Author Archives: Sander

Stranden

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to be stranded, to strand Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[stran-den, strand-de, ge-strand]

Gestrande_reizigers
Derived from the noun "strand" (beach) this verb takes on the meaning of "washing ashore" (of goods), or "running aground/ashore" (of ships). However, it is more commonly used in its (figurative) translation of "to be stranded" or "to fail/strand". Note the ‘second d’ in the past tense.

Examples:
– "Ik heb medelijden met al die mensen die op de luchthaven zijn gestrand." 
("I feel sorry for all those people who stranded at the airport.")

– "Zijn vernieuwende plannen strandden al in een vroeg stadium." 
("His innovative plans already came to a hold at an early stage.")

– "Met een beetje geluk houdt die vulkaan weer op en strand ik niet op de terugweg!" 
("With a little luck this vulcano will stop again, and I won’t get stuck on the way back!")

– "De gestrande walvis trok veel bekijks." 
("The stranded whale drew a lot of attention." The word ‘bekijks’ is derived from ‘kijken‘: to look, to watch. ‘Bekijks trekken’ translates to something like ‘to draw look-upon’.)

Related words:
– Strand: beach [noun] [het strand, de stranden].
– Vast: fixed, attached, stuck [adverb/adjective].

Example:
– "Debbie en Nikki zijn gestrand in Bangkok en zitten nog vast tot zeker het einde van de maand."
("Debbie and Nikki stranded in Bangkok and are stuck until the end of the month at least.")

Geschikt

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Geschiktongeschikt
1. suitable Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]

The opposite of "geschikt" in the translation of ‘suitable/fit/appropriate’ is "ongeschikt" or "niet geschikt". The Dutch Ministry of Defence has a recruitment campaign in which they (jestingly) help you establish whether you are "geschikt" or "ongeschikt" for the military, see Extra below…

Another translation of "geschikt" is given in 2. below.

Examples:
– "Ik geloof niet dat deze koffer geschikt is om breekbare spullen in te vervoeren." 
("I don’t believe this suitcase is suitable for the transport of fragile items." Lit.: to transport fragile items in.)

– "Laat me niet lachen, jouw zoon is totaal ongeschikt voor het leger!" 
("You must be kidding me / don’t make me laugh, your son is completely unsuitable for the military!")

– "Kun je me later terugbellen, dit is niet een geschikt moment." 
("Can you call me back later, this is not a good moment.")

– "Deze man is niet geschikt voor deze functie, dat zie je onmiddellijk!" 
("This man is not suitable for this position, you can immediately tell." Lit.: that you see immediately!)

– "Weet jij nog een geschikte voorbeeldzin bij deze DWOTD?" 
("Do you know of another suitable example sentence with this DWOTD?")

– "Wat leuk dat je vader hertrouwd is; deze vrouw is veel geschikter voor hem!" 
("How nice that your father got remarried; this woman is a much better match for him!")

Related words:
–
Schikken: to arrange, to be convenient [verb] [schikte, geschikt].
– Bloemschikken: to arrange flowers [verb] [schikte bloem, bloemgeschikt].
– Ongeschikt: unsuitable [adjective].
– Gekwalificeerd: qualified [adjective].

Extra:
The "geschikt/ongeschikt" recruitment campaign for the Dutch military is quite successful in the sense that many people know the TV commercials and many people create their own parodies. Check out youtube for examples; this is one of the first original ones.

2. pleasant, reasonable/fair Iconspeaker_3
[adjective/adverb]

In this translation, "geschikt"  is commonly used as illustrated in the examples below.

Examples:
– "Wat vind jij van Emanuel?"  – "Nou, ik vind het een geschikte kerel!" 
("What do you think of Emanuel?" – "Well, I think he is a decent bloke/guy!")

– "Ik heb die tv gezien die jij op het oog hebt. Op internet, tegen een heel geschikte prijs!" 
("I have seen that TV that you are interested in. On the internet, for a very reasonable price!")

Mensenkinderen

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goodness gracious/me Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase
of the week]

Mensenkinderen
Probably not used much by today’s youth, this somewhat old-fashioned expression allows you to express your amazement or discomfort in a decent way. It is composed of "mensen" (people) and "kinderen" (children). Perhaps it was originally used to address the people around you before sharing your amazement with them 🙂 Why the two words are now combined into one I don’t know.

Examples:
– "Mensenkinderen wat een weer!" 
("Goodness me, this weather is crazy!")

– "Mensenkinderen, moet je die rij zien!" 
("Oh my, look at that queue!")

– "Mensenkinderen…" 
("Goodness gracious…")

– "Mensenkinderen… Dit is toch niet te geloven… Sterker nog, het is te bezopen voor woorden!" 
("Goodness me… I can’t believe it… No wait, it is insane!!" Literally: ‘This is not to be believed… To put it stonger…’ Note the expression "te bezopen voor woorden": ‘bezopen’ is the state of being drunk.)

