Category Archives: Dutch phrase of the week

Voor spek en bonen

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to count for nothing, to sit there for show, to be purely decorative Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[voor spek en bo-nen]

Bonen When you are participating in or joining an activity and your participation has no significant impact or you don’t care about the outcome, then you can say you are in it “voor spek en bonen” (literally ‘for the bacon and the beans’). This phrase is typically used in conjunction with the verb “meedoen”: to participate.

Spek I heard this phrase yesterday when I was watching the popular Dutch reality show “Boer zoekt vrouw” (‘Farmer wants a wife’). Farmer Richard was supposed to choose from three women after spending some time with them on the farm. However, he had secretly met with one of them before their stay, thereby sealing the deal beforehand. The other women then complained that they had been part of the show “voor spek en bonen” only!

You also frequently here “voor de show” (‘just for show’).

Examples:
– “We gaan zo poker spelen, doe je mee?” – “Nou vooruit, maar alleen voor spek en bonen.” 
(“We are about to play poker, will you join?” – “Hm. Ok! But I’m not playing for real…”)

– “Ga je me nu vertellen dat ik al die tijd voor spek en bonen meedoe? Daar ben ik mooi klaar mee!” 
(“Are you telling me that all this time my participation has count for nothing? A fine state of affairs, … not!”)

– “Mag ik met jullie mee voetballen?” – “Ok, je bent wel veel te klein, maar goed, dan doe je voor spek en bonen mee.” 
(“Can I play football/soccer with you guys?” – “Alright, you are in fact way too short, but ok, then you play just for show.”)

– “Ik waardeer het dat jullie me hebben uitgenodigd voor de vergadering, maar als ik niets mag zeggen, zit ik er dus gewoon voor spek en bonen bij! Dat lijkt me niet de bedoeling, of wel soms?!” 
(“I appreciate it that you have invited me for the meeting, but when I’m not allowed to say anything I’m basically here for decoration only! I don’t think that’s the way it is supposed to be, is it now?!”)

Expressions:
– “Voor de show”: just for show.

Related words:
– Spek: pork, bacon [noun] [het spek].
– Boon: bean [noun] [de boon, de bonen].
– Show: show [noun] [de show, de shows].

Geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!

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count me out, I'm out, I don't want any part of it Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[Geef mijn portie maar aan Fik-kie]

Achtbaan In this phrase "Fikkie" is a dog and it seems to be the name of choice when referring to a random dog 🙂 A "portie" is a "portion/dose/serving", so when you no longer want to participate or be a part of it, you give your share to… the dog.

Usually you use this phrase when talking to somebody else about whatever it is you quit.

Examples:
– "Ja dag! Mooi niet, geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!" 
("Forget it! No way, you can count me out!" In this case "dag" is pronounced with a prolonged "a".)

– "Ik heb echt alles geprobeerd, maar niets wat ik doe is goed. In haar ogen blijf ik een hufter. Nou weet je, als het zo moet, geef mijn portie dan maar aan Fikkie." 
("Really, I have tried everything, but everything I do is wrong. In her eyes I remain a bastard. Well you know, if this is the way it's going to be, then I don't want any part of it!" Lit.: "…, but nothing I do is good".)

– "…En nu doet hij alsof het allemaal zijn idee was! Nou ik kap er mee, geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!" 
("…And now he pretends it was all his idea! Well, I quit, he can count me out!")

– "Als jij in de achtbaan wil, prima, maar mij niet gezien; geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie!" 
("If you want go for a roller coaster ride, fine, but rather you than me; you can definitely count me out!" Lit.: "If you want to go in the roller coaster…" "Achtbaan" ('eight track') is the general word used for roller coasters and the name refers to the "eight shape".)

Expressions:
– "Mij niet gezien": literally "not seen me" you can say this when you don't dare to do something and/or when you rather leave it to somebody else.

Related words:
– Portie: portion/serving/dose/share [noun] [de portie, de porties].
– Hond: dog [noun] [de hond, de honden].
– Geven: to give [verb] [gaf, gegeven].

Tegen beter weten in

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against (one’s) better judgement, while knowing better Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[te-gen be-ter we-ten in]

The implied verb in this phrase is “doen”. To do something against (one’s) better judgement, or while knowing better: “Tegen beter weten iets doen”. You can replace “doen” with other verbs of course, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “Tegen beter weten in haalde hij geen kaartje bij de parkeerautomaat.” 
(“Even though he knew better, he did not get a ticket at the (parking ticket) machine.” Note that it is common in Dutch to say “parkeerkaartje” for the ticket you get in order to pay for parking. The ticket machine is called “parkeerautomaat”. A “parking ticket” as in a “fine”, is “parkeerboete” in Dutch.)

– “Ik geef toe, ik heb het tegen beter weten in gedaan, maar ik vond het de gok waard. Achteraf gezien heeft het goed uitgepakt!” 
(“I admit, I did it against my better judgement, but I though it was worth the bet/shot. With hindsight it turned out well!”)

