Category Archives: Dutch phrase of the week

375. (Het is een) gekkenhuis!

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It’s chaos/insane/bizar, completely crazy/wacko [Dutch phrase of the week]  Iconspeaker_klein

This phrase has a few variations depending on where the chaos actually is 🙂 and translations may vary, see the examples.

Now, what is a "gekkenhuis" anyway? It’s the colloquial word for "mental asylum", literally meaning "house of nutters/madmen" or "madhouse".

So the phrase basically says that a situation or process is like one
would expect to occur in a "gekkenhuis". Not the most politically
correct you might think, but nevertheless very common in everyday
speech.

Sometimes the phrase is abbreviated to just the word "gekkenhuis", an example of which can be found below (or in this car commercial that appeared on Dutch television a few years ago showing two sloths discussing the capabilities of a car).

Examples:
– "Ken je de drie dwaze dagen in de Bijenkorf? – "Het is een gekkenhuis jongen!"
("Do you know the "drie dwaze dagen" at the Bijenkorf?" – Man/dude, it’s chaos!")

– "Op Koninginnedag is heel Amsterdam een gekkenhuis!"
("On Queen’s Day it’s total chaos in the entire city of Amsterdam.")

– "Ik was gisteren op het strand in Scheveningen. Gekkenhuis!"
("Yesterday I was at the beach in Scheveningen. It was complete chaos!")

– "Ze sluiten de binnenstad af voor alle autoverkeer!" – "Echt? Gekkenhuis…"
("They are closing off the city centre for all motor/car traffic!" – "Really? Insane…"

– "Het is een gekkenhuis. Een gekkenhuis."
("It’s a madhouse. A madhouse." Charlton Heston in ‘Planet of the Apes‘.)

370. Laat maar zitten

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That’s all right / OK, don’t mention it, forget about it, let’s drop it, just leave it [Dutch phrase of the week] Iconspeaker_12

Literally translated "laat maar zitten" doesn’t make a lot of sense: "Just let it sit" 🙂

In speech "laat maar zitten" is used in the following cases:
– when someone thanks you and you want to say something like "don’t mention it, forget about it"; or
– when you ordered/wanted something, but you don’t want/need it anymore; or
– when you want to tell somebody to keep the change; or
– when you don’t want to discuss something any longer.

We have tried to capture this in the following examples, try to make your own!

Examples:
– "Wat aardig van je dat je de afwas doet!" – "Ach schat, laat maar zitten."
("How nice of you to the dishes / to wash up!" – "Oh honey, don’t mention it.")

– "Wil je je koffie nog?" – "Nee dank je, laat maar zitten."
("Do you still want your coffee?" – "No thank you, I’m/that’s all right.")

– "Mevrouw, laat dat broodje dat ik heb besteld maar zitten, want dit duurt veel te lang."
("Miss/madam, just forget about the sandwich that I ordered, this is taking way too long." Note that you can put the object that you don’t want anymore between "laat" and "maar zitten".)

– "Dat is dan 45 cent terug." – "O, laat maar zitten."
("That’s 45 cents change." – "Oh that’s all right / keep the change." Lit.: "That’s 45 cents back.")

– "Maar waarom wil je niet op bezoek bij mijn moeder?" – "Ach liefie, laat nou maar zitten."
("But why don’t you want to go on a visit to my mother?" – "O darling, just drop it." Note that the adding of the word "nou" strengthens the meaning and clearly indicates that you want to drop the subject. You will also hear "laat nou maar!")

Expressions:
– "Geen dank": don’t mention it.
– "Graag gedaan": you’re welcome.
– "Laat nou maar!": just drop it, just leave it!

365. Lekker belangrijk

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As if I (we) care / Who cares [Dutch phrase of the week]

The use of "lekker" in the Dutch language is ubiquitous and
difficult to master at first. That’s why we still haven’t covered it
explicitly as a DWOTD 🙂

"Lekker belangrijk" literally translates to "nicely/tastily
important" which of course does not make sense. "Lekker" – used as an
adverb – can have the meaning of "quite" or "really". For example
"lekker druk" translates to "quite busy" (in a pleasant way).

