Category Archives: Dutch phrase of the week

Ga er maar aan staan!

Posted on by

that's far from easy! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[ga er maar aan staan]

GaErMaarAanStaan Typically you only use "aan" in conjunction with "staan" when a device is switched on, e.g. "Het koffiezetapparaat staat aan" or when something pleases you (or not), e.g. "Je houding staat mij niet aan". The related verb in that case is "aanstaan". This week's phrase however, is derived from the usage of the verb "staan" in "ergens aan gaan staan": to start on something. (Note that nobody uses the latter.)

Although literally "ga er maar aan staan" means "go and start on it" it is only used to say that someting is far from easy to do and often conveys a message of admiration. It can can be used as an alternative to "ik geef het je te doen".

You may also hear "Ga er maar eens aanstaan".

Examples:
– "Door het slechte economische klimaat moet mijn manager een aantal mensen ontslaan; ga er maar aan staan!" 
("Due to the bad economical climate my manager has to fire a number of people, that's far from easy!")

– "Ga er maar aan staan, van de ene op de andere dag stoppen met roken." 
("To quit smoking from one day to the next, that's not an easy thing to do.")

– "Ga er maar aan staan, de balans bewaren tussen vrijheid van meningsuiting en respect voor anderen!" 
("Keeping the balance between freedom of speech/opinion and respect for others is far from easy!" Literally "meningsuiting" means "expression of opinion.")

Related words:
– Staan: to stand [verb] [stond, gestaan].
– Aanstaan: to be in operation, to be switched on, to please [verb] [stond aan, aangestaan].

Example:
– "O nee, de verwarming heeft de hele vakantie aangestaan! Dat is niet echt slim van ons."
("Oh no, the heating was turned on during the whole holiday! That's not particularly smart of us.")

– Bewonderen: to admire [verb] [bewonderde, bewonderd].
– Respecteren: to respect [verb] [respecteerde, gerespecteerd]. 
– Proberen: to try [verb] [probeerde, geprobeerd]. 

Dat zal wel loslopen

Posted on by

that/it will be alright, not to worry Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[dat zal wel los-lo-pen]

Dat_zal_wel_loslopen "Loslopen" means "to walk about (freely)". It can also be used for stray cattle, free running dogs and criminals at large. Strangely enough today's phrase seems to say you don't have to worry in any of those cases 🙂

You may also hear "het zal wel loslopen" and "dat/het loopt wel los".

Don't confuse today's phrase with "te gek om los te lopen".

Examples:
– "Ik maak me zorgen, Alicia is nog steeds niet thuis!" – "O, ze is een zelfstandige meid, dat zal wel loslopen!" 
("I'm worried, Alicia is still not home!" – "Oh well, she is an independent young woman, not to worry!")

– "We moeten opschieten, ik sta dubbel geparkeerd." – "Dat zal wel loslopen, er is hier amper verkeer." 
("We have to hurry up, I'm double-parked." – "It will be alright, there is hardly any traffic here.")

– "Ik ben toch een beetje bang van die loslopende dieren." – "Ach, die dieren zijn mensen gewend, dat zal wel loslopen!" 
("I have to admit these free-ranging animals scare me." – "Oh, those animals are used to people, don't worry about it.")

– "Op het nieuws zeiden ze dat het allemaal wel los zou lopen, maar moet je kijken, er staat een file van hier tot Tokio!" 
("They said on the news they didn't expect any problems, but look at that, there is an enormous traffic jam!")

Related words:
– Los: loose, detached [adjective].
– Lopen: to walk [verb] [liep, gelopen].
– Zich zorgen maken: to worry [verb, reflexive] [maakte zich zorgen, heeft zich zorgen gemaakt].
– Meevallen: to turn out better than expected, to exceed one's expectations [verb] [viel mee, meegevallen].

Ze kunnen me wat!

Posted on by

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!”)

Hoe dan ook

Posted on by

anyway, nevertheless, nonetheless, one way or the other, no matter what Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]Hoe dan ook

“Hoe dan ook” is composed of “hoe”, “dan” en “ook”, which respectively translates to “how“, “then” and “too“. “Hoe dan ook” is used in situations where you go into a certain direction, although there are reasons to go into another direction. Sounds a bit vague, doensn’t it? 🙂 Just check out the Examples.

Examples:
– “Hoe dan ook, de huisbaas is een bullebak, wat je ook zegt.” 
(“Nevertheless, the landlord is a bully, no matter what you say.”)

– “Mam, ik ga naar dat feestje vanavond, hoe dan ook!” – “Geen sprake van, jongedame!” 
(“Mum, I am going to that party tonight, no matter what!” – “No way, young lady!”)

– “Frank is zo oppervlakkig de laatste tijd…” – “Hij heeft hoe dan ook hulp nodig…” 
(“Frank is so shallow lately…” – “One way or the other, he needs help…”)

Expressions:
– “In ieder geval”: at least, anyway.

Example:
– “Kun je me in ieder geval zeggen hoe laat het is?”
(“Can you at least tell me what time it is?”)

– “Hoe het ook zij”: be this as it may.

Example:
– “Hoe het ook zij, feit is dat Valentijnsdag behoorlijk commercieel is.”
(“Be this as it may, fact is that Valentine’s day is pretty commercial.”)

Related words:
– Desalniettemin: nevertheless, nonetheless.
– Sowieso: anyhow, in any case.

Example:
– “Door de spits zal ik sowieso niet op tijd zijn…”
(“In any case, I won’t be on time because of rush hour.”)

Te pas en te onpas

Posted on by

all the time, again and again Iconspeaker_3 Te pas en te onpas
[Dutch phrase of the week] 

"Te pas en te onpas" is used to describe an event that occurs time and time again. It often reflects a certain degree of annoyance as well.

"Pas" literally translates to "step", but in ancient Dutch "pas" also referred to a "convenient moment in time. "On" translates literally to "un-"/"in", hence "onpas" would refer to an "inconvenient moment in time".

Examples:
– "Ik vind te pas en te onpas remsporen in de toiletpot, bah!" 
("I find skid marks in the toilet bowl all the time, yuck!")

– "Frank leent te pas en te onpas geld van me, maar hij betaalt me nooit terug…" 
("Frank borrows money from me all the time, but he never pays me back…")

– "Ik zeg je te pas en te onpas dat je aan de lijn moet doen, maar je luistert nooit!" – "Ik ben toch niet dik??" 
("I'm telling you again and again to go on a diet, but you never listen!" – "I'm not fat, am I??.")

Expressions:
– "Om de haverklap": (at) every moment, continuously, at the merest trifle.
– "Van pas komen": to come in handy.

Example:
– "Ik heb een lekkage in de badkamer…" – "<ironisch> Dan komt een dweil wel van pas, denk je niet?"
("I have a leakage in the bathroom…" – "<ironically> Well, a mop would come in handy, don't you think?")

Related words:
– Frequent: frequent [adjective].
– Tig: (so) many, a lot of [indefinite numeral].
– Vaak: often, many times [adverb].

Example:
– "Hoe vaak moet ik het zeggen? Ik heb geen seksuele knipperlichtrelatie met deze dame gehad."
("How many times do I need to say this? I did not have a sexual on-and-off relationship with this lady..")