– “Tegen beter weten in bliezen de regeringsleiders de top af.” 
(“The heads of government cancelled the summit against their better judgement.”)

– “Ik dacht nog, zal ik mijn regenkleding meenemen… Maar helaas. Ach ja, ik doe wel vaker iets tegen beter weten in.” 
(“I thought to myself, shall I take my rain gear with me… But alas… Oh well, it’s not the first time I do something against better judgement.” Lit. “…, more often I do something against …”)

Related words:
– Weten: to know [verb] [wist, geweten].
– Waarschuwen: to warn [verb] [waarschuwde, gewaarschuwd].

Example:
– “Ik heb je nog zo gewaarschuwd! Je moet uitkijken bij het oversteken!”
(“Haven’t I warned you? You have to watch out when crossing (the road)!” Lit. “You have to watch out with the crossing.”)

– Beter: better [adjective/adverb].
– Achteraf: afterwards [adverb].
– Achteraf gezien: with hindsight.
– Dom/stom: stupid, silly, ignorant [adjective/adverb].
– Naïef: naive [adjective/adverb].

Ik weet het zo net nog niet

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I'm not so sure / I don't know about that… Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[ik weet het zo net nog niet]

IkWeetHetZoNetNogNiet So how do you turn a simple "I don't know" ("Ik weet het niet") into "I'm not so sure?" Easy of course; just insert "zo net nog" 🙂 Note that you typically use this when you doubt what somebody else is claiming. When you are not sure in general, you can say "ik ben er niet zeker van" or "ik weet het niet zeker". 

You may also hear "ik weet het nog zo net niet" and "dat weet ik zo net nog niet".

Examples:
– "Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat we gaan winnen!"- "Nou, ik weet het zo net nog niet, je moet hun tactiek niet onderschatten!" 
("I'm convinced that we will win!" – "Well I am not so sure about that, don't underestimate their tactics!" Lit.:"… that we are going to win!" – "…, you must not underestimate …")

– "Ik weet het zo net nog niet hoor, volgens mij gaan we het niet redden." 
("I'm not so sure to be honest, I don't think we are going to make it.")

– "Dat examen is toch zeker geen probleem voor jou?" – "Ik weet het zo net nog niet, het slagingspercentage is maar 40% ."  
("Surely that test will pose no problem for you?" – "I don't know about that, the pass rate is only 40% .")

Related words:
– Zeker: sure, certain [adjective].
– Overtuigd: convinced [adjective].

Example:
– "Hij is erg overtuigd van zijn gelijk. Een beetje meer bescheidenheid zou hem sieren!"
("He is very convinced he is in the right. A bit more modesty would suit him!" Lit.: "… adorns him!")

– Overtuigen: to convince [verb] [overtuigde, overtuigd].
– Twijfelen: to be in doubt / indecisive [verb] [twijfelde, getwijfeld].
– Twijfel: doubt [noun] [de twijfel, de twijfels].

Dat belooft wat!

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that sounds promising! / this will be exciting! Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week] Gelukkig2011

Best wishes to all of our readers!! May 2011 become a year of many Dutch Word of the Days that will help you understand Dutch and the Dutch even better than in 2010. And now…gaan met die banaan!

"Dat belooft wat" literally translates to "that promises something", in other words: "that sounds promising!"

The other way around: the literal translation of "that sounds promising" is "dat klinkt veelbelovend",  which can be used synonymously to "dat belooft wat". Sometimes you may hear "dat belooft heel wat": that sounds very promising.

Examples:
– "We hebben in 2010 veel bereikt met de Dutch Word of the Day, maar 2011 wordt nog beter!" – "Dat belooft wat!" 
("Way have achieved a lot with the Dutch Word of the Day in 2010, but 2011 will be even better!" – "That sounds promising!")

– "Frank was vanochtend erg chagrijnig." – "Dat belooft wat voor de vergadering vanmiddag…" 
("Frank was very grouchy this morning." – "That sounds promising for the meeting this afternoon…")

– "Hoe zal Ed reageren op de afwijzing van Tina? Dat belooft heel wat…blijf kijken, terug na de reclame!" 
("How will Ed react to Tina dismissing him? This will be very exciting….stay tuned, back after the commercial break!")

Related words:
– Beloven: to promise [verb] [beloven, beloofde, h. beloofd].

Example:
– "Iemand gouden bergen beloven."
("To promise someone the sun and the moon. Literally "to promise someone golden mountains".")

– Veelbelovend: promising [adjective].

Example:
– "Frank was ooit een veelbelovende advocaat, maar omdat hij in de rechtszaal meerdere keren gefaald heeft, is hij nu werkloos."
("Frank was once a promising lawyer, but because he messed up in court several times, he's currently unemployed.")