Bakker

baker [noun] [de bakker, de bakkers] [‘bak-kur’]

Bakkers in de bakkerijBesides the person who bakes bread, in Dutch “bakker” is also used to refer to the bakery (shop), see the Examples. Note that a “bakery” is a “bakkerij” in Dutch. The ending in “ij” is common and you will see it in other words like “makelaardij”, “schoenmakerij”, “slagerij” etc. (it is comparable to the Spanish “ía”).

We use “warme bakker” to refer to a bakery where the bread is actually baked, instead of a shop where the bread is just sold but not baked.

Examples:
– “Liefie, ik ga even brood halen bij de warme bakker op de hoek.”
(“Sweetie, I’m going to get some bread at the (fresh) bakery at the corner.”)

– “Bakker zijn is een zwaar beroep, iedere dag om vier uur ‘s ochtends op…”
(“Being a baker is a tough profession, (one has to) get up at 4 o’clock in the morning every day …”)

– “Raad eens wie ik bij de bakker tegenkwam? Frank….met z’n nieuwe vriendin….”
(“Guess who I ran into at the bakery shop? Frank…with his new girlfriend…” Note that “eens” is not translated here, it means something like “one time” or “just”.)

Expressions:
– “Dat komt voor de bakker!”: “(Consider it) done!” Lit.: “That comes for the baker!”

Example:
– “Op een ochtend werd ik wakker, toen was alles voor de bakker.”
(“One morning I woke up, and everything was taken care of.”)

– “Zoete broodjes bakken”: to eat humble pie, to butter someone up, to suck up.
– “Er niks/niets van bakken”: to mess up.

Example:
– “De nieuwe spits van PSV bakt er niets van!”
(“PSV’s new forward stinks!”)

Related words:
– “Bakkerij”: bakery.
– “Bakken”: to bake.
– “Oven”: oven.
– “Slager(ij)”: butcher(‘s shop).

358. Sturen

Today a basic verb that is used a lot in Dutch since the age of email: "sturen". Of course there are multiple translations 🙂

1. to send [verb] [stuurde, gestuurd] [‘stuu-run’]

Examples:
– "Stuur mij even een email ter herinnering alsjeblieft."
("Just send me an email as a reminder, please.")

– "Ga jij vandaag iemand een Valentijnskaart sturen?" – Nee, ik doe niet mee aan die commerciële onzin!"
("Are you go to send somebody a Valentine’s card today?" No, I don’t participate in that commercial nonsense!")

– "Ik heb Frank vanochtend naar huis gestuurd, hij had een flinke verkoudheid."
("I sent Frank home this morning, he had a huge cold.")

Expressions:
– "Iemand het bos in sturen": to send someone off with a tall story. Lit.: to send someone into the woods.
– "Iemand de laan uitsturen": to fire/sack somebody. Lit.: to send someone out the lane.

Related word:
– "Versturen": to send (off), to despatch.

2. to steer [verb] [stuurde, gestuurd] [‘stuu-run’]

Examples:
– "De vraag is: wie stuurde er op het moment van het ongeluk?"
("The question is: who was steering at the moment of the crash?")

– "Schat, je moet een beetje naar links sturen, want we zitten nu op de vluchtstrook…"
("Honey, you should steer a bit to the left, because we’re on the shoulder now…")

– "Mijn auto stuurt heel zwaar: ik heb geen stuurbekrachtiging."
("My car steers really heavy: it doesn’t have power steering." Lit.: "…I don’t have power steering.")

Related words:
– "Stuur": [noun] (steering) wheel (of a car)/ handlebars (of a bike).
– "Rijden": to drive, to ride.

357. Uitgezonderd

except for, apart from, with the exception of, bar(ring) [coordinating conjunction] [‘uit-gu-zon-durd’]Uitgezonderd_2

This is a popular word to put on traffic signs and in any formal
communication, because there are always exceptions. Well,
"uitzonderingen daargelaten" of course 😉 (see Related words).

Examples:
– "Verboden in te rijden, uitgezonderd bestemmingsverkeer."
("Entry prohibited, except for local traffic." Lit.: "Forbidden to drive into, except for destination traffic".)

– "Een toelatingsexamen is verplicht voor nieuwe leerlingen, Edyta uitgezonderd, want zij spreekt al een beetje Nederlands."
("An entrance exam is mandatory for all new students, with the exception of Edyta, because she already speaks a bit of Dutch.")

– "Alle modellen worden geleverd met waarschuwingssysteem, uitgezonderd het instapmodel."
("All models are provided with a warning system, except for the base model." Lit.: "…except for the step-in model.")

