Author Archives: Sander

Praatjesmaker

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boaster, windbag Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de praat-jes-maker, de praat-jes-makers]

Bla-bla The translation above is what the dictionary says, but a "praatjesmaker" is not necessarily somebody who boasts, but more like somebody who is all talk and no action, doesn't live up to what he/she claims, talks nonsense, claims to know what he/she is talking about but not really, a smart talker etc.

The noun is derived from "praatje" and "maken". The verb is "praten": to talk. A "praatje maken" in general is "to have a brief informal conversation with somebody". See the expressions below for more.

Examples:
– "Hoe was de lezing van Frank?" – "Het sloeg helemaal nergens op; weet je, het is gewoon een praatjesmaker." 
("How was Frank's lecture?" – "It did not make any sense at all; you know, he is just all talk and no action.")

– "Let wel, op praatjesmakers zitten we hier niet te wachten; wij verwachten inzet en kunde!" 
("Be aware, we have no need for boasters; we expect dedication and skills!" Lit. "we are not waiting on boasters here".)

– "Zeg praatjesmaker, nu is het genoeg geweest; het is tijd om naar bed te gaan!" 
("Hey mister know-it-all, that's enough now; it's time for bed!")

Expressions:
– "Een praatje maken met iemand": to briefly and informally chat with somebody.
– "Praatjes hebben": to talk big, to be a 'know-it-all'.

Example:
– "Let maar niet op hem; hij heeft praatjes."
("Don't mind him, he is just talking big.")

– "Mooie praatjes": sweet talk.
– "Een praatje houden": informal way of saying "to give a lecture". Note the use of "houden": to hold; this is the reason Dutch people often say they have to "hold a speech".

Related words:
– Praten: to talk [verb] [praatte, gepraat].
– Praatje: quick conversation, lecture [noun] [het praatje, de praatjes].
– Onzin: nonsense [noun] [de onzin, <no plural>].
– Liegen: to lie [verb] [loog, gelogen].
– Opscheppen: to brag/boast [verb] [schepte op, opgeschept]. Note this verb also means to serve/spoon/ladle out (as in putting food on your plate).

Reageren

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to react, respond, answer Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[re-a-ge-ren, re-a-geer-de, ge-re-a-geerd]

Reageren "Reageren" is used when responding to requests or impulses. "To respond to" translates as "reageren op". The verb is also used in the context of chemistry (reacting substances/chemicals).

Examples:
– "Sander heeft Marc een SMS gestuurd, maar zoals te doen gebruikelijk is, reageert Marc niet." 
("Sander sent Marc a text message, but as usual Marc does not respond." Note the expression "zoals te doen gebruikelijk is". This is a bit formal and I like to use it ironically. In general you can say "zoals gewoonlijk".)

– "Zij heeft me een pissige e-mail gestuurd en het leek mij het beste om daar niet op te reageren." 
("She sent me an angry e-mail and I thought it was best not to respond." Note that "pissig" is informal, use "boos" or "kwaad" otherwise.)

– "Hoe reageerde hij toen hij het slechte nieuws hoorde?" 
("How did he respond when he heard the bad news?")

– "Ik reageer gewoon anders op dit soort situaties dan jij. Waarom kun je niet accepteren dat wij niet hetzelfde zijn?" 
("I respond to these kind of situations differently than you do. Why can't you accept that we are not the same?")

– "Ik heb het verzoek ingediend, maar het bestuur heeft nog niet gereageerd." 
("I put in the request but the board has not yet responded.")

– "De applicatie reageert niet meer; herstart Windows of gooi uw computer uit het raam." 
("The application does not respond anymore; restart Windows or throw your computer out of the window.")

Related words:
– Reactie: reaction, response [noun] [de reactie, de reacties].
– Reactietijd: reaction time [noun] [de reactietijd, de reactietijden].
– Reageerbuis: test tube [noun] [de reageerbuis, de reageerbuizen].
– Antwoorden: to answer, to respond [verb] [antwoordde, geantwoord].
– Beantwoorden: to respond to [verb] [beantwoordde, beantwoord].

