screams for "help", he or she screams 'help!' ")

– "Het is zaak dat jongeren in een vroeg stadium de juiste hulp geboden wordt. Daarmee kunnen we veel problemen voorkomen." 
("It's imperative that young people are offered the right help at an early stage. By doing so we can prevent many problems.")

– "Volgens mij heeft Sander professionele hulp nodig, wat denk jij?" 
("I think Sander needs professional help, what do you think?")

– "Voor de laatste keer: ik heb jouw hulp niet nodig, ik heb niet om jouw hulp gevraagd, ik kan op eigen benen staan!" 
("For the last time: I do not need your help, I did not ask for your help, I can support myself!" Lit.", .. I can stand on (my) own legs!")

– "Wat sta je nu te kijken, bied die arme vrouw je hulp aan!" 
("What are you looking at, offer that poor lady your assistance!")

Related words:
– Helpen: to help [verb] [hielp, geholpen].
– Hulpeloos: helpless [adjective/adverb].
– Assistentie: assistance [noun] [de assistentie, <no plural>]. Often used with the verb "verlenen": to offer assistance.
– Hulp in de huishouding: cleaning lady, help with the housekeeping [noun] [de hulp, de hulpen]. This is a bit more general than just "cleaning lady" which would be "schoonmaakster" in Dutch. A popular politically correct alternative is "interieurverzorger/ster": "somebody looking after your (house) interior". 
– Eerste Hulp Bij Ongelukken (EHBO): first aid [noun] [de EHBO, <no plural>].
– Spoedeisende hulp: emergency room. Literally "urgency-requiring help".
– Kraamhulp: maternity assistant [noun] [de kraamhulp, de kraamhulpen]. 

Nuchter

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1. sober, fasting/empty Iconspeaker_3
[adjective]
[nuch-ter]

When you are not drunk, we say that you are "nuchter". "Nuchter" is also the state you are in when you have been fasting for a (short) while, for example when awaiting surgery. 

Examples:
Nuchter2 – "Ik kan me niet herinneren wanneer oom Gerrit voor het laatst nuchter was." 
("I can't remember the last time when uncle Gerrit was sober.")

– "Volgens mij heeft u te veel gedronken meneer!" – "Nou nee hoor, ik ben zo nuchter als wat!" 
("I think you have drunk too much sir!" – "I beg to differ, I'm as sober as one can be!")

Nuchter – "Wil je een bakje koffie?" – "Nee bedankt, ik moet eerst wat eten, koffie valt bij mij niet lekker op een nuchtere maag."  
("Would you like some coffee?" – "No thanks, I need to eat something first, coffee doesn't go down well for me when my stomach is still empty.")

– "Neem nog wat te eten!" – "Nee bedankt, ik mag niet meer eten, ik word vanmiddag geopereerd en moet nuchter zijn." 
("Come on, have something else to eat!" – "No thanks, I'm not allowed to eat anything else, this afternoon I'll undergo surgery and I must have an empty stomach.")

Related words:
– Dronken: drunk [adjective/adverb].
– Vasten: to fast [verb] [vastte, gevast]. Often used in religious context. Otherwise it is common to just say "niet eten".

2. sensible, down-to-earth, level-headed Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[nuch-ter]

Boer The other common translation of "nuchter" regards your mentality or attitude. When you are not easily excited or put-off, when you are down to earth and sensible, we say that you are "nuchter". Quite often farmers have the image of being "nuchter". This translation of "nuchter" does not only pertain to people, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Sita is mij een beetje te nuchter, ik ben op zoek naar een extraverter iemand." 
("Sita is a bit too level-headed for my taste, I'm looking for a more extravert person.")

– "Tante Sjaan stond bekend als een nuchter mens. En dat terwijl ze vaak een borreltje nam! Ha ha, vat je 'm??" – "Zeg, vind je het gepast om nu al grappen te maken over tante Sjaan, ze is pas net overleden!"
("Aunt Sjaan was known as a down-to-earth woman. While she often had a drink! Ha ha, do you get it??" – "Hey, don't you think it is inappropriate to joke about aunt Sjaan already, she has just passed away!")

– "Geen paniek, laten we proberen de situatie nuchter te bekijken." 
("Don't panic, let's try to approach the situation in a down-to-earth way.")

Expressions:
– "De nuchtere werkelijkheid": cold/harsh reality.
– "Met beide benen op de grond blijven staan": to remain level-headed. Lit. "to keep standing with both legs on the ground".
– "Ergens nuchter in zijn": to be sensible/down-to-earth about something. 

Related words:
– Realistisch: realistic [adjective].
– Pragmatisch: pragmatic [adjective].
– Reëel: real, realistic [adjective].
– Zakelijk: business(like), professional/objective, clinical, concise [adjective].