Related words:
– "Behalve": except (for), save.
– "Uitzondering": exception.
– "Daargelaten": except for, apart from, not counting.

Example:
– "Uitzonderingen daargelaten."
("Apart from/not counting exceptions." This seems to be a bit ‘double’, but you will often encounter this phrase.)

356. Klokhuis

core (apple, pear) [noun] [het klokhuis, de klokhuizen] [‘klok-huis’]

Klokhuis"Klokhuis" is a bit of a misleading word as it is composed of "klok" – "clock", and "huis
"
– "house". And, it might not be a word you’ll use daily – this we’ll
admit. However, it is also the name of a famous Dutch tv programme for
children:

"Het Klokhuis" is a popular programme because of
its mix of informative themes and sketches brought in a light way. It is celebrating
its 20th anniversary this year and is therefore not only well known by children but also by adults like us
(early thirties that is 😉 ). Recently "Het Klokhuis" was looking for
a new host for the show and immediately 600 people applied for the job (which is a large number
in the Netherlands).

As "Het Klokhuis" is made for children, the level of Dutch might be
accessible to those of you learning Dutch. A reader of the DWOTD
recommends this tv programme for that purpose. So if you can receive Dutch tv
broadcasts, check it out, on weekdays at "Nederland 3" from 6.25 – 6.45 PM.

Examples:
– "Ik eet het klokhuis nooit op, jij wel?"
("I never eat the core (of an apple/pear), do you?")

– "Wil jij je moeder helpen met het verwijderen van de klokhuizen; zij wil een appeltaart maken."
("Would you please help your mother with coring the apples, she wants to make apple pie." Literally "… removing the cores".)

– "Kijk jij wel eens naar "Het Klokhuis"? – "Nou, eigenlijk niet. Vroeger wel, toen ik klein was."
("Do you watch "Het Klokhuis" (from time to time)?" – "Well, actually, no. I used to, when I was young." In this example "eigenlijk" is a bit like "to be honest". Also, note the use of "vroeger" and "klein".)

354. Allochtoon

immigrant, alien, foreigner [noun] [de allochtoon, de allochtonen] [‘al-log-toon’]

The word ‘allochtoon’, or ‘allochtonen’, is mostly used in the Netherlands when referring to immigrants. Originally this word, stemming from ancient Greek, simply means ‘coming from another land’. An ‘autochtoon’, also from Greek origin, means ‘coming from the same land’.

The official definition of allochtoon (by the Dutch Statistical Office) can be a bit
confusing as it states that an "allochtoon" is somebody born in a different country, or having a parent born in a different country. When this definition is literally applied, most members of our Royal Family are also ‘allochtonen’!

Examples:
– "Een allochtoon is iemand die in het buitenland is geboren of van wie één ouder of beide ouders in het buitenland zijn geboren (officiële definitie)."
("An immigrant is someone who was born abroad or who has a parent that was born abroad (official definition).")

– "Volgens bovenstaande definitie, is Sander een allochtoon."
("According to the definition above, Sander is an ‘allochtoon’.")

– "Als je ouder een allochtoon is, ben jij een tweede-generatie allochtoon (officiële definitie)".
("If one of your parents is an immigrant, you are a second-generation immigrant (official definition).")

Related words:
– "Buitenlander": foreigner living in the Netherlands, literally "outside-country man". This word is generally only applied to the traditional immigrants.
– "Immigrant": immigrant.
– "Autochtoon": somebody who is originally from – in this case – the Netherlands.
– "Excuusallochtoon": ‘excuse’ allochtoon, see below.
– "Knuffelallochtoon": see below.

Extra:
The word "allochtoon" was introduced by a Dutch sociologist in the
1970s to soften the Dutch words ‘immigrant’ or ‘buitenlander’, both
meaning immigrant.
The intention to introduce a word without a negative intonation did not
succeed as recently members of the Dutch Labour Party tried to ban the
word ‘allochtoon’ from official documents, because of its pejorative
sense. It seems like time’s ripe for another word.

The Dutch government stimulates Dutch companies to apply ‘positive discrimination’ when hiring new employees in that they prefer an "allochtoon" over an "autochtoon" if they are equally suitable for the position. The goal is to have a better refection of society in the personnel. If such an "allochtoon" is hired this person is sometimes mockingly called an "excuusallochtoon" by criticasters of this policy. Or, in general when "allochtonen" are favoured just to be politically correct, or are put forward as a successful example of integration into society, you might here the same criticasters speak of a "knuffelallochtoon". The Dutch/Moroccan rapper ‘Ali B’ once got Queen Beatrix to kiss him on the cheek by saying he was a ‘knuffelallochtoon’!

This DWOTD was provided by guest author Laura.