Razend

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furious, raging, fuming Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]
[ra-zend]

Razend "Razend" is derived from the verb "razen": to rage, thunder, storm; both used for natural phenomena and angry people :-) The other translation is "to race, hurl, rush" and "razend" takes on a different meaning, more like "very, huge" of which I also give a few common examples below.

Examples:
– "Man, ik zweer het je, ik was razend, echt waar. Het kan toch niet zo zijn dat een pinautomaat zomaar je pas inslikt?!" 
("Man, I swear, I was furious (with rage), really I was. It can't possibly be the case that a cash machine swallows your (bank) card just like that?!")

– "De vrouw was razend op haar vriend toen hij het contact verbrak." 
("The woman was furious with her boyfriend when he broke off contact.")

– "Was je vader boos toen je te laat thuis was?" – "Boos? Hij was razend!!" 
("Was your father angry when you came home too late?" – "Angry? He was fuming!!")

– "Ga je mee lunchen bij Simonis?" – "Ik ben bang van niet, ik heb het echt razend druk." 
("Are you joing us/me for lunch at Simonis?" – "I'm afraid not, I'm really incredibly busy.")

– "Het schrijven van een goede DWOTD kan razend veel tijd kosten." 
("Writing a good DWOTD can consume a huge amount of time.")

– "We hebben onze koffers in een razend tempo ingepakt en zijn direct vertrokken naar de zon!" 
("We packed our suitcases really really quickly and took off to a sunny destination immediately!" Note that unless you are an astronaut you can use the expression "vertrekken naar de zon" when leaving for a sunny destination (as opposed to the sun itself 😉 ).)

Related words:
– Razendsnel: very very fast [adverb/adjective].
– Razernij: rage, frenzy [noun] [de razernij, de razernijen].

Terug van weg geweest

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to be back again, have made a come back Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

JohnTravolta "Weg geweest" translates as "having been away", so literally this says: "back from having been away". This expression is typically used as an empty statement to say that you are back after having been away for a while (holiday, a trip). It is also used when people make a come-back or when something becomes popular again after a long period of time.

Examples:
– "Hoi, ik wist niet zeker of je al weer thuis was…" – "Ja ja, we zijn weer terug van weg geweest…" 
("Hi, I wasn't sure you were back home yet…" – "Yeah, we're back again…")

– "'Spijkerbroeken met wijde pijpen zijn weer helemaal terug van weg geweest!" 
("Flared jeans are totally popular/common again!")

– "Wat een prestatie dames en heren; deze atleet is weer helemaal terug van weg geweest!" 
("This is quite an achievement ladies and gentlemen; this athlete has definitely made his come-back / is definitely back in the game!")

Related words:
– Weg: away, gone [adverb].
– Reizen: to travel [verb] [reisde, gereisd].

Example:
– "Sander moet regelmatig reizen voor het werk. Dat komt de DWOTD niet ten goede!"
("Sander frequently has to travel for work. That doesn't do the DWOTD any good!")

– Terugkomen: to come back [verb] [kwam terug, teruggekomen].
– Terugkeren: to return (back to the starting point) [verb] [keerde terug, teruggekeerd].

Boarden

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to board Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[boar-den, board-de, ge-board]

Even though we have a Dutch word for "board" in this context, i.e. "boord", the verb we use is derived from English: "boarden". We use it for the whole process of boarding, typically planes. "Going on board" is "aan boord gaan" and "to be on board" is "aan boord zijn", both also used for boats and ships.

I'm off on holiday for two weeks, so have fun with Marc, or enjoy a break (depending on Marc's mood 😉 )

Examples:
– "Sander moet over 20 minuten boarden en dus opschieten met deze DWOTD." 
("Sander has to board (the plane) in 20 minutes and hence has to hurry up with this DWOTD.")

– "Hoe laat begint het boarden?" 
("At what time does boarding start?")

– "Hoi, wat leuk dat je belt, ja, we zijn al geboard." 
("Hi, how nice of you to call, yes, we have already boarded.")

– "U moet boarden bij gate E3." 
("You will have to board at gate E3.")

Related words:
– Boord: board, when used as explained in the intro.
– Boren: to drill [verb] [boorde, geboord].
– Boord: collar of a dress shirt [noun] [het boord, de boorden]. A dress shirt has two "boorden".
– Bord: plate [noun] [het bord, de borden].