However, "lekker belangrijk" is always used ironically and, in
addition to the translations given above, can be translated to phrases
such as "Really important…NOT!", "Whatever!" or "I can’t be
bothered". It is also used to immediately express your disinterest in
whatever somebody is talking about. For example in the daily radio show
"Evers staat op" with DJ
Edwin Evers on Dutch Radio538, the "lekker belangrijk" tune is played
when either he or one of the sidekicks is talking nonsense or goes on
too long on the same topic.

 Examples:
– "Vanavond is Dancing With The Stars op tv." – "O ja? Lekker belangrijk zeg…"
("Dancing With The Stars is on TV tonight." – "Oh really? As if I care…")

– "Premier Balkenende spreekt vandaag het volk toe, lekker belangrijk…"
("Prime minister Balkenende addresses the people today, as if we care…")

Related words:
– "Boeien": to captivate, to fascinate, to
be bothered/interested. "Boeien!" or "boeiend!" can be used in the same
way as "lekker belangrijk" and you will also here "wat boeit het" or
"wat boeit mij dat/het".

Example:
– "Dit weekend speelt PSV tegen Feyenoord." – "Boeien! Ik hou niet van voetbal."
("This weekend, PSV plays against Feyenoord." – "Can’t be bothered! I don’t like football/soccer.")

Extra:
One of the characters in The Catherina Tate Show –
Lauren – has become known for her frequent use of her catch phrase "Am
I bothered?!", which can sometimes be translated with "lekker
belangrijk!" or "boeien!". Watch this funny video of a sketch with Lauren talking to her friends about Beyonce 🙂

Daar heb ik geen kaas van gegeten

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I don’t know how that works [Dutch phrase of the week]

This phrase has a really Dutch taste to it, because the literal translation would be: “I didn’t eat any cheese of that.” The phrase can be used in all persons, singular and plural. It says that you are far from knowledgeable or proficient in a certain subject area, or simply do not know how things work. The word “daar” can also be replaced with the matter that is not understood, see the examples.

Examples:
– “Hoe kan ik in Windows Vista de tijd instellen? – Sorry, van computers heb ik geen kaas gegeten.”
(“How can I set the time in Windows Vista? – Sorry, I don’t know how computers work / anything about computers.”)

– “Frank heeft duidelijk geen kaas gegeten van Powerpoint…zijn presentatie was verschrikkelijk vanochtend…”
(“Frank clearly doesn’t how Powerpoint works…his presentation was terrible this morning…”)

– “Heb jij kaas gegeten van het strafrechtelijk systeem in Iran?” – “Helaas nee, daarvoor moet je bij Rosalie zijn.”
(“Do you know how the judicial system in Iran works?” – “Unfortunately no, you should see Rosalie for that.” Lit.: “…you must be at/with Rosalie for that.”)

Related words:
– “Snappen”: to get, to understand.
– “Begrijpen”: to understand.

355. Op die fiets!

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Like that / In that way [Dutch phrase of the week]

This phrase has already appeared in one of our early DWOTDs: "Fiets". Literally translated with "On that bike", this phrase does not really make a lot of sense. We don’t know exactly how and when this expression was introduced into the Dutch language, but some 25 years ago it wasn’t there yet.

"Op die fiets" is used to express your understanding following a previous (explanatory) statement, explaining something you didn’t understand (fully) at first, see the examples.

Examples:
– "Hoe werkt dit? – Nou, als je op deze knop drukt, begint de muziek te spelen. – Ah, op die fiets!"
("How does this work? – Well, if you press this button, the music starts to play. – Ah, like that!")

– "Je kunt je aanmelden voor de Dutch Word Of The Day mailinglijst door een mailtje te sturen naar dwotd@dwotd.nl, met onderwerp "yes". – Okee, op die fiets…"
("You can subscribe to the Dutch Word Of The Day mailing list by sending an e-mail to dwotd@dwotd.nl, with subject "yes". – Okay, in that way…")

Related words:
– "Fiets": bike, bicycle.