Related words:
– Hoofdschuddend: shaking one’s head [adverb].
– Verbazing: amazement, surprise [noun] [de verbazing, <no plural>].
– Ongelofelijk: unbelievable [adjective/adverb].
– Jeetje: oh my [interjection]. This is actually derived from ‘Jezus’. You will also hear ‘Jee’, but as you know, we turn (almost) anything into a diminutive 🙂

Dat is ook weer zo wat

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that’s quite something, that’s a bit too much Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Snurken_3
With "wat" translating to "what", "something" or "a bit" and the ambiguous use of words such as "ook", "weer" and "zo" comes the possibility to create phrases that are difficult to understand for you and difficult to translate for me 🙂

"Dat is ook weer zo wat" is close to "dat is ook wat". The latter is used to express a mild astonishment or disbelief, a bit like "oh my" or "oh dear" or "what about that". The variant "dat is ook weer zo wat" (or "dat is ook zo wat") can be used in the same way but is also typically used to indicate that a suggested course of action might not be optimal with respect to convenience, suitability or appropriateness.

As always an example might help, see below. If you need more, try Google (that kindly provided me with the last example).

Examples:
– "Snurken is irritant, maar om iemand daarom te vermoorden, dat is ook weer zo wat!" 
("Snoring is annoying but to kill somebody because of it, that’s not right / that’s just too much…")

– "Ik moet eigenlijk studeren voor mijn examen maar om met dit mooie weer de hele dag binnen te zitten, dat is ook weer zo wat." 
("I’m supposed to study for my exam, but to stay inside the whole day with this beautiful weather, that is overdoing it a bit / that is not very appealing / that would be too much…")

– "Mijn buren draaien vaak harde muziek. Maar om daar nu elke dag over te gaan klagen, dat is ook weer zo wat." 
("My neighbours often play loud music. But to go and complain about that every day, well come on… / I wouldn’t go that far…")

– "Esmé vonden ze een mooie naam, maar om me nu naar een liedje van ‘Acda en de Munnik’ te noemen, dat is ook weer zo wat." 
("They liked the name Esmé, but to name me after a song by ‘Acda and de Munnik’, that’s overdoing it a little / that’s quite something / that’s stretching it …" The author of this sentence refers to the song "Dag Esmee" by the popular Dutch pop (and cabaret) duo "Acda en de Munnik".)

Huldiging

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honouring, ceremony, homage Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de hul-di-ging, de hul-di-gin-gen]

Zilverenbrons
Although literally "huldiging" is an ‘honouring’, it is typically used for formal ceremonies where people get some kind of award or receive a title. The verb is "huldigen": to honour, to pay tribute to.

Read more about the traditional "huldiging" of Dutch Olympic medal winners at the Holland Heineken House in the ‘Extra’  below.

Examples:
– "Heb je gisteren de huldiging gezien van Annette Gerritsen en Laurine van Riessen?" – "Nee, ik heb het gemist, jammer maar helaas!" 
("Did you see the ceremony with Annette Gerritsen and Laurine van Riessen yesterday?" – "No, I missed it, that’s just too bad…" Annette and Laurine won silver and bronze medals for the 1000 meter women speed skating. )

– "Bekijk de beelden van de huldiging van Sven Kramer in het Holland Heineken House." 
("Watch the footage of the homage to Sven Kramer at the Holland Heineken House." Read more in the ‘Extra’ below.)

– "Winaars krijgen een huldiging, maar verliezaars krijgen doorgaans niks…" 
("Winners are honoured, but losers usually get nothing…")

Related words:
– Huldigen: to honour, to pay tribute to [verb] [huldigen, gehuldigd].
– Onderscheiden: to award with (a medal) [verb] [onderscheidde, onderscheiden].
– Uitreiken: to present a medal (or a prize) [verb] [reikte uit, uitgereikt].

Example:
– "De prijs werd uitgereikt door een lokale beroemdheid."
("The prize was presented by a local celebrity.")

– Uitreiking: presentation (of medals or a prize) [noun] [de uitreiking, de uitreikingen].

Extra:
Hhh
During the Olympic games there is a "huldiging" every day for medal
winners, but for Dutch medal winners there is the traditional additional "huldiging"
in the Holland Heineken House (HHH),
where Dutch fans celebrate the medals won. Of course there is a lot of
Heineken beer, oranjegekte ("orange madness"), performances by Dutch
singers and other BN’ers.

The first HHH-huldiging was for Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer. He won the gold
medal for the 5km men speed skating. This link shows a video made back
stage of Sven’s "huldiging" at the Holland Heineken House. It shows
‘oranjegekte’, a few BN’ers and an athlete who seems to be more nervous
to face the Dutch fans than he was before his race 🙂 . Check out the Holland Heineken House YouTube channel for more videos.